"Come on..." Laylee pleaded, her voice faint and scratchy. The unforgiving freezing wind whipped and gushed around her, the harsh gales throwing icy and stinging snow at her while she marched through the raging blizzard. The little purple creature's body was almost frozen stiff, her wings catered in a thin layer of ice that only weighed her down. She was pulling along someone else-her green chameleon friend—who had fainted almost fifteen minutes ago from the sheer freezing cold. With a wing around the chameleon's arm, tugging and pulling, she dragged him through the icy wasteland, leaving behind a path that was quickly covered again by freshly fallen snow.

"Yooka... come on." She repeated, looking down at her unconscious friend. Laylee stopped dragging Yooka, dropping his arm on his chest so she could rest for a moment. Rest as much as someone could in the middle of a blizzard. She shivered and spread her wings, gazing at the layer of ice that caked them. She could barely feel them and what she did feel was brittle and numbness. With an exhausted sigh, she tried to flap them. However, she couldn't get them to move strong enough to even get the ice to crack. Laylee groaned and looked around the two of them. She could barely see a few feet in front of her because of all the rushing snow. The bat couldn't even see the sky above them. She winced and clenched her eyes shut as the wind blew snow into them. Helpless to rub them, Laylee shook her head and sniffed groggily; the cold was starting to wear her out, and she had no idea where they were headed.

Taking a minute break, she grabbed hold of Yooka's arm again and continued her cold journey through the white mist, hoping that somewhere up ahead was somewhere warm. Somewhere she and him could warm up and wait out this brutal storm. Five more minutes pass, and the longer she dragged her friend through the snow the more she lost hope. Laylee was constantly sniffing now, the cold leaving her nose puffy and swollen and her entire body trembled. She turned to check on Yooka occasionally, who was still passed out on his back with no signs of movement. Still, she trudged on, pushing her strength to the limit even after she couldn't feel her body anymore.

After a couple more minutes, she suddenly tripped over a hard patch of ice, she found herself falling down a slippery hill, dragging Yooka with her. They continued rolling down until they landed into a thin bank of snow and ice. Laylee landed face down into the snow and Yooka landed a few feet away from her, sprawled out limply on his back. The bat didn't budge for a few moments, lying on the ground uselessly until she turned onto her side. Her eyes suddenly washed over with tears while she whimpered and cried loudly with exhaustion and hopelessness, the cold freezing her running tears to her cheeks.

"Y-Yooka... if t-this is a joke it isn't funny anymore." She sobbed, staring at the chameleon lying expressionlessly in the snow. The bat wept and dragged herself over to his side, looking down at him. She stared at him, tears leaving a trail of thin ice on her already frost covered fur. Out of frustration and desperation, she shook him with her wings; gently at first, but as he didn't respond she got rougher, shaking him until his head turned over onto its side.

She didn't know what to do. They always figured a way out together, but this time she felt alone and didn't know how she could possibly help. She wished the two of them hadn't come out here into this unforgiving place. They both thought it would have been fun, but now it was just a nightmare.

"Please... wake up." She begged, clenching her eyes shut and letting her head fall onto his chest. She tried to get up, but she had no strength left in her frozen and shivering body. The world felt so silent and cruel now. With her eyes shut, she could only hear the gales of wind and the snow it whipped at them, covering them in a thin blanket of white. It felt calming at the same time, as if preparing her for the slumber that her best friend had fallen into. The idea seemed nice, a little nap with her friend just like they did almost every day. Except... this one they wouldn't wake up from.

Feeling something in her chest swell and tighten at the same time, she opened her eyes and stared at her friend's snow covered face. She definitely didn't want to let them both go like this. She didn't drag him this far and continued to trek on just so she could give up. Laylee huffed and tried lifting herself up again, puffing her cheeks out. With the added effort, she managed to get onto her feet again, the wind making her a bit unstable but she managed.

