A/N: Yay chapter two! This one is from Sokka's point of view and there's a battle! Sort of a crappy battle, sorry, but a battle nonetheless. It's a precursor for more awesome battles ahead. So I guess I should totally clarify the pairings in this story, since I'm a ruhtard and didn't do it in the first chapter. So here's the couples:
Aang/Katara
Zuko/Mai
Sokka/Toph (eff yeah non-canon ship!)

Darling why do you leave,
When the North wind begins to blow?
Will you be coming home
To me?

When Toph and Katara had left in the morning, the palace felt empty. I watched Mai nervously fix the front of Zuko's shirt over and over again while Aang paced around on top of the long dining room table

"What are you doing on the table, Aang?" I watched his fingers pass my sisters necklace between one another and sighed

"Ugh" He leapt lightly onto the ground "I didn't even know I was up there" he answered honestly and I motioned him to come sit next to me

"She's the strongest girl I know. Hell, she's stronger than most men I know" I snorted, referring to Katara "I doubt this will take her longer than the month. She'll be back, prancing about the palace before the autumnal equinox" I promised and Aang collapsed onto the bench next to me, necklace clasped firmly in his hand

"She wants to get married" Aang stated bluntly and I folded my hands against my mouth. Sure I was glad to see Katara with someone that was so perfect for her, but she was still my little sister

"Is that bad?" I had to also take into account that Aang was my best friend

"No!" Aang was basically shouting now "It's a great thing. But…" he scratched at the table top "But what if we don't come back? What if I can't keep my promise?"

I nudged his shoulder "Don't think like that, Aang. If any of us are coming back, it's you"

Aang narrowed his eyes at me "Not without you and Zuko" his words came out almost as a threat

The Fire Nation General appeared in the doorway as if on cue and cleared his throat "The ship is leaving" he bowed, turning to leave back to the docks

Mai's hands shook as she bid her husband a farewell and Zuko promised her that she would be a great Fire Lord until he returned. Aang pocketed my sister's necklace and retrieved his staff from atop the table while I fastened the sword my dad had given me to my side. I stood to bow to Mai and smiled lightly

"Lady Mai, you are a perfect Fire Lord" I placed a hand on her shoulder and was surprised when she gave me a quick hug

"Keep an eye on him, Sokka" Mai glanced over towards Zuko and I laughed

"I will" I promised

"Gentlemen" Zuko looked to Aang and I and we followed him out of the palace towards the docks.

The ride to the docks felt like the longest ride I'd ever taken. As we came close we saw a small boat being loaded with a little supplies and to my horror, Toph and my sister. "I thought they left hours ago" I demanded, looking to Zuko

"They were sold hours ago. That's the man that bought them" Zuko informed me and I felt Aang tense up at my side

"Where is he taking them?" he asked desperately

"To Ba Sing Se's black market. To Luon" Zuko sounded apologetic and I held Aang down as the man shoved Katara onto the boat

"Let her go Aang, she has to do this, you know that" I couldn't believe I was actually stopping someone from protecting the little sister I had fought for years to protect myself. Aang whimpered and I hugged him "I know it's hard, Aang, remember that they have Toph too" I whispered and Aang relaxed.

"I'm sorry Sokka, I should be stronger" he shook his head and I fished a small metal bracelet from my pocket. It was Toph's space metal bracelet she had fashioned out of meteorite

"We have women who need us to come home" I smirked "Like real soldiers"

Aang laughed and looked to Zuko, who simply pulled a thin gold necklace with a flame on it from under his shirt. He tucked it back in and smirked "Like real soldiers" he repeated and I laughed too

"To victory, men!" I shook my fist and we boarded the ship

It was surprising how quickly I became tired of listening to Zuko go over war plans and strategies with the soldiers. It was the same thing over and over again. Infiltrate this, sabotage that, Azula, Azula, Azula. It was unnerving to listen to and frankly my attention span wasn't that long. I occupied my time playing Roshambo with Aang on the deck. "When I get home, I'm going to build a house" Aang balanced carefully on his toes as I flicked him in the nose

"Why? Just buy one that's already built. Building one's just ridiculous" I snorted

