A/N: Ugh, sorry guys for the not updating last weekend and being late this weekend. I was sick and didn't want to do anything short of sleep through whatever was playing on Netflix… Then this was the week before spring break and teachers think that you'll actually get things done over the week. Ha, all that stuff is held off 'till that Sunday at midnight… Alright, enough of the excuses!

The Doctor is having communication issues, Legolas is still playing role as protector, and the two can almost taste freedom.

Big thanks to my reviewers: StardustOwl, Lawrian, "Guest," Restrained . Freedom, and Amelia007.

A pat on the back to my beta Oakwrym !

The Arena

"I did find something while you were unconscious." Legolas looked up at the Doctor expectantly. "We didn't come here on accident. There is much more to this location than we thought."

"Clarify."

"Well, you see, I was fixing my sonic, when I realized something. This place, it's not in our universe. We seemed to have traveled a rift leading outside of the universe. Something… odd happened with the program." The Doctor waved his hands around and tussled his hair for a few moments in mute exclamation before continuing on. "You see this rift we're in, it's got some serious temporal… some… some…" The Doctor threw up his hands in exasperation. "Oh, how to explain this predicament in simple English," He wiped a hand across his face, and let it rest on his forehead for a moment. "Why is it so hard to think. Think…think. Thought, thunk, dunk, dink, duck, duck pond." The words came out in a tumble, the 'p' popping sharply against Legolas' ears. The Doctor's brows were furrowed, his hands grasping an invisible globe.

"Breathe," interjected Legolas, who becoming unnerved by the Doctor's overly jittery behavior.

The Doctor heaved a large sigh and placed hands at his temples, a small, repressed shake started in his hands. "So focused, yet so disorganized. So many thoughts running around up there," said the Doctor, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "But I was saying something. Something important. Something…A rift! Rift to charge the tar… the tarmac! No. No, that's not right. Not right, not flight, not bright. No. No. Rift to charge the T-A-R… the T-A-R-miss! Kiss!" The Doctor threw his fisted hands jerkily upwards, the shaking in his being uncontrolled. "Oh," one hand covered his mouth, his fingers twitching, a shocked expression flashing across his face. "No, no," the Doctor shock his head back and forth quickly. "TARDIS!" His eyes lit up and his hands opened and closed rapidly in response. "Yes, yes. Clarity!" the Doctor pointed a jittering finger at the elf. "For a moment, yes! The TARDIS needs a rift to charge. A rift is here in this tear beyond the universe. She was so lost, and this is what she found. She found it. Good girl…. Good girl. But others! Yes! Others to drift into that tear, they found this too. They found the only light in this dark blob of lost. And the rift takes. It takes from other places. Like little surges going off. Snap, crackle, pop, pop, pop!" The pent up energy seemed to exit the Doctor's body in a rush, a he deflated, slumping against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Doctor, how do you propose to leave?"

"Leave? Leave…" the Doctor lowered his head and frowned. "I don't know," he groaned. "So much junk in my mind. Out! It needs to be cleaned," the Doctor placed his head in his hands and let out a strangled noise of exasperation. "That dart, all that stuff in it, it makes me want to hit something and then explain the principle of temporal flux at it as fast as my mouth will go and then… then… pet it?" the Doctor leaned his head forward, his whole face scrunched up in a question. "Yes, then pet it," affirmed the Doctor before leaning back to his position on the wall.

"Then we are stranded here for now?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"For now," echoed the Doctor, his head lolling back to rest on the wall. "Only time will tell what will happen," he murmured with a small smirk before drifting off to sleep.

Legolas was left to his own thoughts as the Doctor slumbered. Every once in a while, the Doctor would spout something unintelligible and shift positions. The elf smiled lightly as he saw the jumbled state of the Doctor's limbs. The elf shook himself slightly and redirected his thoughts to something more productive. Standing up, Legolas brushed his fingers against the flawless white walls. No door handles. No cracks. The elf frowned. Their escape seemed impossible. Legolas pushed his weight against a wall, testing its resistance. No give. Legolas rapped his knuckles against the foreign surface and listened. His eyebrows furrowed. He knocked again.

A piece of the wall slid to the side, surprising the elf, and he jumped back slightly. A doorway had opened, though not due to any of his previous actions. In the door stood a tall being, flanked by two guards. Legolas tensed.

