Republic City 37 years earlier:

Shizuku stirred in her bed when she heard knocking on the bedroom door.

"Mom? I'm cold," came a small voice.

"I'll b, be right there," she replied. Frost clung to her breath, and she shivered as she stepped out from under her covers. Something must have happened to the power and shut-down the furnace. A peek out the bedroom window provided the answer. A raging blizzard howled outside the house all but obscuring the view to the yard.

"Mom?"

"I'm c, coming honey." She tossed a robe over her nightgown and went to the door. Nagato was shivering in the hallway with his stuffed dragon clenched in his hand and dragging on the ground.

"It, it really is cold isn't it," she smiled as she lifted the young, white-haired boy into her arms. He snuggled into her shoulder as she carried him to her bed and tucked him under the blankets.

"You w, wait here while I check on your sister."

Nagato nodded and snuggled further into the covers.

Down the hallway, Kazumi was sound asleep in her bed. Maybe it was because she was a Firebender that the cold hadn't woken her but, even if that was the case, Shizuku wanted everyone together until the heating problem could be resolved.

"Kazumi?" She gently shook the girl. "Can y, you come with mommy to her bedroom?"

The young girl fussed as she stirred but did reach up to allow Shizuku to carry her back to the bedroom.

Once the two children were tucked-in tight, she went to wake Mako. It was odd that he hadn't budged during the whole ordeal. She went to where he was curled up under a quilt on his cushion and shook his shoulder. "Mako. I, I think the power's out and the furnace isn't running."

He didn't move.

"Mako?" She shook him a bit more aggressively. He still didn't wake.

"Is something wrong with Daddy?" Kazumi asked.

"I, I don't know," Shizuku answered. He was still breathing, but it was extremely slow. Carefully, she reached under his blankets. His entire body was like ice, including his scales, and his heart beat was almost as slow as his breathing. Whatever was happening to him was outside her limited medical knowledge. Especially since he was half-spirit.

"B, Both of you come down here," Shizuku directed the children. They clambered out of bed and came to her side. "We're all going to sn, snuggle here with Daddy to keep him warm okay?"

"Okay." They both nodded and climbed onto the cushion the best they could. Once they were settled, Shizuku pulled all the blankets off the bed and piled them on top as she joined them. She didn't know what else to do. Hopefully, it would be enough to get them through the blizzard.

Present Day:

Mako squinted through the windshield of The Rampage as he tried to keep it on the road. While traveling on the western outskirts of the Earth Republic, they ended-up caught in a freak blizzard. In the distance, he could barely make out the lights of a town through the constant snow. If they could just make it there.

"Papa, I'm tired," Mari yawned from the backseat. The constant snow was making it difficult to know the exact time of day, but it was definitely too early to be sleeping.

"I know sweetie. We're almost there," he replied. "Koji. Go in the back and get her a blanket please."

"Yes sir." Koji clambered over the backseat and went to the storage containers. After some digging, he produced a blanket. Mari barely moved as he carefully wrapped it around her.

Meanwhile, Ryu sat in the passenger seat with Juji tucked into his winter coat. The iguana parrot wasn't built for such weather and he was doing his best to keep the bird warm.

"You don't look so good either Chief," he noted. The man looked equally tired, with dark bags under his eyes. "Maybe I should drive."

"Not in this weather. Just keep your eyes on the road and watch for the turn off," the Chief instructed through a wide yawn.

Ryu did as he was told and watched out the window. Soon, the vehicle began drifting over the center line.

"Chief?" He cautiously looked to the driver.

The Fetchling was dead asleep behind the wheel.

"Mako!" Ryu grabbed the wheel and cranked it to get back on track. Unfortunately, in his panic, he over-corrected. The Rampage veered off the right side of the road and plowed into a firm snow bank where it slammed to a stop.

"What happened?" Koji asked from the backseat. He was dazed but unhurt.

"I don't know. The Chief just fell asleep," Ryu answered. He gave the man a couple of good shoves. The Chief didn't even flinch.

Koji turned to Mari next and gently shook her. "Mari? Ma~ri…" The girl didn't respond. "She's passed-out too. What do we do now?"

