Bitter Effort

Tree of Beginning

The painted sky depicted mountains of white clouds, yet there was a large gap at the top to let the sun shine on the earth. After school was over, Anthony, Shelly, Tom Taylor, Emily, and Ikuyim signed up for a summer earthbending class, and were on their way to the first session. In any other case, Anthony would be reluctant to go to summer school while Emily would jump at the chance. The roles were reversed for this situation. "I don't wanna go to Earthbending Schoooool!" Emily moaned, slouching as she followed her classmates to the mountain range. "They were teaching seventh-grade maaaaath!"

"The Guardians of Earth is among the most treasured and true stories in Minish Kingdom." Gedra responded, riding Tom's shoulder. "That makes you one of the most renowned humans the Minish know. You should be honored."

"I wanted to be honored for my I.Q., not for throwing around rocks!" Emily cried. "I didn't ask to be an earthbender, at the very least I wanted psychic powers!"

"SHUT THE HECK UP!" Anthony shouted harshly. "How are we gonna beat that English creep if you keep whining like a baby?! Woman up or I'll break your glasses in!"

Tom whistled. "You won't hear a 7-year-old say that ever again. That was more harsh than you, Ged."

"Is something bothering you, Anthony?" Ikuyim asked. "You sound more hard-boiled than my sister, and that's saying something!" She chuckled.

"I'm just tired of hearing her whine. She's starting to make me look like a pro."

The class took place outside the wall of the Tree of Beginning. Shelly Johnson was already there, lying on the ground as she awaited the others impatiently. Once she felt them arrive, she stood up. The five students faced their teacher, a black-haired woman with metal armor and blank eyes. "Good morning, earthbending students."

"Hey, I know you!" Anthony beamed. "You're Toph Beifong from the Avatar Realms!"

"She certainly is!" Minish Queen Lánshelly was on Toph's shoulder. "Miss Beifong was the youngest and greatest human master in her world, so we thought she would be a great teacher to you."

"She's perfect at Seismic Sense, metalbending, AND sandbending!" Anthony recapped, putting a proud smile on Toph's face. "…But my mom's probably better." Anthony folded his arms.

Toph stomped and sunk Anthony into a hole up to his head. "That's because your mom probably taught you, 'It's okay if you fail, just get up and try again! You did great, you get a star for the day!' Well, failure isn't accepted in my class. If you want my respect, you have to earn it."

Anthony grumbled and helped himself out. "Alright, so class begins 8am sharp, but I can't tell what time it is, so I assume it's now. Let's do roll call: Anthony McKenzie?"

"Here." He rolled his eyes.

"Shelly Johnson?"

"Yo." Shelly answered lazily.

"Tom Taylor?"

"Never late."

"Emily Garley?"

"Unfortunately not in the chemistry lab." She whined.

"Ikuyim Latser?"

"Here! And, heheh, it's Latsyrc."

"Good. I was told your names earlier, but for all I can see, you're probably fakes. Next item on the list is dresswear. Most of you seem ready for class." While Toph couldn't see their clothes, she only paid attention to their feet. "Except you, Garley. Lose the shoes."

"But I have unstable ankles and my skin is like paper!"

"That's what we're going to fix. OFF."

"Awwwww." Emily sadly took her shoes and socks off.

"Don't start, yet! Sorry I'm late!" The students turned to see Diancie hurriedly hopping over on her pointed rock bottom.

"Who is this?" Toph asked.

"Princess Diancie!" Lánshelly yelled. "You weren't supposed to be in this class."

"Why not? I'm an aspiring young earthbender, too!" Diancie argued.

"You're a freaking god!" Anthony stated. "You'll blow us out of the dirt!"

"Just because I'm good at earthbending doesn't mean I know how it works." The Firstborn furrowed her eyes. "I thought I was still your sister, Big Brother!"

"Look, I know you want to try and act like you're still human, but you're still a showoff."

"You know what, I don't care, she's in." Toph decided.

"Miss Beifong-" Lánshelly tried to reason.

