Credit goes to my little brother Mark for the ideas for this upcoming plot twist… I love that kid, he's so creative, I don't know what I'd do without him. :) Also, I just wanted to say thank you so much that random anon for your incredible, detailed and just plain awesome review. You warmed my heart almost to tears! And thank you so much, all of you other lovelies who reviewed. It just totally makes my day every time I see a little notification in my inbox. HNNNGGGGG.

I've also done some fanart of my own for this story. It's now the cover image.

Again, sorry for the wait. I'm trying to balance two fanfics at the same time, along with caring for two newborn baby goats and getting up super early in the morning to bottle-feed them. Ugh. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chap. It's a little shorter, considering my lack of free time. But please R & R, nonetheless. :)

Korra awoke to the soft murmur of conversation drifting up from downstairs. She grimaced in the soft light spilling in through the window, rolling over to face the cracked door. With a slow yawn, she opened her eyes. The muted hum of voices trickled up the stairs from the outside hallway. She sat up and glanced over toward the opposite side of the room. She was alone. Only a neat pile of folded blankets beneath the window sill to indicate that anyone else had ever been there. Frowning, Korra tied back her hair and slid out of bed, padding to the door. Her bare feet made no sound on the wooden steps as she descended. But once she reached the bottom, some instinct caused her to pause. Sheng and Naku sat hunched over the bar counter, heads bowed in deep conversation. Amon was nowhere in sight. Korra slid back into the shadows, watching them.

"…something off about her. She's not giving us the whole story."

"Well, of course she wouldn't. We only met her yesterday."

"She's hiding something. Can't you feel it, Sheng?"

"Naku, give Noa the benefit of the doubt. If he says she's a nonbender, she's a nonbender."

"But she looks so familiar. Don't you see it?"

Sheng frowned. "Well… now that you mention it, she does share a striking resemblance to…"

But Korra never found out who Sheng found her to resemble, because at that moment a voice spoke from behind her, making her jump out of her skin.

"I'm sure Master Katara has told you it's rude to eavesdrop."

Korra swallowed a yelp, spinning around and stumbling straight into someone's chest. Amon chuckled as he caught her, without dropping the package he carried.

"Where were you?" Korra demanded, careful to keep her voice low so Sheng and Naku wouldn't hear.

He cocked an eyebrow. Then, without releasing her, he lifted the bundle in one hand.

"Sheng sent me to the marketplace for a supply run." His eyes swept her from top to bottom, taking in her disheveled clothes, her tousled hair and slightly drooped eyes. "Did you just wake up?"

Korra glared at him, and tried to pull away, but he only smirked at her and twined his fingers around her wrist, pulling her closer. She gasped at the proximity.

"Let me go," she rasped.

"On the contrary, I've got something to show you." In one fluid move, he looped an arm around her waist, tucking her against him in an inescapable hold, then turned and closed the distance to the bar in two quick strides, dragging her with him. Sheng and Naku looked up at his approach, but before she could mumble a greeting, Amon tossed the back of goods onto the counter and spun Korra about, pulling her towards the door.

"I'm taking Senna out for a walk," he announced over his shoulder, impervious to Korra's struggling. Even with one arm, he managed to overpower her.

"Doesn't she want breakfast?" Sheng called.

"She'll be fine," came the short reply. Korra opened her mouth to protest, but he was already shoving her out the door, his arm still closed around her waist. She wriggled in his grip, but he pulled her across the street and into an alleyway, finally shoving her up against the brick wall of a building.

"What's the big idea?" Korra demanded, managing to yank most of her body free, though he still held her in place with one hand on her arm.

"I need to talk to you."

"That's an awful lot of manhandling for just wanting to talk."

He ignored the heat in her tone, instead choosing to lean close. Dangerously close. Korra's heart fluttered. "You need to leave."

Korra blinked. "What?"

"I let you stay the night. Stay any longer, and you're putting yourself in danger. Do you have any idea who these men are?"

"I doubt they're half as bad as your Equalists."

"You're right. They're worse." At her glare, he pressed harder into her shoulder with the heel of his hand, causing her to grit her teeth. "You need to leave now, Korra. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. These men are just a few steps shy of figuring out who you are."

"What's so bad about that?"

