Late that night after everybody else was asleep, Heat carried Snow out into the cold air. The servants followed quietly, and they huddled around Heat as he opened a portal. They stepped through into bright sunshine, but there was less warmth than there should have been. Heat carried his brother across the base of the volcano and set him gently on a shelf of rock. Flurry spoke when Heat stood back.

"Sir, I don't think this is a good idea," he said, his voice shaking.

"I'm aware of your thoughts on the matter," Heat said. "But I have to try. It's the only thing we have left."

Cinder took Flurry's hand and pulled him close. Flurry glanced at him then bowed to Heat.

"If you think so, sir."

Heat nodded. "You all get to that island over there." He pointed.

"And you, sir?" Flurry asked.

"Don't you worry about that. Go."

The servants all turned and opened a portal to the island. Then they were gone. Heat looked down at his brother's face and shook him gently.

"Can you wake up for me, Snow?" he prodded. "We need to talk."

Heat grasped one of Snow's hands in his and he could feel his brother warming a little at the affection. Snow's eyelids fluttered then he opened his eyes and flinched at the bright light.

"Where are we?" he croaked.

"The Ring of Fire," Heat said.

"Where's Mother?"

"Sleeping."

"Flurry?"

"The servants aren't here. It's just you and me, blizzard brain."

Snow licked his lips and shivered. "It's so cold," he whispered. "It hurts so bad."

"Cold always hurts," Heat said, stroking his brother's hair. "Especially on the inside."

Snow looked away, stress appearing around his eyes. "What's your point, magma mouth?" he asked weakly.

"We need to warm you up, icicle."

"Mother's been trying for two weeks."

"She's going about it the wrong way," Heat said. "It won't work, Snow. You don't trust her with this." He paused. "You don't trust anybody with this, do you?"

Snow hesitated then shook his head. "No, lava breath."

"Tell me why."

Snow met his twin's gaze and tears gleamed in his eyes. "I can't."

"Why not?" Heat pressed.

"Because nobody can handle me like that."

"If I can handle your stupid jokes, I can handle anything you throw at me." Heat squeezed Snow's hand. "Now I want you to tell me why. I want you to get hot and angry. I want you to boil over. Blow your top, yell and scream and rage, Snow. I can handle it."

Snow hesitated, gazing at his brother's face. He saw tenderness and compassion in his eyes, and he squeezed Heat's hand tightly.

"I'm afraid," he whispered, and a tear slipped down his cheek.

"I know," Heat said, wiping it away. "Why don't you trust them?"

Snow didn't answer right away. He turned his face away and stared blankly at the volcano. "Mother wants me to smile all the time."

"I know. And that's stupid. Nobody can be happy on command," Heat replied.

Snow glanced at him, and his skin warmed a little under Heat's cold touch. Still, he held back. A shudder raced up his spine, and he cried out at the biting chill in his blood.

"Focus, frostbite, focus," Heat said. "Think hot, not cold. Out, not in. Tell me more."

Snow licked his lips. "It started small. I noticed that she scolded me differently than everybody else. When the winds threw a tantrum and tornados ripped across the world, she would calm them down. When Earthquake got into a fight with Lightning and Thunder, the storms and earthquakes were eased by her talking it through with them. When Aurora and the Tides raged, and the lights lit up the sky and the tidal waves crashed, they were told that it was okay to be mad and they were soothed. Even you, hothead, were allowed to make volcanos erupt. More than that, Mother encouraged it to be your outlet. But me…"

Snow clenched his fist, and his expression grew dark. His skin grew even warmer, and Heat was encouraged by his success.

"What did she tell you?" Heat asked.

"That I would disappoint her if I caused an ice age. It was always, 'Smile for me, Snow,' or 'Don't cause an ice age, Snow,' or 'You shouldn't get angry, Snow, because I can't handle you when you're angry, in fact nobody can, so you're not allowed to feel angry or sad or express that anything is wrong because it would disappoint me, so where's my happy boy, Snow?!'"

The temperature spiked suddenly, and a warm flush of red began to creep up Snow's cheeks. He was alight with anger and unshed tears gleamed in his silver eyes. For the first time in over a week, he was able to sit up, filled with energy as his core warmed. Heat watched, feeling the heat in his brother's hand grow and grow until he finally had to flinch away at a terrible flash of pain. He looked at his hand and saw that his fingers were slightly singed. The pain was welcome, and Heat looked up at Snow again. Snow looked worried, and he hesitated.

"And Father?" Heat asked.

Snow scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Father? What does he care about us? He's always working! When's the last time he showed he cared? Yes, he praises us for our accomplishments, but have you ever noticed he's never around when we actually accomplish things? He always looks back to see what he's missed, but that doesn't give us anything except the illusion that he's supportive!"

Heat had never considered that. Snow was flushed a dark red, and he was glowing again. A wave of oppressive heat crashed over Heat, and he wiped sweat off his face.

"I guess you're right, frost breath. I never thought of that." He paused. "What did North do? You seem very angry at him."

Snow stood up and began to pace, his mouth lifting into a sneer. "He said he'd help me calm down." He spoke low and quick, and the earth rumbled as the magma sensed his agitation. "I didn't know what a conniving worm he was back then. He seemed so genuine at the time. He took me to a secluded place and began to talk to me. But he only made me angrier. I tried to tell him it wasn't helping, but he told me to trust him, that we're brothers and brothers should trust each other. So I did. And then he pushed me over the edge, and I exploded. That's what caused the last ice age!"

