Note: Sorry for the longest break I've ever taken from this fic. For one, I was stressed out over finals and simply didn't have the time. Secondly, I've been dealing with some junk that has made it really hard to do the things I love like writing. Hopefully I'll be back in business. I know that this chapter is fairly weak despite the fact I did a lot of work to outline it. I just hope that the next chapter will be better. Thanks for all of you that read this.

Hahn leaned back in the leather seats of his Satomobile. He stroked Ulva's hair and pulled at it absentmindedly. He looked at Noatak who sat in silence, never looking back at him. The corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction. No one could say that he was smiling. Smiling would hint at something other than the sadist plans. He worked forever to get to this point of his life. He had everything in his hands for him to take. Something about years of toiling under the thumb of others made him desperate to prove everyone what true power really looked like. The car stopped in front of the palace, still sleeping and unaware.

"Nanuq, are you ready?" Hahn said.

"Of course," Noatak said.

"You will meet up with everyone in the main hall. Bring the chief," Hahn said.

Noatak nodded and looked at the outside where a few of the guards knelt before Hahn while others were already killed. Some were killed mercifully, and others were bled to death. Noatak entered in the palace where guards stared at him cautiously. He wondered where the rest of the royal family was. Hahn grasped at Noatak's shoulder and looked at the great murals of the entryway.

"The chief sleeps in the west wing of the palace," Hahn said.

In the shadows of the palace, Noatak stalked. He breathed slowly to calm his body. He remembered doing this before every meeting, rally, and fight as Amon. If he breathed deep and slowly enough, his body would enter in a state of pure relaxation. Noatak believed that all mistakes were made in states of panic and desperation, and he needed to make this as perfect as possible.

Guards stood in front of the west wing. In simple movements, Noatak chi blocked them into a state of temporary paralysis. As he entered the wing, he studied the long doors with their carved reliefs of the Water Tribe myths. He stopped in front of the one that depicted Princess Yue turning into the moon. His hand pressed on the forehead of the princess, and as he pressed on it, the door suddenly opened.

"Come," Iluq said.

Iluq was dressed in her sleeping gown with Chu sitting on her bed in sleeping pants and a tunic. The wind blew through as Iluq pulled Noatak into her bedroom chambers. She looked outside of her bedroom and locked the door. She spoke a little incantation in front of the door before returning to sit on the bed with Chu.

"What was that?" Noatak said.

"A prayer to Yue. She protects this room," Iluq said.

"What are you even doing here?" Chu asked.

Noatak took a seat on the chaise lounge in front of Iluq's bed. His fingers played around with the fringe on the decorative pillows that lay next to him.

"There is a plot to kill the chief tonight," Noatak said.

"You are not killing my father," Iluq said.

"No, but we need to find a way to keep him safe," Noatak said.

"Is there even a way to get him out of this palace?" Chu said.

Iluq shrugged and looked at Noatak.

"You would know," Iluq said.

"I don't know this palace at all. I doubt I can do this without risk of getting someone killed," Noatak said.

Chu sighed and took Iluq's hand in his. He stared at their hands for a while until he looked back at Noatak. He hesitated to even ask who put him up to this task, but somewhere in his mind, he knew exactly who. Chu denied this for the longest time. He knew the rumors about him and whether or not he was even his parents' child, but he always shrugged off the differences between he and the rest of his family. Of course, Chu couldn't ignore how Ulva smiled at the sight of blood, his mother's indifference to this, and his father's encouragement of things Chu felt was simply immoral. He was far from his parents' favorite child. Everything he did felt like a large disappointment for his parents. Chu's career in the military was all for the approval of his father and the legacy his forefathers brought. He initially agreed to the idea of courting Iluq simply because his father suggested it. Chu heard about the strangeness of Iluq, and initially, they spent their dates in silence. Then Chu took the time to prattle endlessly because he wanted someone he could just talk to without the sting of judgmental attitudes. Then one night, she smiled and said, "That sounds lovely Chu", and he knew that they were going to be married.

"Can I ask you something?" Chu said.

"Yes," Noatak said.

"…Who is doing this?" Chu said.

Noatak grinded his teeth a bit. He looked at Chu who looked more worried the Iluq.

"Councilman Hahn," Noatak said.

Chu swallowed and scratched his head.

"Thank you…" Chu said.

"It's Noatak," Noatak said.

"Huh? But you said…"

"That's my real name."

"Okay Noatak, what are we going to do?"

"We have to get the chief out of here. Or at least make it seem like I've incapacitated him in some way."

"There might be some passages," Iluq said.

Iluq already got up and pressed at the wall beside her bathroom door. The wall sank in to reveal passageway.

"This goes to my father's room," Iluq said.

Chu and Noatak followed behind Iluq inside the cramped passage to the chief's bedroom. Iluq pushed against the stone until light seeped in from the chief's room. On the balcony, Unalaq stood facing the wind and shedding a tear. He turned around as Iluq, Chu, and Noatak stumbled from out the passage.

"Good evening," Unalaq said.

"Chief Unalaq, there has been a plot tonight to assassinate you tonight," Chu said.