He shut his eyes in frustration. "Imagine my Equalists. Without their adherence to code and fair play. With the same steel and scorn for the law as the Triads. Add to that a thirst for revenge against any and all Avatars to lay foot in this city, and you'll have a slice of who these people are."

For the first time, Korra felt a niggle of fear. "What… exactly, did you guys do before you went off and started the Revolution?"

He pulled back from her, releasing her shoulder to let her slump down the wall. "That is none of your concern. All you need concern yourself with is getting out of the city."

"I'm not leaving!" she blurted. "Not after what we saw last night! Lue's got his claws out for all the benders in Republic City. I won't leave them behind to fend for themselves against whatever new weapon he and Hiroshi have concocted. I'm the Avatar, Amon. That title may be mud with you, but to the world, I'm supposed to be the savior. I'm not abandoning anyone in their time of need."

"That's not what I meant."

Korra opened her mouth to let loose another barrage of justifications and arguments, when his words registered. "Wait, what? You're not going to force me to go?"

"Oh, you're going, all right. But listen. This new weapon of Lue's—I know what it is. And it's something far more horrible than any machine Hiroshi could have come up with."

Korra stared at him, waiting for him to continue. He turned his back to her, his shoulders tense, and ran a hand back through his hair. Korra tried not to follow the movement.

"Have you ever heard of a Tamashi Mageru?"

Korra frowned. "No. Doesn't that mean… soul twister?"

Amon turned back to her. His face was drawn. "The Avatar has nothing in its arsenal of experience to deal with a threat of this magnitude."

"Wait—what is a Tamashi?"

"Something that will turn the tides in this war. There's only one person I know of who could have knowledge of how to stop it."

"Where are they?"

He looked at her, his blue eyes shadowed. "The North Pole."

Korra stared at him. "Well then… let's go get them."

He laughed, but it was a tight sound. "It's not that simple, Avatar. She may not even still be alive."

"If she's our only chance to defeat Lue, we've got to find her. I need to know how to stop this Tamashi, whatever it is. We can take Naga—she covers ground in half the time it takes for a satomobile."

He folded his arms, regarding her. At least he hadn't turned her down yet. "And how to you propose to get across the arctic sea?"

"Same way I got to Republic City. Stowaway on a sea barge." At his raised eyebrow, she snapped, "Oh, don't tell me you're suddenly so fond of rules. Getting a free ride isn't half as criminal as the stuff you did with your Equalists.

He frowned at her for a moment, deliberating. "The White Lotus will want to know where you've gone."

Korra waved a dismissive hand. "I've run away for far longer periods than this. How do you think I got to see my parents growing up? They know I can take care of myself. Katara won't let them come after me. She trusts me."

He hesitated. "It may be our only option, if we want to stop Lue before he advances his plans."

"Good." Korra marched past him toward the street, but he caught her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"To tell Sheng and Naku," she said, tugging at his grip. He held her fast and shook his head.

"No. They'll want to know where, and why. We can't let them know."

"Why not?"

"They're dangerous. They support the Equalists, and they'd try to stop you. Then it wouldn't take them long to figure out who you are. And you don't want them learning that."

Korra grimaced. "You know, your friends don't seem like the sweetest guys. Fine. I'll go get Naga."

He released her. "I'll make up a cover story."

They left an hour later. As Korra didn't know how to get to the northern coast from Republic City, Amon sat in front on Naga's saddle, steering the polar bear dog through the hilly back roads behind the city. They'd left the looming skyscrapers far behind. The sky gleamed blue and clear, a few wispy clouds drifting by in the thin breeze. There wasn't a person or house in sight. Just the occasional rabbit-deer that scampered across the seldom traveled path.

Korra was finding it difficult to think. Pressed against his back, her arms wound around his middle, she couldn't help but register the taut muscles beneath his clothes, the warmth of him beneath her clasped hands. She tried to focus on something else, but it was hard with his scent invading her senses, his shoulders so near her face.

Unbeknownst to her, Amon was having a hard time of it as well. Every time the Avatar shifted behind him a rush of heat would surge across his abdomen. He wished she could just sit still, but that didn't fit Korra's personality, and they'd already been on the road for almost two hours. Finally, she gave up trying to increase the distance between them and rested her cheek against his shoulder with a resigned sigh.

"How much farther?"

Amon sighed. "We won't reach the coast in a day. We'll have to make camp somewhere near Desuta Creek."