The wispy being was swathed in light, gossamer, robes which stopped at his slender ankles. Its skin seemed to be made of a flexible bark, and his feet were bare of any shoes. Its toes were thin, tendrils extended from narrow feet. The being's fingers were laced together and were of similar appearance to its feet. The tree being blinked slowly, its woody eyelids making a faint clicking sound as they closed. "He will be taken to the arena. He has been marked," stated the being simply. Its voice was melodically and deep, reminding Legolas of a violin.

"He shall not be taken," stated Legolas sharply. The elf's eyes darted to his discarded bow lying on the ground, and took in the familiar weight of the quiver on his back.

"He has been marked," repeated the being. "His unique physiology has been chosen for the next to compete for freedom." The two guards that flanked him stepped closer. "You must allow passage. He has been marked." The two guards raised their hands, preparing to strike.

Legolas lunged for his bow and fitted an arrow with Elvish speed. "You would die before your stroke fell," growled Legolas. "You will not have him."

There was a tense silence as each party was assessing the others next move. The tree-like being broke the stillness by pointing one tendril of a finger at the elf's raised bow and curling in towards himself. "You will take his place in the arena."

"He will be spared," stated Legolas.

"You will compete for freedom," hummed the being in its deep voice.

"Our freedom," pressed Legolas.

The being tilted his head to the side gracefully, as if a light breeze moved him. "Perhaps," and with that, he turned and moved to leave. "Follow," with no other recourse in sight, Legolas lowered his bow and complied.

The Doctor awoke with a start and a yell. "Liam!" Blinking, the Doctor continued. "Liam, I know how we can get out!" He looked around for the familiar face of the elf, but was greeted only by the dull white walls. The Doctor groaned. "Even when there are locked doors they end up wandering off. Am I trapped in an eternal game of hide-and-go-seek?" The Doctor pushed himself from his position on the floor, smoothed out his jacket, and straightened his tie. Brandishing his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor grinned lopsidedly, "Well, ready or not here I come!"

Legolas' senses were working overtime as he followed the mysterious tree-like being to the arena. The being stopped abruptly and turned around to face the elf. Legolas halted along with his guide, silently waiting for what was to come next. "We have arrived," hummed the being.

"What am I to do?"

The being tilted his head to the side in its graceful manner. "Survive," and with that, Legolas' world blurred out of focus.

The elf blinked rapidly, and as the world materialized around him, he became aware of the roar of a crowd. Legolas flinched slightly, unprepared on the assault of his senses. He gazed around at his surroundings. Row after row of seats surrounded him. Creatures he had never dreamed off filled its seats. The strange, loud, noises being emitted from them could only be described as shouts of excitement. A faint glow surrounded the stage the elf found himself on. A sort of force field, he assumed.

On the other end of the stage a creature appeared. It's large hairy body and sharp teeth reminded Legolas of the Wargs he fought in Middle Earth. It was snapping its jaws, large droplets of saliva splattered against the smooth, white flooring of the stage. A sound akin to a gunshot rang out and the entire crowd went silent in anticipation. An inaudible command rang through the silence. The creature lunged and at that moment, Legolas understood that he had to kill or be killed. Sparing a moment to breathe a quick wish to his and the Doctor's survival, Legolas assumed the role of warrior.

The Doctor ran through the halls, sniffing at the air every once and a while. "Oh, come on!" growled the Doctor under his breath. "Why are there so many bloody corners in a dome?" The Doctor sprinted down a corridor, and stopped abruptly. "Oh!" The Doctor draped himself against the wall and breathed deeply. "Oh, yes!" He placed his forehead on the wall and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of peppermint. "Yes, it should be right…" The Doctor's finger's ghosted blindly across the wall until a faint click sounded. "Here." He smiled as the door slid open. A rush of minty air buffeted the Doctor as he stepped through the doorway and the sounds of a screaming crowd washed over him. "Found you."

A/N: So with AP tests in May, my schedule is filled with boring, annoying study time, which likes to fry my brain circuits. This means until the first week of May ends, I may update a tad slower. Don't fret! I love this idea and have plans for its continuation. But, again, enough school talk!

Thanks for reading! Reviews welcome!

And remember: "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." ~Herm Albright