Outside the Spirit Oasis, a battle raged. It was a desperate battle where Northern Water Tribe desperately tried to fend off the aggressive Fire Nation. This was a fight for their lives. A fight for their homes. A fight for their very traditions and way of life; if they were not killed, they would almost certainly face oppression by their conquerors.

The odds had evened out for the defenders now that the Moon Spirit had been revived. Without the spirit, they could not bend, which was a critical disadvantage. Standard weapons could only do so much against an army of men who could conjure fire from thin air.

But none of that mattered to Sokka. All he cared about was that Yue was dead. For the Moon Spirit to be revived, and for the Water Tribe to have any chance in the battle, she had to sacrifice herself. He could not be with her.

It was Admiral Zhao's fault. That animal in the disguise of a man had killed the fish that represented the Moon Spirit's mortal form. If he had not so selfishly thrown off all balance in the world for one key advantage in the battle, Yue would have never had to die. She would have still been alive, and perhaps there would have been a real chance of them being together.

I should have killed Zhao when I had the chance. Sokka begged the spirits to turn this grief into hate. It was not a much better emotion than grief, but at least it could be productive. At least in hate he could bring himself to kill the man who was indirectly responsible for Yue's death.

But no. Still his mind languished in its state of grief. Is everyone I love going to die? In a way, the Fire Nation was responsible for Yue's death. They had been directly responsible for his mother's death so many years ago, as well. How could he know they wouldn't kill Katara? Or Aang? Or spirits forbid his father?

Outside the Spirit Oasis, the battle raged on. Still, Sokka paid it no attention to it. Rather, his real battle was inside his heart. It was a battle to stay afloat in this oasis of grief. And he was losing it. Just as he had lost Yue and his mother.