Unalaq nodded and then looked at Noatak. Iluq stood in front of Noatak and guarded him from her father's curious eyes. Still, Unalaq sensed the familiarity of this man.

"Father, this is Noatak. He's going to get you out of here," Iluq said.

"It is alright Iluq. I will be fine. He doesn't have to do anything for me. I am prepared to die for the people," Unalaq said.

"Excuse me Chief Unalaq. I don't know you, but I know Korra would want you to get out of here," Noatak said.

Unalaq smiled and looked into Noatak's eyes.

"Ah… You're the father. I didn't expect you to be so… mature," Unalaq said.

Noatak nodded before Unalaq went straight to him to hug him. Noatak felt crushed underneath Unalaq's arms. Unalaq stepped back from the embrace and returned to his bed. Chu stepped out- almost as if he needed to scream and explode there. He needed to not feel so helpless- like his father still had strings connected to his back to move in every which way he wanted. Chu wanted to be a free man with his own ideas of what it meant to be Water Tribe- not belittled and unsure if his father approved.

"Chief, we need to get out of here!" Chu said.

"We have no plan. We might as well just go out there and get him killed," Noatak said.

Unalaq cleared his throat. He sat up straight on the edge of his bed and played with the furs.

"I'm prepared to die," Unalaq said.

Noatak shook his head and folded his arms. He couldn't just let the chief march into suicide- not when he knew Korra would do anything to save her uncle. He could ask Iluq and Unalaq whether or not the rumors of the underground tunnels were correct, but then it dawned on him. The Spirit Oasis was one of the few weaknesses in the palace. Though amply guarded, it was easy to sneak into the oasis given its proximity to the sewers and ancient waterways that were no longer in use. One could get to the outskirts of the city via those waterways if one were familiar with their paths. The only thing about getting to the Spirit Oasis was that its path from the palace was open- leaving anyone exposed.

"Is there an easy way to get to the Spirit Oasis and be unseen?" Noatak said.

Chu's eyes lit up. He looked at Unalaq who was paused in his pondering.

"Possibly…" Unalaq said.

"If we can get to the Spirit Oasis, I can get us out of here," Noatak said.

"That's perfect," Chu said.

"It's anything but that. There are how many guards in this palace? A hundred? That's being conservative. Then there are at least fifty men who identify themselves as being White Squall," Noatak said.

"White Squall?"

"They're a group lead by Councilman Hahn that intends on taking over this nation and then attacking the United Republic," Unalaq said.

"Is that true?" Chu said.

"Yes," Noatak said.

"So what are you doing then?" Chu said.

"I've been turned into Qilaq's whipping boy," Noatak said.

"Qilaq has you spying?" Unalaq said.

"Not by choice, but yes. I have only been to a few of the meetings," Noatak said.

"But you're here. Meaning you're talented. My father doesn't surround himself with people he sees as useless," Chu said.

"Be that as it may, I don't have nearly enough talent to get us to the oasis and out of this city," Noatak said.

"Well… we're not getting any closer sitting here," Unalaq said.

Unalaq stood up and kicked a rug away. Underneath the rug was a trap door. Unalaq lifted the door and climbed in. He motioned to Iluq and carried her down. Chu and Noatak jumped in after Unalaq. The smell of dank rock filled crammed tunnel. They all crouched awkwardly and wadded into darkness.

"Do you know where this leads?" Chu asked.

"To the Spirit Oasis… These tunnels were built for escape. My father was paranoid to say the least," Unalaq said.

As they walked further into the tunnel, the air became repressive with its growing humidity. Light slowly gathered to the tunnel, and the roaring waterfall could be felt in the walls. Unalaq dropped in first into the oasis. He bent the water from the waterfall to lower the rest down. Noatak stepped onto the bright green grass for the first time since he had traveled back to the Northern Water Tribe. He wondered if the spirits had always intended on him to sneak in and out of one of their sacred treasures. More than that, he was reminded of how uncomfortable he always felt sneaking into this place. Tonight was no different as he made his way to the waterfall. Iluq and Chu followed him beneath the waterfall where Noatak dove into the pool. Iluq turned around to look for Unalaq. She saw him standing in front of the pool where Tui and La swam in infinite. Before she could break away from Chu's grip, Desna, Hahn, Ulva, and a few of the royal guards stormed into the oasis. Desna bloodbent Unalaq to his knees and froze him into place.

"Father… I see you're here to join us," Desna said.

Ulva bent the water from the waterfall and swept Iluq, Chu, and Noatak in its current. She froze them beside Unalaq. She smiled and licked her all too sharp and pointed canine teeth. Hahn pushed Ulva aside and walked to Noatak. His fingers crept around Noatak's jaw before they swept to his forehead. His forefinger pressed into Noatak's forehead.

"Not like this… You did it… more like this," Hahn said.

Hahn circled around and placed his one hand at the base of Noatak's neck while his other hand positioned itself over his forehead again.

"It's too bad that I'm not nearly as talented as you are. I would certainly pluck your bending if I could… It does no good to have people more powerful than you around," Hahn said.

"So what do you think of the Avatar then?"

Korra emerged from the entrance of the oasis. She pulled off her Blue Spirit mask and smirked as she made her stance.