"For Katara and me to live in. If I build it it'll mean something to her. She'll know that I made it just for her and that I love her" Aang dealt a hefty flick to the underside of my nose and I flinched

"You're a hopeless romantic, Aang" I shook my head and Aang laughed

"You should do something for Toph when we get home" he spun around quickly and I laughed harder

"Right, so she can smash it?" I raised an eyebrow and Aang chuckled loudly

"Yeah, sure" he shrugged. There was a faint whistling noise followed by a crash

"Enemy ship" A soldier ran past me and I groaned

"We've been at sea for five hours and we're already under attack" I threw my hands into the air and pulled my sword from my side. This ship pulled up close to us, black, menacing, everything I expected and enemy ship to be. Aang pulled me down on the deck as a barrage of arrows rained down around us, killing two of the soldiers on deck near us. Aang swung his staff more viciously than usual, sending a torrent of water and air on deck of the enemy ship. There was a loud bang of thunder overhead and I looked up to the ominous black skies. The deck shook as the gang plank of the enemy ship fell over onto ours.

"Kill everyone, leave no survivors" The voice was loud and sure and I looked over to the swarm of soldiers making their way onto our boat. My sword felt heavy with each blow I delivered to an enemy soldier and cried out as one swiped me in the face

"Aang!" I heard Zuko's voice strike out across the deck as a spiral of fire fell a line of men

Aang looked up from the unconscious soldiers around him. He expertly dodged a razor thin sheet of water from an enemy water bender and Zuko nodded to him "You have to kill them, Aang. We can't run" he was stern and unrelenting "Not this time"

I brought my sword through the neck of an Earthbender posed behind Aang, hands held high to strike. Aang looked up at me horrified and I wrinkled my nose "Please, Aang. You're not a monk anymore, you're a soldier" I shook his shoulders and I saw his eyes grow cloudy as he nodded. This war was much more high stakes. Everyone was at risk, and we couldn't simply run this time. Aang inhaled deeply and swung his staff high above his head, striking a soldier down dead simply. It was terrifying to see him kill. He possessed so much more power than any of us could imagine, killing was like breathing. Simple. I slid across the deck towards a row of soldiers and was glad in that moment that Katara wasn't with us to see Aang kill. There was another loud crack as lightning struck the planks of wood on the boats deck. The clouds seemed to open up and unleash water by the gallons onto us and I gritted my teeth. The waterbenders had a crippling advantage.

The floorboards beneath me lurched and my stomach suddenly sunk with the realization that the ship was coming undone with the storm and the battle. Everywhere around us was grey, violent waves, picking up and slamming back into the ocean. And rocks. In the distance there were jagged black rocks

"Zuko!" I cried through the rain and the battle. Zuko joined me at my side "We need to get to those rocks, the ships coming down" I was basically yelling for him to hear and he nodded in understanding. Almost everyone onboard was dead, ally and enemy, and this was only the first battle. I knew that there was an entire fleet a day ahead of us and another one leaving tomorrow, but this wasn't promising.

"Rebels, to the front of the ship!" Zuko cried into the air and what was left of our men fled to our sides. Everyone except Aang. The enemies stayed on the back of the ship with Aang, confused with the sudden lack of soldiers, but hungry with the want to be the one that killed the avatar. A pale blue light illuminated the back side of the ship and I knew Aang had gone into the avatar state. I closed my eyes, suddenly glad I was out of eyesight and earshot of what was about to happen.

"I can't believe I thought I could ever defeat him" Zuko stared in disbelief towards the foggy light

"He was a different person then. A little boy. He would've never killed you" I looked down at my feet and swayed a little as the deck cracked inward a little. Zuko looked away as Aang limped over to us, staff draggin on the ground

"Are they…" an earthbender fighting for us looked to Aang

"Dead?" he raised a tired eyebrow "Yeah" he hopped carefully on his left foot, while his right one hung almost limply from his ankle

"The ships going down Aang, we need to get to those rocks, it's our only hope" I pointed to the black outlines in the rain. Aang groaned and I grabbed his shoulders "Do it for Katara"

Aang winced as he placed his foot back on the ground and spun his staff above him. There was an overwhelming gust and instant cold as the ocean met us and carried us roughly to the rocks. I felt my head make contact with the earth, then darkness.