With a moment to get her proper balance, the bat wrapped a wing around Yooka's arm and started again, feeling just like she had when she started this little adventure; determined and headstrong. She pulled her friend steadily through the snow, ignoring the painfully cold wind licking at her from all directions.

"I'm getting us out of here Yooka..." She said, hoping that somewhere in his head he would hear her. The two of them weren't going to let this storm overcome them. Even if he wasn't awake to help, she knew that he would be if he was. When the storm had started, he had held her in his arms to keep her warm and safe from the wind blowing her off his head. She had argued that she was perfectly fine, but he insisted and in his arms she stayed until he had blacked out on her. Now it was her turn to help him by bringing him to safety, no matter how out of reach it seemed.

"There better be some hot coco after this..." She joked, managing to make herself smile even as a cold wind whipped bits of ice into her face. She simply shook it off and trudged forward. The storm seemed to do nothing to falter her determination. It was just an obstacle that she had to overcome; that the two of them had to overcome. As she marched on—dragging Yooka in tow—a shape started to form. It was one of the icy spires that rose up out of the ground and looked like an arrow pointing towards the sky. Instinctively, the bat looked up and was relieved at what she saw.

"The clouds are breaking up..." She stared up through the parting clouds, showing a dimming and gloomy sky. The wind around them was calming, and the snow was starting to fall gently to the ground. Laylee was relieved and smiled widely, turning to her friend and sniffling.

"...We're almost out of the storm." She finished, smiling down at him and shivering again before she turned and continued to drag him. She hoped that his back wouldn't get messed up with all the dragging she put him through, but she didn't have any other way to move him. She couldn't lift him with her frozen wings and the wind would have blown her right down, as much as she hated to admit it.

The sky continued to clear up and the wind started to die down to a gentle calm breeze with the occasional gush of strong wind. As it cleared up, she could see farther ahead; more spires like the last one sticking up out of the ground and pointing up in different angles and directions. The sky had started to dim as night started to come, leaving it darker than when they were in the middle of a blizzard. Otherwise it was still snow and wasteland as far as the eye could see, it was already too dark to see far in the distance.

As it continued to clear up, the bat continued on. The sky had gone dark and the stars started to come out. The moon was now bright, casting a gloomy but magnificent glow across the sparkling white snow. Despite the chill, it was much more calming and it set her heart at ease. He looked down at her feet and stopped for a moment, lifting one up and shaking the snow off of them, switching until they were clean again. When she looked up she saw something that made her eyes widen.

It was a hill; a strangely shaped hill that seemed to rise up and drop suddenly. The bottom of it had a strange glow around it that lit up the snow with a bright and pretty teal color. However, it wasn't the shape or glow that caught her eye. It was the tree that sat on the highest point. It was a fully grown and gnarled tree, its branches decked out in thick pink leaves that almost looked like petals. As she got closer, she could see ice spires had formed on it from the snow and wind, giving it a flowing and spiky look. It sparkled brightly in the moonlight.

"...Wow..." Was all that Laylee could mutter as she gazed at the beautiful tree. Despite the freezing cold temperature, the tree still managed to strive and grow. Some of its roots were poking out of the snow covered ground. The bat dragged Yooka to the foot of the hill, looking up at it as if it were some kind of sign. When she looked back down, it turned out that the lake she thought was frozen was actually the opposite. It was actually the beginning of an ocean. The end of the cliff would drop off into the deep blue water.

Laylee was so entranced by the beautiful sight that she had completely forgot just how exhausted she actually was. The cold and her lack of energy making it hard for her to keep moving, but she knew that she couldn't stop here. Laylee turned to continue on when she felt a warm breeze against her cheek. Stopping to look around, she was hit in the face again with another warm breeze. Staring ahead, she saw a small tunnel that was partially hidden by icy spires. They were dripping and melting slowly, and when she went closer to investigate—leaving Yooka up against the side of the hill—she learned that the warm air was coming from the cavern. It was lit with the same teal light that the underside of the cliff was. It was lined with glowing crystals.

