The constant tapping of wooden fingers is driving Arena insane. He actually would welcome death with a cup of coffee if it could offer him an escape from this tapping. "You haven't really shared much about yourself these past days," Arena says, staring at Void's fingers as they tap, tap, and tap away.

"I don't feel like sharing anything with you. There is no point, really. Soon you will be nothing but a marble statue."

He has a point; the marble has spread throughout Arena's body, leaving nothing but his right arm, neck, and head free at the moment.

Arena rolls the golden ball around on the table. He whistles as he watches it move.

"You're very calm," Void says.

"Would you prefer I freak out? Well, sorry to disappoint. I am not worried the least bit."

"You are confident they will pull through?"

"Absolutely."

Void leans closer to Arena as he speaks, the white flames flickering. "You do have some time left. At least half a day, to be exact. Maybe she will pull a last-minute rescue. That would be interesting to see."

"Now, that's where you are wrong," Arena says. "That's not the kind of person she is. Last minute is too sloppy. No, if we have about half a day left, I would give it two minutes till I get out of here."

Void's eyes burn with anticipation. "You sound more like her teacher every time you speak. Well, you are not the only one with people on the outside. Who can say what will happen."

As Void says this, he stops tapping his fingers. The ever-closing darkness is now mere inches away from them. The grains of sand stop dimming. The scale now shift to Arena's favor. The sound of cracking stone echoes.

Void turns to Arena and sees the marble encasing his body start to crack. He shifts, and pieces fall to the ground. "I would say that was two minutes," Arena says as he stands up.

Void stands and slams his hands on the table. The scale jumps in the air and falls to its side.

"You seem angry. Not happy with how this turned out?"

"Can you be serious for one second?" Void mumbles angrily. Arena is shocked by his response. "Why can't you get it through your thick skull that's bigger than you? That this isn't just about you?"

An image flashes into both of their minds for a second. Arena can't really understand what he is seeing. First, it's the three Beasts, but as puppies. Then a face with soft features and light-colored hair. A face that makes his heart sink.

Stolen story; please report.

"What did I just see?" Arena asks softly.

"You had your turn," Void says, "and you failed." Arena goes quiet. "I can help the people I care about, and I can actually live my life. So quit wasting our time. You know how your story ends. So what if I skip a few chapters? It's not like you have anything written on it."

Beams of light pierce the darkness all around them. Arena snaps back to reality and looks at Void.

"Well, I can't leave them alone, can I?" Arena says.

"Would it be the first time?"

Arena looks up to see a beam of light shine down on him. "Looks like I have people waiting for me." He looks at Void. His face shows no emotion. Yet his slumped shoulders show his disappointment.

"Here's a gift for you." Arena flicks the golden ball. It flies like a bullet at Void's forehead. The marble breaks into his skull, leaving a small hole in Void's head.

Void stumbles back and lands in the chair. The light surrounding them burns brighter until it eventually blinds Arena. He tries to block the light with his hands while staring at Void. His white flames still flicker, but he remains silent.

The light shines until everything goes dark. Arena opens his eyes to find himself looking at his room's ceiling. He lies there for a second until he hears a soft, familiar voice. The voice calls his name. He turns to see Lahar sitting at his bedside.

"Is this real?" he asks softly. He looks down at the bed to see Pie and all the wisps in the room, with Doc standing on a stool on the opposite side of Lahar.

"Yes, this is real. You are awake now," Lahar says.

Arena exhales and says "Ah, thank God" in relief. He places his hand on his heart, which is racing faster than a sports-car engine. He places his hands on his face as he repeats "Yes, yes, yes" over and over.

"Thank you, guys, really. I thought I was going..." He stops talking for a moment. "You know what? It doesn't matter." He tries to sit up, and then a tremendous pain radiates from his stomach. He raises his blanket to see his stomach bandaged up.

"They really did a number on me." He looks at Lahar to see one arm in a sling, the other bandaged up, and the rest of her covered in small bandages and bruises. "Never mind me. What happened to you? How did you get hurt?"

"Don't worry about it now; I'll tell you later. I just think we're relieved we made it in time. I didn't know how long you had left."

Pie walks up to him, almost knocking Doc off her stool. He rests his head on Arena's chest to comfort either Arena or himself. Doc moves over to Lahar's side with the stool. Doc signals to them that they all need to leave.

Lahar stands up to give Doc space and starts to leave the room with the other wisps. Pie refuses to leave and stays in his spot. "We will leave so that Doc can continue checking up on you. You'd better be awake when I get back," Lahar says as she shuts the door behind her.

"Don't worry about me," he replies.

A tear rolls down her face as she leans back on the door. She doesn't wipe it away. There is no shame, for that tear was caused by the sight of him opening his eyes. Arena, on the other side of the door, smiles as he fills with relief.

Under the field, deep in the cavern, Void rubs his forehead, where a small scratch now lies. He then hears a familiar voice. "Yes, my boy. What is it?" he says to Toothpick, who stands in front of the rock that seals him down there. Void is silent when he is informed of the devastating news. Void's hands clutch so tightly that the wood cracks and splinters in his palm. "Oh, I see. I've lost two now."