Thunder cracks the sky as the rain drips on his smiling face. Pie's teeth dig deep into Toothpick's back. Under the fur, the Beast's skin cracks like wood. White sand pours out of the wounds as Pie strengthens his grip.

He carefully lifts the Beast up and pulls the horn out of Arena. Toothpick jerks around, furthering the damage. Pie hurls the thin Beast across the field. Lahar catches Arena in her arms. Blood pours onto her shirt and skirt.

Golden liquid pours out of Arena's arm and onto his wounds. It starts to patch the gaping holes, but it's sloppy. Blood seeps from the cracks of the hastily made patches as he lies down. A flash of light shines behind them.

Statue, the last Beast watching, decides to intervene. His hooves slam on the chains trapping the other Beast. Lightning pours into his body each time, but he's unaffected. Statue's mask covers his body in ivory armor.

With the Beast freed, Lahar's heart skips a beat. Uncertain of what will happen next, she aims the water gun. Her hands shake as she aims at the armored monster. Statue just continues freeing his brothers one by one.

Soon they are all free. Pie and King stand between Lahar and the Beast, Pie's teeth showing his bloodlust. Not a single drop of rain can fall on him as the drops evaporate before they touch his blazing fur. King's left arm grows to three times its normal size. A fire roars around his fist.

Statue pays them no mind. He simply walks slowly toward them. He gets close enough to use his horns to lift Bark's body onto his back. The thin Beast returns to the group, limping closer to the Statue.

Lahar stares into the flames Statue calls eyes. She can feel a sense of mediocrity as he stares past her as if he doesn't consider her a challenge, not even worthy of calling a prey. A mouse staring down a lion.

Statue starts to walk away. Lahar keeps the barrel aimed at them. Her hand is numb, not even feeling the cold grip of the gun. Once the Beasts are far enough away, she lowers the gun. Dark clouds now blanket the sky, and rain continues to fall.

The burns on her arm sting with every raindrop, but her focus is entirely on Arena. He has gone cold in her arms as she looks at his face. The color is gone from his lips. She can see he is still breathing, so there is hope. She looks at King and Pie, who already have sprung to action. "We have to leave—now!" Lahar screams.

King breaks down the stone and dirt and adds it to his body, increasing his size. He shapes his body around Arena to form a wagon, safely securing Arena inside. King's head sticks out like a lantern lighting the path. A stream of sand wraps around Pie to pull the wagon.

Lahar jumps on Pie's back, and the flames wrap around her body. Once she's secured, Pie bursts into a sprint. The droplets feel like grains of sand on Lahar's face at the speed Pie is running, but she tells him to go faster. She looks over to see the gold patch start to melt and mix with the blood as it falls from his side.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Lahar yells, "You have to hurry! I don't know how long those bandages can hold!"

Pie's pupils shrink as the sound of booming thunder is overshadowed by the pounding of his paws on the ground.

What took hours to walk, Pie does in two minutes. They stand before the porch, with Crew walking through the front door to greet them. He stares at them and walks unnerved despite the storm until he sees what's in the wagon.

Without missing a beat, a second copy of Crew is made, and it helps King safely hold up Arena, while the real Crew runs into the house with three new copies. Lahar jumps off Pie's back and walks to Arena.

King already has shaped his body back to normal, and all three carefully carry Arena inside the house. The door to the greenhouse is open, with a Crew signaling for them to come that way. The tapping sound of blood and gold droplets hitting the tile is soft, yet to Lahar it's the equivalent of a cannon firing.

They walk inside to find the glass walls and ceiling have gone completely black. Only the glass over the table that normally houses the potions workstation is different. A light shines down brightly, illuminating only that specific area.

The room has been turned into a makeshift operating room. Medical tools ranging from the practical to the unknown are there. Though the black glass hides the storm from view, the thundering noise and the rain pounding on the glass can still be heard.

They carefully place Arena on the table. Doc is already prepared with her own and Arena's medical bags. She stands on the stool by the table. The bun on the top of her head goes undone, and long strands of hair take the shape of thin tentacles.

Some go into either bag, squirming to find the right tool. Others look for specific plants and start to work on potions in the background. Three Crew copies stand by, ready for her orders. Lahar can see Doc's hands shake as she holds them over the melting gold patch. Doc claps her hands just to stop the shaking. She continues with her operation.

Lahar walks close, feeling numb at the sight of Arena. Her bottom lip quivers as she slowly steps closer, and then she can't move forward. She looks down to see King and the original Crew in front of her.

"What are you two doing? I...I have to help Doc," she says softly. They step forward, pushing her back toward the door. "Wait, no. What is this?" she says, louder than before. The two start to force her out of the room. Lahar continues to talk louder. She doesn't scream, as she can't find it in her to scream.

"Please let me stay. I need to help him. I can be of help. I have to help," she says, feeling more numb the farther she is from him. She's pushed out into the hall, where Pie sits waiting for her. King walks with her and closes the door behind him.

Lahar can hear the click of Crew locking the door from the other side. Lahar rushes to the door. She lets the Source flow from her hand and into the handle. It does not glow. She opens the door to see a wall on the other side of the doorframe.

She closes the door and tries again. The same results happen. She does this over and over and over again. The same results keep happening. Each time she says, "No, no, no, no." Her vision goes blurry as tears start to well up in her eyes. She shuts the door and drops to her knees.

She softly and slowly starts to bang on the door with her head. She whispers to herself as the tears fall to the floor. "Why am I useless?" She bangs her head once more. "Why couldn't I do more?" She bangs her head harder this time, as if to punish herself. "Was all this for nothing? Did I not move forward at all?"

Pie sits next to her. King embraces her. Lahar stops banging her head and rests it on the door. Her arm burns, but she ignores it. She can hear the thunder from outside as the rain falls on the roof. She looks down to see a tear fall and land on a drop of Arena's blood. She stares at how the droplets come together as she patiently waits.