Ryu reached over and cranked the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered but didn't turn. They must have buried it good. At least they still had electricity, for however long that would last.

He turned to Koji. "Do you know anything about Fetchlings?"

Koji shook his head.

"Why'd you even come along?" Ryu grumped. The other boy shot his tongue out at him in response.

Next, he shoved at his door. It didn't budge either.

"Can't you bend all the snow away?" Koji asked. "You are the Avatar".

"I don't know how to bend snow. If I tried, I might make it worse." It had only been a little less than a year since he'd discovered he was the Avatar. He didn't know the first thing about bending snow.

"Do another one of those vision things, like you did back at Mari's house," Koji said, as if it was easy.

"I can't control them. They just happen," he replied while he continued to shove his door. Juji angrily gurgled at him while he was unintentionally jostled. "You're not helping Juji," he scolded the bird. Eventually he gave-up on the door and sank in his seat with a frustrated groan.

"Guess we need to make a call. Hope we can get a signal out through all this snow." In case of an emergency, the Chief had made a list of contacts which was in the glove box. Ryu popped it open and scanned the frequencies on the list.

"This one…I think." He grabbed the radio and dialed in the frequency. After several seconds of static, a stern voice answered.

"This is the Fire Palace high priority line. State your business."

The Fire Palace? Koji silently mouthed the words.

"Shhh…" Ryu hushed him, even though Koji hadn't actually spoke.

"What's going on? Who is this?"

"I'm Ryu," he quickly answered. "I need to speak to someone named Aki?" Aki had been listed as the family doctor.

"Ryu? How'd you get this frequency? Are you pulling some kind of prank kid?"

"It's not a prank, and I'm not some kid," Ryu stated insistently. "This is important. Something's happened to Chief Mako."

There was a pause.

"Stay on the line."

The boys sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. They both jumped when the radio came back to life.

"What's this about Mako?" A stern, female voice stated. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Ryu promptly answered. "We were driving in a freak blizzard when he and his granddaughter suddenly fell asleep. We can't wake them up."

"A blizzard?! What were they doing out in a blizzard? Mako knows better," the voice snapped.

"Well, we weren't doing it on purpose lady," Ryu replied, becoming equally hostile. "That's why it's called a freak blizzard."

Koji gave him a disapproving frown. Probably not the best time to be arguing with someone they had called for help.

"Do you know what torpor is?" the voice asked through a volley of static. She didn't seem to care about his attitude.

At first, Ryu shook his head before remembering he was on the radio.

"No," he quickly answered.

"Torpor is a defense mechanism for, and don't correct me on this, dragons," the woman began. "If they're caught out in the cold too long, their bodies shut-down to conserve heat. Depending on how cold they get, it can last a few hours or a few weeks. Mako and Mari's unique physiologies make them susceptible to this as well."

That must have been what happened to the two Fetchlings. The Rampage wasn't exactly a sauna and, even bundled up with the heater on, it was still cold. And getting colder now that the engine was stalled.

"So what do we do?"

"You need to keep their body temperatures up as much as possible. The warmer they stay, the sooner they'll recover," the woman flatly answered. "Where are you? I'll send—"

The line went dead.

"There goes the power…" He replaced the radio on its hook.

"Wh—"

"I swear Koji, if you ask me 'what now' one more time, I'm going to punch you in the face," Ryu huffed. "Let me think." He looked at the two Fetchlings, his brow knit with worry.

"We need to get them in the back," he finally said. He reached over the Chief's lap and popped the door. The blizzard wind immediately ripped the handle from his hand and Juji squawked at the sudden cold.

"Sorry buddy." He zipped his coat up tighter around the animal before he scrambled outside. "We'll have to hurry."

Koji carefully squeezed past Mari and joined Ryu on the road. Together they managed to drag the Chief from his seat. Ryu carried the Fetchling's shoulders while Koji lifted his legs and tail.

"Man he's heavy," Koji commented.

"Make sure to keep his tail out of the snow," Ryu grunted as they carried the man to the rear of the vehicle. They hoisted him up the few steps and laid him down on the floor.

"Good. Now let's get Mari."

Koji took the lead and hefted the girl onto his back piggyback style. While Koji took care of Mari, Ryu made sure all the doors were sealed tight.

