Tommy couldn't point out the exact moment where everything went wrong with his life. Being born seemed too early of an answer, especially since his childhood wasn't bad. Leaving with Wilbur, Tubbo, and Fundy to start a country wasn't accurate since Tommy had some good times within that country. It was definitely before the elections, though, because things were terrible at that point. Everything continued to get worse after that point in history. It could have been winning independence, but that time wasn't particularly good or bad since Tommy was busy working in Wilbur's legislation while everyone else partied. Tommy wondered if everything could have been averted had he been a party animal instead of a somewhat responsible Vice President. No, Wilbur had been losing his mind even though everyone, especially Tommy, had been in denial, so it was before independence was won that things went bad. But what was the turning point? Tommy came back to the argument that his birth is what caused trouble for the world. Maybe if Wilbur and Techno had a Mother to, y'know, be a Mother to them, a lot of this could have been avoided.

Whatever the case, Tommy was standing in the tundra with his Dad's original wife hovering above the ground in front of a house that held within its walls the people Tommy loved, respected, and distrusted the most. Tommy thought the situation was hilarious. Imagine: he was in his Mother's domain with the woman that his Dad had been married to at the time of his conception. Tommy was the reason Kristen left in the first place, and he was the one that was bringing her back from the realm of the gods. Tommy found lots of humor in this situation, and yet he couldn't laugh if he wanted to. He could barely breathe with the heavy weight sitting on his lungs.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready, Tommy," Kristen spoke softly. She knew it was risky to be in Skadi's realm, but Kristen had come back from her divine prison in order to protect Tommy. She wanted him to make amends with his Dad and half-brothers, but Kristen wouldn't force Tommy to do this if he felt he wasn't prepared mentally. Tommy was her priority for the time being. The other gods had allowed her to be with him. She wasn't allowed to reconcile with her family until Tommy did his. Kristen wanted nothing more than to see her husband and sons with her own eyes. She could, however, wait for Tommy to feel ready. Kristen lived for hundreds of years. Out of all the words to describe her, patient would be an easy comparison. Kind might be another considering what she was sacrificing for Tommy's mental health.

"That's the fucking thing... if I don't do this now, it will never happen again. They will never fucking listen or reach out. I need to justify all my shit, or I will be branded as a traitor in their heads for the rest of my life. It isn't like I don't fucking love them. I miss my brothers, and I wish that Phil had stuck around. This isn't about them... fuck, this isn't about you or me or that snow bitch. This is about having to do what's difficult to make everyone happy," Tommy explained with a long sigh that matched the forlorn expression on his face.

"What does any of that matter if you're not happy? They can get over themselves. No matter how far gone they are, I refuse to believe they are completely unreasonable. They have to understand the kind of position they're putting you in. Even Skadi didn't force you to accept her. She only told you to quit rejecting your divine half when she had to watch you die. If someone like that can care about you with all her heart, I know that Phil will," Kristen said. Tommy was a little amused. It was strange to think that someone centuries old was naive. Kristen, despite being the goddess of death, believed in people and their righteousness. Tommy knew better than that. He had danced with the god of war enough to understand that people weren't good like Kristen hoped. Tommy had memories of L'Manberg, Pogtopia, and the Pit to prove that the three men in that snowy cabin were all harboring dark intentions.

"No matter what you see, Kristen... they aren't really like that. They love you. They probably love me," Tommy said as he started walking up the wooden steps. Steve looked up at him with knowing eyes as he understood Tommy's words. Tommy turned around at the top step, hand pressed against the railing with a grim smile. "If nothing else matters, I love you."

He didn't hear Kristen's response as he walked into the cabin.

——

Kristen sat outside the cabin on the steps. It was an odd sight to see a nearly omnipotent creature bored. Tommy had been gone for the better part of the last hour. Like Tommy asked, Kristen had refrained from peeking inside in her spiritual form to give them privacy. She could hear loud voices from inside, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Gods and goddesses were bound to their promises. If Kristen swore she wouldn't snoop, her body physically could not pick up information that could be considered 'snooping'. That's one place where divinity and morality differed as humans could break their promises all the time. Gods could not, no matter what. They had to find loopholes, and unfortunately, Tommy covered all the bases. Kristen nor any of her familiars could learn information about what happened in that room from anyone other than Tommy himself. Even if Phil tried telling her what happened, it would sound like ocean waves or static.

"I have a question. Should I consider you brave or foolish for entering my kingdom so close to my Holy Lands?" A voice in the winter wind spoke as a figure started to emerge from the snow. There wasn't any other way to describe Skadi other than winter incarnate. Her skin was as pale as freshly fallen snow. Her hair was more of a silver, luminous color like the sunlight hitting a snowflake. She wore a flowing arctic sky blue dress with little snowflakes sown into it. The air around her froze any liquid to a solid, no matter the element. The most impressive part was her eyes. Swirling, dark orbs the shade of snow landing on a glacier that steadily ripping the ground apart. There was no other way to describe Skadi other than winter goddess.