"One extra student doesn't matter, I'm still taking time outta my day to do this. Alright, so I've been told you all are fairly skilled in what you do." Toph put her hands on her hips. "If that's true, then we can skip basics and start with the real training."

"Er, just in case, I think we should go over basics." Emily said, sweating nervously. "J-Just so these guys can warm up, I mean I never need a tutorial… hehe."

"Or, you can show them how it's done!" With that, Toph stomped a giant spherical boulder out of the ground and crashed it inches from Emily, her heart almost stopping. "Without using a massive portion of chi, lift that boulder above your head."

"Uh… okay." Emily slowly and feebly bent down and stuck her hands under the boulder. "HUUR- ow, I feel a cringe in my elbow!"

"For the record, I can tell when people are lying." Toph mentioned. "And I certainly know when people have jittery legs. Let's see what the rest of you can do!" She stomped five more boulders for each student. "Use a chi outpour of about 20% in your hands and pick up the boulders."

"Haaaaaahhh, this is easy!" Tom Taylor successfully raised his boulder, enjoying the burn in his arms.

"Hnnnnnn…!" Anthony had more of a struggle lifting his boulder, but he managed to stay firm.

"HAH HA!" Shelly Johnson effortlessly hoisted her boulder. "You shrimps have such skinny spines!"

Ikuyim burrowed her left hand into her boulder and retrieved a small emerald. "I couldn't pick the rock up, but I found this!"

"Awwww! That's really beautiful." Toph smiled brightly.

"I know! It's amazing what gems you find-"

"TOO BAD I CAN'T SEE IT!" Toph smacked the emerald out of Ikuyim's hand. "All I feel is a rock made of glass. I told you to pick up a boulder, not open a jewel shop! Do it and show me that chi flow!"

"Yes, Ma'am." Ikuyim tried—and failed—to pick up the boulder with limited chi.

Toph held her arm for a second. "Mmm-hm." She went to feel Shelly's arm. "Mm-hm." She went to Anthony, who was squirming terribly from the stone's weight. Toph punched the boulder away from him. "Know when your arms are about to break." She examined Tom's. "Um, your boulder's melting."

"Oh!" Tom noticed the magma droplets dripping from the boulder. "'Guess I went too hot." He cooled the lava and set the distorted rock down.

"And last we have…?" Toph cocked a brow when Diancie was failing to lift her stone.

"Mmmmmmmm…!" Diancie seemed to pour every ounce of strength in her baby arms. Such a task was impossible for someone her size. But when Toph knelt down to feel her chi flow, she determined, "You're not even using one percent."

"Heh heh." Diancie blushed. "I guess precise earthbending is more hard than I thought."

"Hmm… I can't feel a heart rate in your body." Toph said. "But even I know that's a lie. Not putting adequate effort in your assignment, that gets you an 'F'!" She stomped a stone from the ground, shaped like said letter. "Take it home and show your parents."

"Sigh…" Diancie frowned.

"Not controlling your temperature and ruining your assignment, that's an 'F'!" Toph stomped one for Tom. "Goofing off instead of completing your assignment, 'F'!" One for Ikuyim.

The Negative happily picked it up and said, "My first grade for an earthbending class! I can't wait to show my parents!"

"I guess we know who passed this course." Shelly was still holding her boulder proudly.

"Shelly, I'm feeling a greater outpour of chi from you." Toph stated. "The assignment is supposed to teach you how to do a simple task using limited chi, so that you don't waste it all pointlessly. You get an 'F', too!"

The letter sprouted by Shelly's left foot. She furiously stomped it into sand. Her boulder disintegrated as she was covered in sand. "And of course, not willing to admit your faults, is an 'F'." Toph stomped one for Emily. The scientist was on the verge of crying. It was the most tragic time of her life.

"And what do I get, Sensei Toph?" Anthony asked smugly.

"You, Anthony, get a 'D' for your efforts. You demonstrated good control of your outpour, but you seemed a little unbalanced. And it's Sifu Toph."

"Maybe that's because a 10-ton boulder was over my head and I wasn't allowed to use all my strength!"