Smiling excitedly and thankfully, she quickly ran back and grabbed Yooka by one of his legs and pulled him towards the cavern. The ice on her wings had already started to melt off and she felt just how cold and numb she was. She pulled him into the beautiful tunnel, the warm air wrapping around them like a comforting blanket.

"I did it... we'll be okay now." She whispered exhaustedly, gently setting his leg down and slumping up next to his side, looking at her friends face. He looked pale and sickly from the cold, but the snow and ice had already melted off his body. Feeling that he would be alright, she looked in the other direction at his coiled tail. Reaching down, she scooped it into her wings and climbed up onto Yooka's belly, pulling his tail with her and laying down with his tail on her back.

She was too tired and groggy for words, simply closing her eyes and falling asleep against him, hoping that tomorrow when she woke up that he would be awake and well. For now... all she wanted to do was sleep and warm up. Before she knew it, she was out like a light, snuggled up to her friend and snoring.

Laylee awoke the next day feeling a bit groggy and sore, as well as a little uneasy. She felt like she wasn't touching the ground. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking over at the entrance of the cave. Squirming instinctively, she suddenly felt someone hold her sides firmly and give a light-hearted chuckle. Gasping she looked down to meet the blue-eyed gaze of her chameleon friend, who was holding her over his head.

"If you keep squirming I'm going to drop you!" He laughed before sniffling; trying to rest her on the usual spot on his head that she hung from while they walked around. His voice was a little strained and scratchy like hers, and his nose was blocked. Otherwise he seemed fine. The bat squirmed even more until she broke out of his hold and fly right into his face, clinging to it in a hug. He laughed and reached up, putting his small hands on her wings, his way of returning the hug.

"I don't know what happened, but... I know that you saved me. Thank you." Yooka whispered, letting her go.

"Well, I wasn't going to just let you turn into a colorful popsicle now was I?" Laylee retorted with a snicker, clinging to his face for a few more moments before flapping off and onto his head, holding onto him like she normally did.

"Just one more thing." She began.

"What's that?" He asked questioningly.

"Don't ever scare the days out of me again." She replied, biting onto one of the ridges on his head.

"Ow, ow. Okay!" He laughed and squirmed, trying to swat her away playfully until she let go.

"Well, turning into a popsicle is one way of putting what would have happened to me if I didn't have you on my back the entire time." He snickered.

"You'd probably end up tangled in your own tail."

"That was just one time!"

"And who had to help you get untangled?" She teased.

They both laughed and Yooka started to make his way out. Laylee noticed that the crystals had lost their glow, and looked like ordinary rocks, pointy rocks, and as they walked outside. She looked up to for the tree she had spotted. To her surprise all the pink leaves had gone, all that was left were buds on the thick branches. It looked like an old, tree in the middle of winter. Yooka looked up at Laylee and followed her gaze towards it.

"What is it?" He asked, staring at the gnarled tree with curiosity. There was a long pause as the bat stared at it, remembering how pretty it was when she saw it last night. After a moment she looked down at him and shook her head with a toothy grin.

"Nothing, but we should definitely come back here again sometime when there isn't a blizzard around." She replied, resting her head on top of his. The chameleon laughed.

"Maybe Trowzer has something that could help with the cold if we come back?" He suggested, starting to walk along the side of the row of spires until he rounded a clearing. Far in the distance—past some more spires and icy hills—they could make out higher ground, dotted with green; it was the jungle that they had come from. Laylee chuckled.

"The only thing I want when we get back is hot chocolate." She stated, jumping off of Yooka's head and taking to the skies with her wings, feeling much better now that she could fly again. It was still chilly out, but with the sun beating down on them from the clear skies above. Yooka giggled and took off after her, chasing her as they both started their travel back home excitedly.

"Hey, wait up!" He called after her with a chuckle. "I don't fly like you do!"

"You'll have to catch me if you can!" She hollered back playfully before they both started to laugh.