The new day dawned on Motunui. Moana was jerked awake by Sina shaking her arm. If the shaking wasn't enough, the urgency in Sina's voice was certainly sufficient to bring Moana to full consciousness. "Moana, we need you."

Moana sat up with a start, as she did so the blankets fell from her shoulders. "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed, pulling them back over herself as a blast of freezing air surrounded her bare skin. "What . . . Mom, what's going on?"

Wordlessly, Sina pulled Moana to her feet and guided her to the entrance of the hut, pulling aside the entrance tapestry. Moana gasped in alarm. Everything before her, the shore, trees, greenery . . . everything was covered in a thick blanket of white powder. "What is this stuff?" She gently dipped her toes into it, alarmed by the cold wetness that met her. "It's some sort of frozen water?"

"Snow," Sina said. "I've never seen it myself, but I've heard of it. This has to be it."

Moana continued to gaze at all around her. She knew her mother was waiting for a response, an answer, some direction. She stood in silence, wringing her hands desperately. What do I do? If you were here you'd know what to do. Angrily, she pushed the thought from her mind. She was Moana of Motunui, she didn't need Maui's help.

"I think I should seek out Te Fiti," Moana said softy at long last. "I don't know what's causing this, I don't even know if she can help. But maybe she'll have the answers we need." She straightened up, adopting what Maui had always referred to as her "Bossy-Pain-in-My-Butt" voice. "Have Lasalo's men ready my canoe. I'll leave at once." Sina nodded wordlessly and left in a flash, leaving Moana to her thoughts.

"You big demi-godly idiot," she grumbled. "It would be nice if you'd be 'hero to all' right now."

Few came to the shore to see Moana off as she boarded her canoe, the cold too intense to be outside longer than a moment or two. Moana had done her best to bundle up, wrapping rags around her feet and several blankets about her shoulders. Her efforts brought her little comfort; she shook with the freezing temperatures as well as her nerves. What if Te Fiti offered no guidance? Her people could not withstand this cold for more than a few days at most, not too mention that this had all but eliminated every method of food cultivation they had.

Lasalo squeezed her shoulder briefly, trying his best to align his features in a reassuring smile. He failed miserably. "Be safe," he murmured, adjusting the rigging on her canoe one last time.

"I will," she squeezed his hand in thanks. While her pulse didn't quicken when she was with him, Lasalo was nonetheless a comforting presence to her. A fleeting thought jumped through her mind: I can get used to this, I guess.

Before she could ruminate on this any further, her mom climbed aboard the canoe and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Find him, Moana," she whispered into her daughter's hair. "We need his help now more than ever."

Moana stiffened at the thought. "I don't need his help, Mom. I can do this without him. He made it quite clear how he felt about me . . . and our people." Sina sighed, hugging Moana just a bit longer before stepping wordlessly off the canoe.

Her fingertips numb, Moana shoved off from the shore, her sails billowing in the strong wintery wind. Please, Te Fiti.

"Okay, here's the thing Tiny, I swore to myself I would never see Moana again after that last disaster." Maui had been pacing back and forth inside his cave all night, debating whether or not he should make the trip to Motunui to see what the heck was going on with Moana and the snowflakes. Little Moana continued to shiver on his chest, getting worse over time, and snowflakes continued to fall around her. He was terrified of what that could mean. There was only one goddess who could make that occur.

Little Maui tapped his foot impatiently, pointing at Moana in earnest. Are you really going to let her suffer?

"She'd suffer more if I showed my face."

Do you really think she's forgotten about you?

"I'm hoping she's moved on by now. What's it been, two years? Come on, she's cute. The village guys are probably lining up with betrothals by now." While he tried to say it nonchalantly, he felt a pang in his chest. Little Maui must have felt it too, because he lifted an eyebrow up at him.

You thought you'd save yourself and Moana some pain by leaving, yet all you've done is cause more harm. How long are you going to keep running?

How long indeed.

Sina shivered beside the raging fire at the center of the ceremonial hut, the villagers all gathered within it to keep warm. They ate what little food they had stored, although a rationing system had been put in place to stretch out whatever they had. They had a week at most foodwise, but if the weather continued on like this they'd be more likely to freeze to death than starve.

A hulking form burst through the entrance to the hut, panting heavily as his eyes darted around the room hastily. "Moana? Where's Moana?"

Sina quickly rose to her feet. "Maui!" She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside. "Where have you been?"

He couldn't think straight, panic rising in his blood as he continued to look around the room. He could barely believe his eyes as he made landfall at Motunui; it had been completely overtaken by snow and ice, hardly recognizable from the tropical paradise he had known.

"Sina, where is Moana. Is she on Motunui?"

"No," Sina replied. "She left yesterday morning for Te Fiti to figure out what's been going on."

Maui's eyes widened in horror. "She went alone?"

Sina's brow furrowed. "Yes, not that it's irregular for her."

"I have to go, I'm going after her," Maui turned to leave, but Sina's arm stayed in place on his arm.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know," Maui said. "But she could be in grave danger." With that, he ran back toward the shore, transforming into a hawk as he reached the water's edge.

He just hoped he would reach Moana before Poli'ahu did.