"Boulders are big, lifeless rocks with no intelligence, you shouldn't HAVE to use all your strength."

"On the contrary, Toph," Diancie spoke with a thoughtful smile, "rocks have as much voice as do the plants. I can hear them speaking every day! Hehe, some of them get tickled by all the worms and gophers-"

"You can't use one percent of chi, now you're suddenly an expert on earthbending. If you're going to listen for earth, you should do it when enemies are sneaking up or when giant rocks are coming your way. For now, our next exercise is using our brains."

"BOOYEAH!" Emily jumped for joy.

Toph stomped six more boulders up several feet away in a straight line. "All people possess Psychic Chi in their brains, but benders have greater access to it. Psychicbenders can control Psychic Chi in its purest form, but we earthbenders can telekinetically control our element by sending chi to our very minds. Stand completely still and use your minds to move your boulder."

"Yes! I read a psychicbending book in the hopes that I was one." Emily narrowed her eyes on the boulder. "Surely, the same rules will apply."

Everyone was intently focused on their boulders. They were trying to resist lifting even a finger, but bending without movement was stressful on the mind. …Emily's rolled forward and back. "Holy cow! I did it!"

"Don't lose focus!" Toph smiled approvingly.

An aggravated Shelly lightly tapped her foot to nudge her rock forward. Toph immediately caught that foot in a rock trap. "I felt that, Tappy Toes!" Toph focused on Ikuyim next. Though she couldn't see, the white-haired was smiling and her forehead was not bulging, but to Toph she felt light and still. "What are you doing, Ikuyim?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm imagining the boulder has wings and can fly!"

"Great, we have TWO wannabe psychicbenders, but guess what? YOU AREN'T ONE!" Toph looked to Diancie, whose brows seemed to be bulging from her intense focus. "…You are literally not trying." Toph knew. Diancie bowed her head in shame. She felt that Anthony's boulder was lightly twitching from his focused chi. "Again, good effort, Anthony. But I still feel like something is holding you-"

BOOM!!! Tom Taylor's rock exploded into flaming chunks. Toph stomped shields up to protect her students. Minish were running and screaming as their forest of grass was set aflame, so Toph took care to smash those fires under flat rocks.

"…Well-p, I can make rocks explode with my mind!" Tom perked up. "Learn something new every day."

"This is why Sovite was considered the most dangerous." Lánshelly commented.

"Sigh…" Toph stomped their grades up all at once: 'F' for Shelly, Diancie, and Ikuyim, 'C' for Anthony, 'D' for Tom, and 'B' for Emily.

"This day gets worse and worse." Emily wept.

"Our next test will be more creative." Toph explained. "First, we need a sand pit. Any good sand pits around here?"

"Ditto." Shelly stomped and broke a wide area of ground into sand.

"Perfect. Your task is to focus your chi around the sand and create a miniature environment or statues. Everyone pick a spot of sand and work."

Shelly smirked and slid her foot along the sand to get a good feel. She then stomped and created a miniature Gallagher Elementary with all its students bowing her direction. Toph came by and smiled at the masterpiece. "You and I share a similar vision, Shelly."

"I would squish them, but it'd ruin the assignment." ;)

Ikuyim bent sand into the shapes of gems like a diamond, ruby, sapphire, and three crystals. "Aren't they pretty!" She grinned.

"Um, not bad, but without any color, they still look like sand shaped into rocks."

"That's why you have to use imagination, silly!"

"Why don't I just imagine grass is red and your eyes are rectangular? 'Cause for all I KNOW, they ARE!"

Next, Toph felt Emily shuddering and wiggling her toes nervously in the sand. "Sigh, what is wrong NOW, Emily?"

"A few years ago, I went to the beach and these kids made fun of my abnormally large feet. This sandy environment is rekindling those bad memories."

"Alright, you get an 'F' for not feeling pride in your appearance."

♪ "Hmmm, hmmm, hmmmm…" ♪ Diancie hummed a merry tune as she was trying to build a mini sand sculpture of Stone with her bare hands. Toph came up and shook her head in disapproval.