"I am not here to start a fight with you, Skadi," Kristen said with an air of nonchalance. In normal conditions, Kristen could easily beat Skadi since death was far more ancient than winter, but Skadi was right in saying this was close to her Holy Lands. Tommy had been born about a mile back from her old home with Phil that Techno had moved into. As winter was a cause of death, especially in the early years of humanity, Kristen had to accept Skadi. When Skadi was a young goddess, she had been a ward of Kristen. There fallout had been recent at the time when Kristen learned who Phil cheated on her with. Kristen had blamed Skadi at first, but after accepting Tommy as her pseudo child, it was easier to forgive Skadi. Kristen didn't like what happened between them. She couldn't blame Skadi for acting out of jealousy. Kristen had been sought after by other gods for matrimony, but Skadi had only ever had Kristen to care about her. The other seasonal gods blamed Skadi on the destruction of humanity because of her fierce temper. When Skadi had fallen in love with Phil, she didn't know how to deal with it besides be with him for one night. Kristen pitied Skadi more than anything else, but like Tommy, Skadi hated being pitied more than anything else. Skadi would rather Kristen hating her than accepting what she did because she could understand why Skadi did it.

"Nor I with you. I am here to make sure that nothing happens to Tommy. Forgive me for not having as much faith in your sons as you do. I have seen them at their worsts while watching over Tommy far too many times to consider them anything more than barbaric," Skadi said while moving her hand in a waving gesture as if to push away Kristen's words. Skadi said something that was blurred in Kristen's mind, so the goddess assumed Skadi commented on what was happening inside.

"If we are in agreement not to fight, why do you reveal yourself to me? I am not as stupid as you may think to believe that you would leave Tommy alone in your eternal winter," Kristen asked with an eyebrow raise. She had known all along that Skadi was there. It would take ancient magic for any living thing to hide its presence from death. Skadi remained as close to Tommy as she could without interfering enough for the other gods to notice. Kristen knew all along, but she kept her silence because Kristen would have done the same thing if she had been allowed near her sons. Kristen couldn't fault Skadi for that behavior. Kristen let anything she saw slide, and even went out of her way to distract the other gods so they wouldn't take notice. There was no telling what punishment Skadi might face for interfering with the lives of humans, even if it was just her son.

"For what other reason than to speak with you? In this moment, it is just you and me. The boys are preoccupied. We are in the space between your twisted forest and my Holy Lands. The magical interference is unbelievable. The other gods will not hear a word we utter, even if we invoke their true names," Skadi said while pushing the hair out of her face. "Steve, please be a dear, and scout the area for anyone who may interrupt. I swear upon my honor that I will not cause any physical harm to Kristen on purpose."

"You had to be specific about physical harm and the on purpose part, didn't you?" Kristen said with a quiet laugh as Steve started blubbering away to scout the area like his queen told him. No one should tell Techno how easy it is for polar bears to get out of tethers. Skadi blushed a light blue as her old master giggled. Skadi wasn't prepared for all these old emotions to swell in her heart. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a conversation, Skadi? What words do you feel are necessary to convey to me without the knowledge of the other deities?"

"I know what you're doing for Tommy. You might not believe me, but I am the one that pushed for them allowing you to see your family if you help Tommy along with Prime. I will admit, my intentions weren't entirely pure. I was hoping that adding that tidbit would make you more eager to help Tommy... but I also did it as a means to apologize," Skadi said with her blush growing in intensity. "I'm not... I don't... apologizing is hard, okay? It's difficult for me to admit that I did wrong by you and Phil. I did something I shouldn't have, and it caused a lot of harm. I don't regret my actions. I truly did love Phil. I had been scared to tell him because the other gods made me believe that no one would ever accept me. When I saw you go after him, I was bitter with betrayal and jealousy. I wanted to make you suffer. I wanted to take something from you, just like you had taken Phil from me. Not like he was mine to begin with. He obviously loved you so much. I could never compete with that. But that day when Tommy was in my arms, his bright eyes staring up at me with a happy smile... I don't regret what I did to have that little boy in my arms. He hates me now. For good reason, obviously, since he grew up in a broken home. I've tried and failed to do right by him. But I don't need him to love me for me to want what's best for him. And what is best for him is you. He needs someone to love and care about him."

Skadi stopped short when a sob pulled from her body. She looked depressed as her hand wrapped around her mouth to conceal the sobbing. "You've taken my own son away from me. I want to be there for him. You can be there for him. So, I will leave his safety in your hands. If you hurt my boy, though, I will put this entire Server in the permafrost curse to keep everything from dying, including your family."

The wind picked up around Skadi, enveloping her in snow and ice shards. Skadi looked at Kristen with teary eyes as she whispered, "I'm sorry for what I did."

Kristen couldn't reach Skadi before she had disappeared into the soul of winter. Kristen could feel a faint trace of Skadi all around her, but that meant Skadi went into a comatose state. She withdrew her consciousness into the essence of winter. Skadi couldn't think, speak, or feel from where she was now. None of the gods (except maybe the summer god) could draw Skadi out. Skadi had practically given up her life. She might come back decades later, but Skadi had entrusted Tommy with Kristen. The death goddess leaned down to the snow. "I forgive you, Skadi. I will do everything I can to protect Tommy, from himself and others. I will not fail him like so many have. And I will help him understand how much you loved him."