Warning! This chapter is Rated M for gore, sensual content, and swearing.

I realize this fanfic hasn't been updated since August 25th, 2021. Let's just say, on my end, life and spiritual awakening happened, along with reposting and reformatting fanfics, followed by my newish fanfics, The Dispute in Heaven and The Final Stand, being written and posted, too. Also, I wasn't sure if I was going to get back to updating this fanfic and other fanfics from 2021 - 2022. So, here we are and I'm finally getting around to updating them! :)

Now that that's out of the way, this chapter had one scene written before the time I got back to it. I thought I might as well continue the chapter and see where it takes me. This chapter's first scene also gave me a hint on where this story was headed off to. :) And there are some revelations in this chapter, too, hinted at from Chapter 1/2. :)

That said, enjoy! :)

Hadron approached the ship's helm, steering his ship out of the way of rocks and trees. Arrows pelted the skies, making travel difficult. Hadron's heart pounded inside his chest. Sweat beaded down his face and hands, leaving them sticky and wet with perspiration.

He ducked, away from the arrows, noticing Mina at the ship's deck, ducking from the arrows, too. She yelped with fright, an arrow colliding with her leg. Mina collapsed on the ship's floor, stunned to see an arrow smacking her right on the knees, before jolting away from her.

"Ow!" Mina cried, tears pouring down her face uncontrollably. She calmed down, observing the wound to see how bad it was. The arrow had pierced her leg, leaving blood starting to seep out from the wound. She got up again, sliding onto the deck and finding it hard to stand. "What kind of arrows are they?"

"They're Poseidon's arrows," Hadron told her, flatly. He sighed, his senses sharpened. "We must be close."

"Really? But we're so far away from Mount Olympus," Mina sighed, feeling pain shoot up her knees.

Hadron chuckled. "I hope it didn't affect you too badly, the arrow! I just hoped he doesn't turn you into a Haddock fish, like the legends told."

Mina cackled with perspiration, for she hadn't expected this kind of answer. "You would know, wouldn't you? Ouch!" She collapsed on the ship's deck again, hardly beside herself with terror in her eyes.

Hadron chuckled behind his teeth. "Well, there you go. Those arrows won't affect me too badly. I'm the ship's captain. But for you… well, I hope we can find Poseidon and get him to heal you. I don't know what else to tell you. Just hold on! Will you? Hold on, Mina!"

"Ow!" Mina seethed, feeling the throbbing pain in her knees shoot up her legs and down her waist. Her body temperature lowered. She collapsed fully on the ship's deck, lost in a trance of sea-blue colors, beyond her recall or recollection. The last thing she expected to find was Hadron moving her over by the stairs, from which he could keep an eye on her.

For however long this moment lasted.

.

Mina awoke, lying on a soft mattress and covered up with white sheets and purple covers. Her gaze met a green cushioned, wooden chair made out of oak wood. On the chair were a set of clothes, meant for her. Her own gossamer purple toga and tan sandals to match. On the toga was a lightning bolt symbol.

It was a symbol of the gods. As for Mina, she hadn't a clue where she was. Covering her body was a silky white gown, from which she could feel the bandages in her knees and left leg covering the arrow wounds she received there. She couldn't get out of bed. That wasn't an option. But what she could do was lay there on the soft bed, contemplating on what she should do next.

She looked up, gazing out a wide window at the sprawling city below. So many buildings appeared below, buildings with stone pillars. Various lush, green, leafy plants and trees could be seen, scattered about the city, with voices coming from all around her.

She took another look out the window, finding she was several stories above the ground. No way! She was in the clouds? What was she doing here? This couldn't be right!

Where was Hadron? Was Mina alone now?

Mina sat up on the bed, as the wooden oak door opened, leading into her bedroom. There was Hadron, dressed in a long brown tunic, grey trousers, as well as grey sandals. He closed the door, approaching her now.

"Did we make it? Are we in Poseidon's lair?" Mina asked, curious now.

Hadron nodded. "We're in one of the great cities of Mount Olympus. The gods and goddesses let us in, after they saw you were wounded. You wouldn't have survived otherwise, if we didn't bring you here."