"Diancie, it's not even funny anymore. It wasn't funny to begin with. Either you bend honestly or get out of my class."

Diancie sighed, and with a small usage of chi, she created sand sculptures of Granite, Sovite, Quartzite, Hornfels, Latsyrc, and Stone, animating them as they stomped and kicked sand rocks out of the ground. "She used to show off all the time with me, I don't know what her problem is." Anthony stated.

"I can say the same about you." Toph remarked. "What do you have to show me?"

Anthony calmed himself and refocused his flow of chi into the sand. He stomped and made mini sand sculptures of all the primary KND sectors. They dissolved after a few seconds. "Hmmm… Good job, kid. And with no need to check Taylor's…" Behind her, Tom's area was already a lava pit.

"All the grains I try to bend just turn into lava!" he complained.

"This is not how I wanted to spend the post-Apocalypse." Toph stomped their rock-shaped grades out of the ground: Tom and Emily 'F', Diancie 'A+', Shelly 'A', Ikuyim 'C', Anthony 'B'.

The students were lined up as Toph paced before them. "Well, we've had three assignments so far, and what I can determine is: each of you has issues. EMILY!" She quaked the ground and whipped toward the scientist, who yelped in fright. "You're the most glass-boned earthbender I met since Aang! You're wimpy AND you're spineless."

"That's why I have brains! What we need is a good mental catalyst. Perhaps we'll train better by singing a song! Like… Left foot, right foot, put your whole body in-"

"If you wanna learn sing-and-dance, go to Airbending School. IKUYIM!"

"Present!" she saluted.

"Imagination is good when it actually helps. You're not going to win any battles by pretending your gem has a sword that cuts through anything. You need to make your rock sharp and cut through the baddies yourself. Tom!"

She kicked a rock to the older boy, who punched it into lava. "Ouch!" A drop singed him.

"The queen told me you were red-skinned. I guess you spent so long catching tans that you don't know any other temperature. Diancie, you seem to be under the impression you're a human and are therefore flawed like a human. Well, guess what? You're a god. Your powers are beyond our understanding and your level is higher than we'll ever climb to. You can make yourself think you're one of us by attending a class, but the fact is this lesson is beyond you."

"I know…" Diancie frowned.

"Anthony, something clearly has you unfocused. You seem like you have the potential, but not the mentality. And Shelly, while I was impressed with your Sand Art demonstration, you kind of like to cheat."

"Why is that a bad thing?" Shelly questioned. "In a real battle, we fight to win, so we would use the best strategy to win. When are those crummy instructions gonna matter?"

"You know what, I agree." Anthony stated. "I'm good enough to lift or move a boulder WITHOUT using my brain. I thought we were moving PAST basics, I thought we were gonna learn hardcore earthbending, how do you expect us to beat that monster with lousy SAND ART?!"

"I assume you're referring to Lord English." Toph replied, having been told of the Lord of Time. "Look, kids, I was brought here to help improve your earthbending. Even if you won't use psychic earthbending or 20% of your chi in a real battle, these exercises will help strengthen you altogether. But if the stories about that English guy are true… then you can't expect me to make you that strong. And frankly, I don't wanna waste strength trying to. You kids will probably kill yourselves trying to match his power."

"Then this really is a waste of time." Anthony walked away. "Mom was wrong about you…"

"Anthony, wait." Diancie bounced after him.

"Well, this was bound to happen." Toph said. "Hokay, break time, you four. I'm gonna talk to him."

Anthony fell on his back in a random patch of grass, staring at the painted sky. Diancie laid beside him. "Why don't you float?" Anthony asked. "I know you can do that."

"I guess I prefer being on the ground. …I know what you're thinking, Anthony. If I was such a showoff when I was human, why does becoming a god change that?"

"Uh-huh. So obvious, I'm not even gonna make a joke."

"I don't know why I did… Maybe having a character flaw like that helped convince people I was human. I'm only happy when I'm human or mortal… Being a 'Firstborn' was just misery. Forced to hide, sensing death every few seconds… Anthony, you're lucky to be flawed."

