2.
:: frozen ::

You fill the soul
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find me there & lead me back home

Frozen inside
Without your touch
Without your love darling
Only you are life among the dead

Wake me up inside -- (wake me up)
Wake me up inside -- (i can't wake up)
Call my name & save me from the dark -- (save me)
Bid my blood to run -- (bid me to rise)
Before I come undone -- (bring me to life)
Save me from the nothing I've become…

/ Evanescance – Bring Me to Life

It was the third errand Ares had sent her on since their discussion. That should've been a sign. It all should have been a sign really. And perhaps Diana would have seen it, if she was looking for one. But she'd stopped believing in the opportunity for second chances.

Which was why she thought nothing of it that morning, as she stepped into the Temple of the Fates and handed the message to the acolyte who greeted her. The acolyte accepted the scroll and politely asked Diana to wait while he checked for a reply. Diana nodded and followed him into the sanctuary, where the acolyte then excused himself, leaving Diana alone in the candle-lit room. She wandered slowly to the altar, sinking to her knees before it. She wasn't praying as such. She just found it too hard to stand any longer. Her heart was encased in ice --frozen inside-- and it was weighing her down. For once, just once, she wished she could ask a boon of an Olympian god. There wasn't much chance they'd grant it, of course. The gods were renown for ignoring any requests that didn't further their personal agendas. But it'd be nice to be able to blame something other than herself for all that had gone wrong in her life. The gods in general made a convenient scapegoat.

Oh God, wake me up inside. I can't wake up on my own. Call my name and save me from the dark. Save me from the nothing I've become.

"Don't underestimate us Diana. We answer prayers more often than you think."

The voice came from behind her and Diana was halfway to her feet before they finished speaking. She'd sensed a disturbance in the aether, felt the tattletale rush of air and heard the whoosh that followed a godly teleportation. Suspecting it was Ares, she already had her hand on her sword hilt and her mouth was forming around words of defiance, ready for another confrontation. But she stopped dead upon seeing who it was. Or rather, whom they were.

Before her stood three women, differing in age as well as appearance. One was a child, barely twelve years if she was a day. To her left, a mature woman blooming in her mid-twenties, holding a spindle wrapped several times with a thick, shining thread. To her right, an old woman, plump and haggard, holding a large pair of shears. Diana regarded them warily. Although she'd never seen them face to face, she knew at once who they were. The Moirae. Also known as The Fates.

Just great. What do they want?

"Can I help you?" Diana said, the sentence polite though her tone wasn't. She really wasn't in the mood for godly visitations -- of any sort. Particularly Ares, but the whole Olympian pantheon was not in her list of favorite people right now.

"Actually, it is us who've come to help you," the little girl replied, the one Diana recognized to be Lachesis. "We know who you are Diana. And we are here to bring you what you need the very most."

Diana smiled cynically. "I hope the answer is death," she replied with only a trace of sarcasm. The eldest, Atropos, narrowed her eyes.

"Nay," she said softly. "Death has not come for you yet. Quite the contrary. It is the gift of new life we bring you -- what you need the very most."

"Yes you said that," Diana mumbled. "Look why would you want to do me any favors? It's not like the gods to act without an ulterior motive. What do you get out of this deal?"

Clotho smiled. "You have already fulfilled your part of the bargain Diana. You spared Ares life when there was no reason for you to stay your hand. Now we've come to reward you."

Diana paused to think about it. Yes, it was true -- she had spared Ares once. After he killed her son Jonathan, Diana had been enraged. At first she hadn't realized who the true culprit was. She thought it was her old nemesis Dahok, enacting his revenge on the gypsy by taking the most precious thing in her life away from her. But after irrefutable evidence turned up pointing to Ares, Diana swore her revenge on the God of War. She produced golden hind blood --the only substance that could kill a god-- and confronted the War God, inviting him to a duel to the death. Ares didn't bother to dispute the charge and accepted her invitation. Even though he was a god, Diana was a seasoned warrior and his defeat was imminent. To her surprise, Ares played by the rules and accepted her victory with no tricks or lighting bolts. He seemed resigned to his fate, whatever it held. And it further surprised her that when it came down to the moment, Diana couldn't do it. No one deserved it more. It was no loss to the world to rid it of one of its darkest creatures. But Diana realized killing him would make her as evil as he was and so she forgave him and laid down her sword. 'The killing stops here', she told him at the time. 'I won't let you make me as dark as you are.' And she left, figuring that closed the issue.

But apparently not. Though neither she nor Ares ever spoke of the incident again, someone had. And that someone had ensured that the Fates would be the ones to reward Diana for her 'good deed', in as much as sparing Ares life could be considered such. Diana found that confusing, as she wasn't sure who would have gone to the trouble -- or even who knew about what happened, for no one was privy to it except Rafe and Diana found it hard to believe that the Fates would listen to the word of a mortal con artist. Besides, considering how pissed Rafe had been over her choosing to absolve Ares guilt, she doubted seriously he'd gone through the trouble to try and gain her a reward for it.

