"I don't get it." Korra asked, "Why are you helping me now?"
Noatak paused in hesitation, half wondering the same thing himself. Was it because he was reviled at the thought of his own people locking up the Avatar? Or the fact that it was his father who had ordered it? Yakone had never revealed what he had planned to Korra, but from what he gleamed so far from his father's demeanor, he could guess that it was nothing good.
But then again, it could have also been the advice that Iroh had imparted on him back at the Palace. It made him realize something.
The Avatar was still torn from having deserted the Fire Nation, and he knew back from their fight at Gaoling, that Korra's parents were at the root of it. Similar to a ship and an anchor, as long as the warden had her parents held prisoner, Korra would never be free, and that, he reckoned was what was holding her back from her water bending. It was the last thing she needed to conquer and overcome if she needed to master the element of change.
"Let's just say, I know what we need to do to help you start waterbending." Noatak replied. "And it starts with freeing your parents."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Korra responded. She didn't care much for the water bending part so much as freeing her parents.
"Let's get her out of here." Noatak nodded to Tarrlok, and in one swift motion, both brothers sliced through the wooden bars with a quick slash of waterbending, freeing Korra from her cell.
Just as Korra was about to spring up and join the brothers in their escape, someone called out to them from one of the adjoining cells.
"Wait."
A voice from the corner of the prison froze all three of them instantly, and from the shadows, they watched quietly as a tall, foreboding figure walked up to the bars of his cell, clutching it tightly.
"I hear you're planning on freeing the Avatar's parents." The figured walked out of the shadows, revealing the faint scar that covered his left eye. "If that's the case, you're going to need my help."
"Zuko?" Korra instantly recognized the voice and face. "What are you doing here?"
"Chief Unalaq locked him in here as soon as we landed in Yue City." Noatak explained.
That didn't surprise Korra. Ever since Zuko revealed himself to the resistance in the Earth Kingdom, everyone had been on edge around the former prince. But this was the same man who had risked his life to save her from the cave in, as well as backing her up in her fight against that crazy Earth Kingdom General. More than that, how can they treat him like this knowing that he was Iroh's nephew?
Tarrlok too, seemed to sense Korra's hesitation. "Do we take him with us?"
For Korra, it was an easy answer. "Of course." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "We could use the extra firepower."
"He's a former prince of the Fire Nation," Noatak replied with hostility, never taking his eyes off Zuko, "And you probably don't know this Korra, but he betrayed Avatar Aang. If anyone is to blame for the state of the world today, it's this man."
Zuko seemed to cringe slightly at having his past misdeeds mentioned, he bowed his head slightly in regret.
"It was a different time."
Korra frowned, wondering what to make of all this. Zuko seemed genuine enough in his remorse, but Noatak was pretty adamant in his judgment of the Firebender.
"It's too risky." Noatak concluded, "Who knows if this whole thing isn't some sort of trick."
Zuko, visibly annoyed with all the constant accusations, responded. "Believe me, if this was all part of a plan, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you right now; I'd be taking you down."