"No I'm not, Michelle. If I did have powers like yours… I would have a chance at beating him. If Cheren is willing to become a god just to protect us… why shouldn't I?"

"Talk about overdoing it." The two sat up and turned to Toph Beifong. "Anthony, what's really bothering you? Did Lord English… kill your mom?"

"No." Diancie answered. "She jumped on the ship before English turned his sights on her."

"But he did kill Cheren's mom." Anthony spoke darkly. "You weren't there, Toph. He killed Mrs. Drilovsky without even lifting a finger. He could end all of us right now. What are we to him? Easy bait, that's what. And when Mom started throwing rocks at him, I thought for sure… she was gonna…" Tears leaked.

"It sounds like something you need to talk to your mom about." Toph reasoned. "Otherwise, you won't be able to focus. Talk about it as soon as you get home."

"Yeah… I guess I should."

"You going to be able to go the rest of the day?"

"I guess so…"

"Just be happy that Mom is still alive, Anthony." Diancie said comfortingly. "She'll be waiting for you with a smile!"

"Hehe… yeah." Anthony smiled.

McKenzie Household, later that day

Anthony's sectormates picked him up on the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and dropped him and Diancie off at their house. His mother was napping in the front yard, entranced by the Earth's breath. She awoke when she felt Anthony's footsteps. "Hello, Anthony! How was your first day of class? Is Toph a fun teacher?"

"Y-Yeah. Mom, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"W-Well… when you fought Lord English, did you think you were gonna die?"

She felt the worried tone in his voice. "I…I didn't really think about it at the time. To be honest, I was only hoping you got on the ship. I guess if Arceus hadn't intervened…"

"Please don't die, Mom!" Anthony cried and hugged Angie close. "I don't think… sniff, I don't think I can make it without you!"

"Anthony…" Angie softly patted his head and let him cry into her chest. "It's okay, sweetie. I promise to be around as long as you need me. Don't worry."

"Sniff…" He pulled himself away. "Do you think… it's possible to beat him?"

"I'm positive there's a way. Every being has limits, Anthony. If our planet is safe from him in this space tunnel, then he really isn't all-powerful. And don't forget, everyone else is probably going through what you are. They're worried, too. But you'll be fighting together. As long as you and Michelle have your friends, even Time is no match."

"But you saw what he did to the other moms. How are we gonna fight someone who can kill you on the spot?"

"I may not know the answer… but if things were really easy for Lord English, he wouldn't need accomplices, would he?"

"You mean the…the Thirteen Darknesses?"

"Remember how to fight, Anthony: look for the opponent's weakness and steadily mow it down."

"Yeah…" The impossible situation appeared to be easy now in Anthony's mind.

Tree of Beginning, the next day

"This item is the Sun Chi Lantern." Diancie hung a large, brown lantern on a stone branch sticking from the outer wall. "We found it in the castle on Mariejoa. In the past, the Earth Children used the lantern to take each other's chis and use them to develop their own. Once we make a good bond with one-another, we can use the lantern as well."

"It still feels kinda pointless." Shelly commented. "If one of us takes the others' chi in a real battle, that'll leave the others powerless."

"Maybe, but what it comes down to is which of you will be the strongest." Toph reasoned. "That same person will have to be skillful and trustworthy. Then if the need arises, they'll be the most worthy to use all of your chis."

"For now, it's up to us to get as strong as we can." Anthony declared. "We won't be able to fight Lord English by ourselves, but taking out his lackeys will give us an advantage. And we'll only have to focus on one. Hopefully, the rest of the KND will be ready to fight the other ones."

"Six of us against one person seems like overkill." Tom said.

"Unless this one person is part of the Thirteen Darknesses." Emily affirmed, recalling the villains' immense Power Levels.

"Then let's start training." Anthony fist-pumped. "Because the one we're taking down is that Diamond lady!"

King Dutchman

Lord English was enjoying a delicious meal. A meal of fear in millions of voices. He could hear them talk about him… he could hear them think about him… They were afraid… and every thought of him made him stronger.