So who had summoned the Fates on her behalf? And why?

"Your offer comes prematurely," she muttered, stroking her chin in thought. "I may yet kill the bastard."

"You will not kill Ares. Your anger with him can be easily remedied by your reward."

"Reward? What reward?"

"We are here—" began Lachesis.

"—to offer you—" added Clotho.

"—a chance to redeem a single mistake," Atropos finished soberly. Diana stared at them as if they were mad.

"A single mistake? Do you three know anything about my life? An eternity wouldn't be long enough to redeem all the mistakes I've made."

"We know all about your life Diana," Clotho said softly. She nimbly weaved a thread, her fingers flashing the entire time she spoke. "And you need not to redeem them all. Some mistakes were fated to be, some weren't. All you need is to redeem the right one."

"And you are just coming to me with this now? Jonathan's death was months ago." Diana fought back the tears as the memories assailed her with fresh pain. "Where were you then, when I needed you?"

"You needed us not then," Lachesis countered quietly. "Though the death of your son weighed heavily on your soul, you had hope then. Now, that hope has faded. Now is when you need us."

"Why are you offering me this?" Diana began to pace. "Why do you care whether Ares dies or not?"

"We care. There must be balance, order in all things. As there must be Love, there must also be War. Ares death would upset this order, spiraling control into chaos. And Zeus is pleased that you have shown mercy to his son who deserved justice."

Zeus? Diana frowned. Judging by Ares past and current relationship with his father, Diana would not have expected the King of the Gods to get involved.

"I see. So you are saying that you would be willing to let me undo something that went wrong in my past?"

"We are saying we can correct something that will be wrong in your future. The past, present and future are all deeply entwined. The choices that you have made affect the choices you will make. Things are not as they are supposed to be in your life. But you must make the right choice."

Diana thought carefully. A lot of things had gone wrong in her past and she suffered incredible anguish because of it. The painful memories blurred together in her mind and she fought to think which one it was she was supposed to undo. The loss of her family in childhood? The thievery of her young self on the streets? Maybe the training by Jett which led to her first kill and the warrior lifestyle she'd chosen? Diana puzzled over it, until a bright light stole over her and she realized that yes, yes they were right. There was only one mistake to be remedied and she knew what choice it was she was supposed to make.

"Jonathan," she whispered, so softly the words more thought than spoken. "I can bring Jonathan back. He was never meant to die. I can bring him back. For me. For Rafe."

"Are you sure—"

"—this is—"

"—what you want?" The Fates asked in conjunction. "Once done—"

"—this choice—"

"—cannot be undone."

For the first time in weeks, Diana smiled. And the ice surrounding her heart slowly began to melt.

Only you are the life among the dead.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Do it. I want my son back."

The Fates nodded in unison. "So be it," they said together. "We, the Fates, bid your son to rise and he is restored to life. When you reach the Temple of Ares, he will come to greet you and you will know we spoke truth. Even as it is said, so it will be."

Diana didn't bother asking for details, like how the Fates intended to do this when they knew as well as she did that Jonathan was not in the Underworld. His soul had long disappeared, for Diana would have found him before this if not for that. Where he went after his death, she didn't know, nor did she possess the power to find him. The only thing she knew was it was not handled the way other deaths were. He'd received no judgment; no Throne of Hades, Tartarus or Elysian Fields greeted him. She'd checked this with Hades herself. But the god hadn't seen him nor could he offer any clues as to where the boy's soul went. Diana wasn't sure if this reassured her or really, really scared her.

But it seemed like she'd have the chance to ask him about it herself. After an ecstatic display of gratitude which included hugging the Fates --a move which surprised Diana nearly as much as the goddesses-- and a girly squeal of utter joy, she left the Fates Temple without waiting to see if there was a reply message to Ares --let Ares pick up his own damn messages, she mused. Besides, the Fates hadn't said anything and they oughta know—and headed back to Ares temple asap. As she grew close, her heartbeat accelerated and her breathing became erratic.

What if he's not there when I get there? What if they can't find his soul after all? What if they lied or were just toying with me as some kind of pawn in their games with mortal man? What if—if—

The Temple was quiet as she approached it and for a moment, Diana feared her suspicions were correct. But gradually she drew closer, a small figure became distinct coming around the side of the large structure and the closer she got, the more distinct he grew until Diana could see it was a young man. Her young man. Unruly curls black as pitch tumbled across a small, darkly tanned forehead and cobalt blue eyes squinted against the sunlight, then widened as he recognized her.

"Aunt Di," the words were welcome to Diana's ears as was the hand waving at her madly -- as if she could possibly miss seeing him. "Aunt Di, over here!"

"Jonathan," it was ripped from Diana's throat painfully, following by a sob. "Good God! JONATHAN!" The last part was shrieked as Diana crossed the remaining distance in record time and grabbed the youth, yanking him into her arms for a bone crushing hug. Jonathan grinned as his adopted 'aunt' came towards him, then grunted with surprise at the violent embrace. He groaned and squirmed anxiously, hating, as most young boys, all signs of physical affection.