Once they were closed in, they grabbed all the blankets they had, and a large tarp, and covered the Fetchlings.

"I'll be able to Firebend for a little while, but I don't know if I can outlast this blizzard," Ryu said and bent a ball of flame over his hand. He expanded it as large as he dared in the confined space to generate some extra heat.

"Maybe if you use that to warm them, they'll wake up," Koji suggested. It was worth a shot. Ryu went to the Chief first and slowly passed the flames over his body. The Fetchling didn't stir. Ryu continued all the way to the tip of tail that poked out from beneath the blankets. Several wisps on the furry tassel caught in the flame. Soon, a large chunk of the fur was burning. The boys cringed and Ryu quickly snuffed out the fire with his hands.

"He won't notice that right?" Ryu said as they looked down at the remains of the decimated fur, charred black from the flames.

"I'm glad it's you and not me, man," Koji replied.

Ryu decided not to try again. Instead, the pair settled themselves on the floor while the howling blizzard outside filled the quiet.

"You know…In this one mover I watched. There was this couple that got stranded in a cabin during a blizzard and had to…ummm…" Koji nervously rubbed the back of his head. "They had to…"

Ryu didn't need Koji to finish. He knew where the train of thought was going.

"Let's move them as close together as we can. You take Mari and I…" He looked towards the older Fetchling and inwardly shivered. "…I guess I have the Chief. But I'm not taking my clothes off!"

"What? No way man. I wasn't saying that!" Koji rebuked him. "It was only in the mover!"

"You and your movers…" Ryu huffed. "Your parents know you're watching stuff like that?"

"Shut up! I didn't know that was going to happen," Koji replied, denying the implied accusation. They exchanged aggravated glares before turning their attention back to the two Fetchlings.

Koji wrapped his arms tight around Mari, while Ryu flopped himself onto the Chief's side, and they huddled together under the blankets. To top everything off, Ryu pulled the tarp over all of them. Juji squabbled from inside Ryu's jacket where he had nearly been crushed.

"Don't get all mad," Ryu scolded the bird as he pried it from his coat. "You can climb under the blankets with the rest of us."

Juji sulked a moment before tucking himself around his neck instead.

While Ryu rested on top of the Chief, visions suddenly blasted him. A man dressed in a trench coat being attacked by a shadowy dragon-eel spirit. That same man, now a tentacle-armed freak, attacking him. A younger Chief on his knees, his tail lashing behind him as he screamed in pain.

"Are you having visions now?" Koji asked when he noticed Ryu clutching his head.

"Korra couldn't fix him," Ryu absently responded. His eyes fell to the Chief's horns. "She tried to fix him and she couldn't. She was too focused on the physical parts. She still feels guilty."

"What are you talking about?" Koji asked with a confused sneer on his face.

Ryu came back to reality.

"Huh?…What? Nothing. Nothing that can help get us out of this mess anyway," he frowned.

"Do you think we all get reincarnated like the Avatar?" Koji suddenly mused.

Ryu shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think about those things."

"I wonder if I was a good person or a bad person in my previous life…"

"Probably a good person." The honest answer slipped out earning him an odd look from Koji. "Or a pig chicken." Ryu quickly corrected, adding the appropriate grunting noises. Playful hazing was the main nature of their relationship after all.

He turned his attention back to the Chief.

"I'm gonna fix it," Ryu whispered to himself. He knew Mako hadn't asked to be half-spirit, so he was going to accomplish what Korra couldn't. It was the least he could do for his adoptive father.

Without much else to do, they eventually dozed off.

Mako yawned as he stirred. Trying to push through that blizzard had been a mistake. He should have stopped as soon as they hit it and taken the proper precautions. Hopefully, everyone was okay and he hadn't been out too long. He took a moment to get his bearings and quickly realized he was on the floor of The Rampage with an odd pressure on his side. Across from him, Mari was also on the floor, sound asleep, with an arm wrapped around her waist. From where he was laying, he couldn't tell which boy it was, but he definitely didn't like it. An angry scowl covered his face.

"What's going on?" he firmly stated.

The boy behind Mari immediately popped up and the pressure on his side instantly vanished followed by a squawking noise.