Snow turned to Heat, his eyes crazed. "It was the last time, though. I was determined it would be. Mother was so angry at me, and she scolded me so badly and told me I had disappointed her. I wanted to tell her that North had baited me, had pushed me into it, but if I talked about it, that would make me angry again, and we couldn't have that. Mother was already so disappointed. So I said nothing. Nothing, Heat! Because I couldn't disappoint our dear mother!" He broke off with a sob, his face crumpling with raw pain as he hugged himself. "And that's when the cold started hurting," he whispered hoarsely.

He stopped and shuddered, and the ground below them groaned and shook. Heat stood up, preparing to run at the last second. He wouldn't leave until he absolutely had to. "Cold always hurts."

Snow nodded fervently, running his fingers through his orange-tinted hair. "Especially on the inside," he said in a dangerous voice. "When it got bad enough, I tried to talk with our siblings. I tried to tell them that I was cold inside because I didn't understand what was going on, and every single one of them dismissed me! 'You're supposed to be cold, Snow.' 'Why are you complaining, Snow?' 'I have better things to deal with, Snow!' None of them wanted to listen! None of them!"

The volcano belched smoke as the ground shuddered. The air was achingly hot, and ashes rained from the sky as Snow grew angrier. Heat leaned forward as Snow looked back at the mountain. Fear crossed his face, and he turned back to his brother. Heat could see the panic, the fear that he'd be told to stop, the desperation to be told that it wasn't too much for his brother.

Heat nodded. "Go on, Snow. What else?"

Snow hesitated as his gaze went back to the volcano. Suddenly, the ground stilled and the smoke stopped as Snow stood very still. For a moment Heat was sure his brother would implode again. Then Snow looked at him, and Heat was relieved to see tears pouring from his eyes. Snow's face twisted and he screamed, going to his knees and doubling over.

"I hate them!" he wailed. "I hate them, Heat! I don't want to see them anymore! All of those smug bastards who think that I have to be cold! I don't want to be cold anymore! I don't want to hurt anymore! God in Heaven, just make it stop!"

He grabbed his hair and shuddered from head to foot. The earth shifted violently beneath their feet and Heat flung open a portal to the island as his brother finally exploded. He crashed to the rocky ground of the island as the earth rippled from the release of pressure. The servants bolted over as he turned around to watch the eruption, and they all gazed in terror at the display. Lava erupted over a mile high, and that was impressive enough, but then Flurry grasped Heat.

"Oh," he whimpered, pointing at the second closest volcano. It began to erupt, too.

Heat looked around quickly. "Okay, we're in no danger here," he said soothingly. "Flurry, you and the others better not touch the water. You might want to leave."

"Absolutely not!" Flurry snapped.

Heat didn't argue as the ground heaved again, and more lava was sent high into the air. A terrible scream reached their ears, pained and frightened and so very angry, and they all shivered as they listened to Snow's screams. He didn't stop, and the cries of distress and rage only grew in volume and intensity as the world rocked beneath their feet. They watched without a word, and Snow wasn't the only one weeping by the end of it.

It took over an hour before Snow exhausted himself. The volcanos finally stilled and went back to sleep, and only then did Heat open a portal and step through with the servants to find him.

The lava had swept Snow into the water, and they found him curled up in a ball a bit offshore. His clothes were dark with soot, and he rocked back and forth, crying quietly into his knees. Tremors wracked his body, and he looked so very tired. Heat carefully stepped around splashes of lava and sat down beside his brother in the warm water. He wrapped an arm around him and was actually pleased when Snow flinched a little.

"Feel better?" Heat asked.

"I don't know," Snow whispered.

Heat reached over and wiped away a tear. "What say we go home, blizzard brain? You can warm it back up and then go to bed."

Snow glanced at him then looked miserably at the mess he'd made. "What about Mother?"

"Mother can go boil her head," Heat said. "This is her fault. You don't want to see her, right?"

"I don't want to see any of them," Snow said softly. "Not right now."

"Then you don't have to." Heat turned to the servants. "Go and collect our things then bring them home. We'll go ahead and warm things up."

They all bowed and teleported to Mother Nature's island. Heat helped Snow to his feet then portaled them back home. They noticed at once that the snow on Heat's half of the island was already starting to melt, and the breeze was no longer bitter. A dim glow came from the volcanos, and that was when Heat knew that his brother was going to be okay.

"A bit too chilly," Snow said quietly.

"Then heat things up," Heat replied.

Snow smiled, and he found it easy to touch the warmth of his core now. He raised his hands and gave the command for heat to obey him, and it actually did. His face lit up as the glow from the volcanos grew brighter and the snow began to hiss and sizzle away. By the time their servants stepped through the portal carrying their things, the island and all of nature was rebalanced. They all wilted with relief and walked along the barrier to the castles, Snow and the fire servants on one side, Heat and the ice servants on the other.

"Go wash," Heat said, reaching through to squeeze Snow's hand. "I think I need an ice bath. Then I'll be right over."

Snow met his eyes and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you, Heat. I mean it."

"Anytime, snow cone."

Snow smiled then allowed Cinder and the others to guide him into Heat's palace. Heat watched him go, then a small hand touched him. Flurry gazed up at him, his expression grateful.

"Thank you, sir," he said fervently. "I was sure it wouldn't work. But it did. And you have my eternal gratitude."

Heat shrugged. "I would do anything for Snow."

"I'm beginning to see that, sir," Flurry said. Then he straightened and became businesslike again. "Now, let's get you in that ice bath. You're far too warm."