She sighed and shifted against his back again, making him grit his teeth. "So who's this Tamashi lady anyway? Someone from your old village?"

"Her name is Haya," he replied. "She lived in the hut next door to my family's. She was a powerful bender, though she was never recognized by the Water Tribe council. Her methods were a little… different."

"Was she a Tamashi Mag—Mageru… whatever it is?"

"Yes. Though she practiced her bending in secret. She kept her power from the rest of the village. I believe I was the only one who ever knew her secret."

"How did you find out?"

"I followed her one day. She would always disappear into the pine wood behind the village, every day at high noon. I stumbled upon her in the middle of a training session."

He hesitated. Korra heard it in the subtle hitch of his breathing against her body. She tightened her arms around him. "What was it like?" she whispered.

"Terrifying," he replied, his voice low. "The most incredible thing I've ever seen." He paused. For a long moment, the only sound was the soft pad of Naga's paws against the dirt trail. "Korra, the Tamashi may be our only hope of beating Lue's forces."

It was the first time he'd used her name since he'd rescued her out on the ice behind the White Lotus. And she'd been in a groggy, half-conscious state then. Now, hearing her name in his deep voice, resonating against her body, she felt a shiver ripple through her. She bit her lip, heat filling her face. No doubt he'd have felt her reaction, pressed up against him as she was. Thankfully, he made no comment.

"This Tamashi," she whispered. "What does she do? What's this power that's so strong it can counter Lue's new weapon?"

Amon tilted his head back to meet her gaze. The look in his ice blue eyes made her blood run cold.

"Spirit bending."

Amon was infuriating the rest of the trip. Korra couldn't get another word out of him about spirit bending or whatever the heck it was that a Tamashi could really do. As much as she pestered him to tell her, he'd decided to clam up. Korra was seething by the time the moon had risen, the sun just a soft red gleam on the western horizon.

"We should stop here," Amon finally said, the first time he'd spoken in a good hour. Korra stared around at the bare hills, glowing silver in the moonlight. A single tree rose from the clear, casting eerie blue shadows over the thin grass, and Amon brought Naga to a stop beneath it.

"Here?" Korra asked incredulously. "Why can't we keep moving or something, until we reach a city?"

"There are no cities this far north. Not until we reach the port at the coast, and that's a good seven more hours away. No. We'll camp here for the night."

Sighing, Korra released him and slid to the ground, stretching her aching limbs. While Amon unsaddled Naga, she shifted into a bending stance and pulled up three slanted earthen walls from the ground, effectively shielding them from the main road and any chance of rain. It was big enough for the two of them and Naga, with room to spare. Amon turned back to her, and arced an eyebrow.

"Impressive," he acknowledged.

"Oh, that's not all I got." She smirked at him, then lifted her hands and ignited a tongue of fire over the ground at the entrance of the makeshift cave. It gleamed a brilliant gold against the dark night, flickering off the walls and sending sparks into the indigo sky.

Show off, Naga snorted, stepping over the fire to settle herself to the ground inside the stone tent mouth. Amon chuckled at her huffy grunt, and stepped around the fire into the cave.

"My thoughts exactly," he said.

Korra laughed. "What, so you speak polar bear dog now?"

"Fluently."

She smirked. "Fine." Naga grunted again, flicking her tail. "What's she saying now?"

With a straight face, he settled himself beside her, stretching out his hands to warm them over the floating flames. "That you should shut up and start breaking out the food."

Korra elbowed him, forgetting herself for a moment, then reached into the saddle pack to withdraw the dried rations Amon had brought from Sheng's store. Korra tossed Naga a strip of dried beef, which her friend gobbled down and was soon nudging her for more. Korra shoved her nose away.

"That's all we get till the Northern Water Tribe," she reminded her, patting her shaggy cheek. At Naga's reproachful look, she laughed, "Keep your teeth in your face."

Finishing their meager meal, Korra extinguished the flame and walked over to repack the saddle bags. When she turned back, Amon had leaned up against Naga's broad side and was watching her with an unfathomable expression. Korra hesitated. Usually she curled up with Naga on her trips away from the White Lotus. But the vision of cuddling up beside her arch enemy made her cringe. True, she'd already done it once, but she hadn't exactly had a choice then. But it didn't look like either of them were moving anywhere. Naga seemed entirely too comfortable with this ex-villain, resting her head on his knee and nodding off into peaceful slumber. Korra fidgeted longer at the mouth of the cave, pretending to examine the saddle bags.