"I don't understand. Did I die back there?" Mina asked, concerned.

"Mina, please," Hadron stated, quite plainly.

Mina fell silent. Something wasn't right. "Am I dead?"

Hadron looked around the room, tears welling up in his eyes. "If you had stayed there, on my ship, you certainly would be on the verge of death! I had to bring you here, to Mount Olympus. After what you did, I just… in order to come here, I had to agree to stay with you, to be your companion. We both paid the price, and yet it's what the gods warned us about." He added, teary-eyed, "I'm sorry, Mina. There's no going back to Atlantis, unless Zeus wants us to go back home. It's Poseidon's orders."

"You sure Poseidon didn't do this on purpose?" Mina asked him, cautious now. "To lure us up here, I mean? What was it for?"

Hadron huffed. "Would you have believed me otherwise? This is exactly what Poseidon wanted, after we challenged him in Atlantis. Can you believe that? We're trapped here and it just… how do we get back home? You're the one in charge! No doubt in my mind, you'll think of something."

"I don't know," Mina said, unsure what else to do. "My knees, my leg… they need time to heal. I can't just…"

"…dammit!" Hadron swore, pounding his fist against a stone wall. He paused, resting his forehead against a wall. He hadn't planned on doing this much, on reaching Mount Olympus. What were they doing here? Oh, wait! He knew why. Mina.

"If Poseidon did want us here, then maybe there's a reason for it," Mina said.

"Yes, there is. You challenging him, wanting to stop him. I know precisely why he would bring us here," Hadron stated, knowing why exactly they were here. He sighed, approaching her now, and finding another chair to sit down on. He pressed his arms against the back of the chair, as he sat on the chair with its back facing him. He looked at her now, wondering, "Why would you do that? Why do you want to stop Poseidon? Surely, I must know this."

"He was hurting a lot of people," Mina said, bravely. "If someone doesn't stop him, reason with him, then what was it all for? I have to do this. Besides, I said I would stop him, not end him. Big difference there, Hadron."

"Oh! I see," Hadron said, calming down.

Mina looked at Hadron, asking him, "You wanted to finish him, didn't you?"

Hadron paused, speaking gruffly, "That was my intent, wasn't it? I guess that's why we're both here, now, on Mount Olympus." He looked around the room, admitting to her, "But you know, I do believe the gods are favoring us."

"Favoring us? But I'm trapped here, under the impression that I almost died! I don't know how I'll escape Mount Olympus?" Mina asked, cautious.

"I'm sure there's a way to do this. You almost died to get here. That's your clue. You're not dead, not yet," Hadron stated, standing up. He smiled at her, holding her hand in his, "This means we're free to leave Mount Olympus, right? We could go home."

"No! I still have a quest to complete," Mina said, grasping his hand with both her hands. "I cannot let Poseidon get away with this, with what he's doing to Atlantis. I can't. It's not that simple!"

Hadron looked up towards the wall, contemplating what he should do next.

Mina took in his gaze, getting his attention. "Why don't you come with me, to finish this quest? You said you'd help me, didn't you?"

Hadron tilted his head to the side, looking down at her once more. "I did, but now you're injured. And it's all my fault for dragging you here, like you wanted. Oh, Mina!" He moved the chair over, moving it out of the way.

Very hastily, he pulled the bed covers and sheets back, lying down in bed next to Mina. He moved in close to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to keep her warm.

Mina rested her head against his shoulder, contemplating what they could do next.

Hadron told her, quite plainly, "I won't abandon you. That's not my plan. We're in this together, Mina. Don't forget that!" He whispered to her, leaning in close to her ear, "I will not abandon my wife here. You are my wife. You may not remember it. It was a long time ago, but you are her and I am here for you. Always."

Mina's gaze widened with this stunning revelation. For a split second, the memories from her former life rushed back to her. She relaxed in his arms, even as Hadron pulled them both back down on top of the bed, caressing her in his arms, even as sleep soon found them both.

Thanks for reading. More to come. :)