"Aunt Di, you are squeezing me half to death," he protested, though it took effort to find enough air to say it. Diana, too happy to see him to pay any heed to his protests, kept hugging him relentlessly and smothering his curly head with her kisses. "Hey leggo of me -- before you suffocate me."

That possibility quickly snapped Diana back to reality and gained her over-hugged son his release. Jonathan backed away warily and gave the gypsy a long look.

"What's the matter Aunt Di?" he asked with uncanny insight. "You're crying."

Diana wasn't --yet-- but Jonathan could always sense her hidden emotions with piercing accuracy. Like her, he seemed to have a gift was purely psychic.

"I just missed you," she said honestly, hoping that Jonathan would not have any memories of his death. Something like that could cause severe and permanent psychological damage. She had enough horrifying memories in her own past to know what it was like to walk around with a scarred soul. She didn't want Jonathan carrying the same burdens.

"It's more than that," Jonathan said, studying her. "But you are not going to tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"I thought I lost you forever," Diana replied softly, settling for part of the truth. "You have no idea how scary that was to me. I'm glad to see I was wrong."

"Zeus! Aunt Di!" Now Jonathan sounded worried. "I thought you were mad at me."

That shocked Diana into silence. "What? Gods on Olympus, no! Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because we fought this morning." He cocked his dark head to one side. "Don't you remember?"

Diana paused, frowning. It took effort, but as she racked her brain about it, she seemed to recall that she had actually fought with Jonathan the day that he was killed. Of course her shallow anger was forgotten the moment she found his lifeless body sprawled on her bedroom floor -- but until now she hadn't realized that the last words she said to him were ones of anger. That thought brought the tears back to her eyes and she had to force them not to fall.

"No! No-no-no," she assured him swiftly. "I'm not mad at you. I honestly can't even remember what it was we fought about. I just am so happy to see you."

Jonathan smiled, but seemed reluctant to let the point go. "We fought, Aunt Di, because you were being stubborn again and refused to see reason. Uncle Rafe asked you to marry him again --remember-- and you told him no. Gods, sometimes I just don't know what the Tartarus is wrong with you?" he grumbled.

"Hey, watch your language young man," Diana scolded, shaking a finger at him. Thrilled to see him she was, but not too much to let him take liberties. "And if I turned Rafe down -- I'm sure I had a good reason." Damned if she could remember what it was when all she wanted right now was to hold Rafe tight and never let go, but there was always a reason behind the things she did. It may be a stupid reason, but a reason nevertheless.

Jonathan was regarding her with no small suspicion. "That was this morning," he said, in tones that indicated he felt he was making more sense than she was and she was supposed to be the adult here. He folded his arms crossly and pouted at her. "Since you have such a good reason for being stubborn Aunt Di, I'd like to know what it is."

"I'd like to know too," Diana murmured wistfully. She bent down on one knee, putting herself on Jonathan's eye level. She braced her hands on his shoulders and said soberly, "I'm sorry Jonathan. I was insecure and scared of the unknown. I've been alone my whole life. I've never had anyone counting on me before. I was afraid if I let you and your Uncle Rafe into my heart, that something or someone would take you both away from me. I didn't want to take the chance of losing you, so it was easier to push you two away. Do you understand?"

Jonathan nodded. Any other child might have been puzzled by the complexity of the situation, but Diana knew Jonathan was telling the truth.

"I understand. But you can't freeze up your heart forever, Aunt Di. Eventually, somewhere, somehow, you have to let somebody in. Or else, what's the good of having a heart at all?"

Diana smiled softly. "I think you are right Jonathan. I think you're right."

Jonathan smirked, a very pleased masculine smirk. His blue eyes twinkled with self confidence. "Duh. Course I'm right. I could've fixed this whole thing much sooner if you'd just listened to me in the first place. Now what you need to do is marry Uncle Rafe. Then you two can adopt me. And we will all live happily ever after," he finished smugly.

Diana grew misty-eyed again. It was getting harder and harder to hold back those damn tears. But finally they were tears of happiness instead of loneliness, so this time she let them fall.

"I agree," she sniffled. Jonathan stared at her open-mouthed. It was apparent he'd thought more coaxing would be in order. But Diana had given up the fight.

"I've changed my mind Jon. I'm gonna marry your Uncle Rafe -- if he'll still have me."

"He will," Jonathan chimed confidently. "I promise. C'mon. Let's go see him right now, Aunt Di." He set off happily in the direction of Rafe's place, Diana at his heels.

"Mom," Diana put in softly. God, it was so good to hear his voice again. Everything was going to be just fine now. "It's Mom now, Jonathan. And Dad. You've got to get used to calling us that."

Jonathan turned and stopped in mid-stride, grinning at Diana warmly. "Mom," he said, as if testing to see how it rolled off his tongue. "Yeah. I like that."

"Me too," Diana murmured as they started off again, going to Rafe's place. Going home.

Too long now I've been frozen inside, asleep, unable to awaken. But I'm wide awake now