"You going to sleep over there?"

Korra cursed. Why did his voice do that to her? She turned back to see him watching her with a slight crooked smile on his face.

"Come here," he said.

"No thanks." Korra settled herself against the saddle bags, using the soft leather mound as a sort of pillow. It was extremely uncomfortable.

Amon rolled his eyes. The cave's space was tight enough for him to reach easily across the space and grab her by the arm, pulling her across the ground toward him. Korra tensed.

"You know, for someone who's spent a thousand years learning to bend and adapt to the world's demands, you're quite stubborn. Naga's body heat is more than sufficient for the both of us."

Her stomach flip-flopped when he wrapped an arm around her, shifting his body beside her so that he lay half-curled around hers, propped up on one elbow beside Naga's warm side. To make matters worse, the polar bear dog grumbled in her sleep, and moved her broad neck to enclose Korra on the other side, trapping her in the uncomfortable position. Well—not entirely uncomfortable. Perhaps a little too comfortable.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Going to sleep," he replied, his voice infuriatingly matter-of-fact. When she wriggled in his grip, he only chuckled and held her tighter. "You know, this position didn't seem to bother you so much before."

"Sharing body heat in the middle of a blizzard is one thing. Sleeping like this when there's a very available polar bear dog for warmth is another."

"Ah, but this is so much more comfortable."

He was playing with her. She heard the blasted teasing in his voice as he toyed with her jumbled emotions. He'd always enjoyed throwing her off balance. This time, he was just using a different weapon to mess with her mind. Korra grit her teeth. It scared her how could keep her off balance with such ease.

Yet she remembered how startled he'd been when she'd kissed him, how his whole body had gone rigid when her hands traveled up to his hair. Even if he'd started this game, he'd sure been caught off guard. Korra felt a soft smile touch her lips.

Well, two could play at that game, she thought.

She rolled around in his embrace, meeting his eyes with a playful heat injected into her gaze.

"You know," she purred, walking her fingers up his chest. She felt him stiffen, and smiled inwardly. "Has anyone ever told you you're an exceptional kisser?"

He stared at her for a moment, his blue eyes widening. Then the corner of his mouth tipped upward, as if he knew exactly what she was doing. With a mischievous look in his eye, he slipped his fingers over her cheek and brushed a strand of hair back from her face.

"You're not the first, actually," he chuckled.

To her surprise, Korra felt a sudden heat flare across her chest. She blinked. Was she… jealous? By Tui and La! She couldn't be. Not of him. But before she could come up with some kind of smart retort, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Korra froze, too shocked to move. His lips were warm, and just as disarmingly soft as they had been the first time. Her mind floated away and for the briefest moment, she returned the kiss, closing her eyes and losing herself to the electrifying feel of his breath inside her mouth. After an immeasurable moment, he pulled back, his eyes twinkling with a smug kind of triumph that made her hate him all over again.

"Go to sleep," he commanded softly, gently rolling her over so that her back was to him once more. Korra stared at the back of Naga's sleeping head, her heart hammering wildly against her chest. He was going to pull something like that and then tell her to go to sleep? What was going through his head? Had he kissed her like that just to throw her more off balance? Or… had there actually been something behind it? No, surely there couldn't have. He was just playing games, messing with her mind in that twisted way of his.

Curse him. Curse him for doing this to her. Because as much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't ignore the slow burn in her stomach, the furious spider web of tingles spreading across her chest. She swallowed hard, gritting her teeth when she felt his breathing even out behind her, becoming deep and regular. Of course he'd meant nothing by it, he'd just fallen asleep without a care in the world. A hot surge of anger flushed through her. With one sharp move, she jabbed her elbow back into his gut, satisfied to hear a startled grunt of pain as she woke him. Wrenching out of his loosened arms, she stalked to the other side of the cave and dropped against Naga's opposite side, burying her face in her friend's coarse fur. She felt his gaze boring into the back of her head, but she didn't care. She just curled herself into a ball, tucking her body up underneath Naga's broad paw, and tried to ignore the burn of tears against the backs of her eyelids.