"I swear I wasn't doing anything sir!" Koji yelped as he quickly scooted away from Mari, dragging the tarp with him.

"About time you woke up."

Behind him, Ryu was on the floor with Juji on his head. He was yawning as he wiped sleep from his eyes.

"Papa…?" Mari was the last to wake. "Why are we on the floor?"

There was a lot of explaining to be done on both sides.

Koji's transgressions were quickly forgiven considering the circumstances, but Mako made it clear that they wouldn't be soon forgotten. He also forgave the burned tail fur since it was an accident, although he did hide the fact that he was a little upset. He wasn't excessively vain about his tail fur, but he did try to keep it looking nice.

"And that happens when we get too cold?" Mari asked, after hearing his explanation. It had never happened to her before. Blizzards that extreme were rare in Republic City.

"Next time I promise to be more careful," he said and gave her a hug. Despite having raised her, there was still a lot he hadn't told Mari about her unique heritage. It was part of the reason he had brought her along on this expedition. "And don't tell your grandma," he finished. Shizuku would have his horns mounted if she found out how careless he had been.

"Now, let's go have a look," he finished and lead the group outside.

The blizzard had since stopped and the waning sunlight reflected off the fresh snow and exposed parts of The Rampage.

"You really sunk her good Kid," Mako said as he assessed the damage from the side of the road.

"You're the one that fell asleep at the wheel!" Ryu retorted. He wasn't about to take responsibility for crashing their ride.

The entire right front of the vehicle was hanging off the road completely covered by snow. They couldn't even see the tire. The wind from the blizzard had also made large drifts that blocked the passenger side doors.

"Now that's two things you've crashed Ryu," Mari giggled.

"Hey! Who's side are you on?"

The other teens shared a chuckle.

"Let's get her out of there. Ryu, help me melt the snow," Mako said.

The two Firebenders went to work melting the snow away from the vehicle. Mako was being especially careful and curbed his flames so he wouldn't accidentally melt anything important. Several passing vehicles did slow to offer assistance but, as soon as they saw the two Fetchlings, they took-off. Mako was used to such treatment but he saw that it hurt Mari. He was certain she understood why it was happening, but understanding didn't make it easier.

After everything was cleared, they addressed the second problem. Getting the large vehicle back on the road.

"Koji. Can you bend the ground under the snow to get her level?" Mako addressed the Earthbender.

"I'll try," Koji replied with a nervous gulp. The boy was clearly hesitant to go near him after what had happened. He went the long way around and anxiously inched to the front of the vehicle. It took several tries, but he was eventually able to shift the ground beneath the front tire. The Rampage bounced on its suspensions as it was righted, and cheers of triumph came from the others.

"Nice job." Mako had managed to sneak-up behind Koji and gave him a congratulatory pat on the back.

"Thank you si—r!" Koji nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized how close the Chief was to him. Even though his earlier actions had been forgiven, he wasn't completely convinced the Fetchling wasn't secretly planning his demise.

"We still have a problem though," Ryu shouted as he cranked the key in the ignition. "Battery's dead."

Mako walked to the driver's side of the vehicle. "Come with me and I'll show you a trick," he said.

Ryu hopped out and followed the Chief to the front. The Chief then propped the hood open and took several steps back.

"Since you're a Firebender, and the Avatar, there's a good chance you can bend lightning." He rotated his arms and summoned electricity from the air. "Mari. Start the truck please."

"Yes Papa," came the immediate reply.

While Ryu watched, Mako bent the lightning down his arms into the battery terminals. There were several clicks before the engine finally roared to life.

"Whoa!" Ryu gasped.

"Comes in pretty handy if you ever need to jump a car," Mako smiled as he carefully slammed the hood shut.

"I bet that works way better than trying to hot-wire," Ryu said excitedly.

Mako's amused smile turned into a skeptical frown.

"I mean…if I ever. Maybe we should get back on the road, right Chief? Long ways to go." Ryu marched decidedly back to the passenger side of the vehicle.

Although the blizzard had been an inconvenience, the forced stop meant they could also skip the town. No need to expose themselves in a strange area if they didn't need to. Less chance of being recognized or discovered. It all worked out in the end.