Lazarus and his entourage are already here by the time I exit the washrooms. I catch his wandering eye, gaze settling on me with laser focus.

Lucian has his back to us when I walk up to the group. Lazarus's hand coils around my waist like a snake, pulling me away from Lucian and closer to him. 

"I see you snuck out. How was the Western Border?" He says into my ear, sending tingles of apprehension down my arms. 

"It felt nice to look out into space. Felt freeing," I say and then I bend down and take a long swig of my drink. 

The party animals brought out the good stuff today. The drink burns my throat and then settles in my belly, causing a warmth to spread through out my body. After a few drinks, my steps are lighter, my worries less important. 

It is one of those rare days where the three of us Trinity have a good time together. We cheers and drink and laugh without a care about anything else. 

And I love it despite the fact that this moment won't last. 

Lucian and Lazarus are having a ball of a time, both clearly inebriated as they play a form of improvised chess on the table while I chat with the others. I try not to think of Ron or the experiments or the fact that I will be going back to Lazarus's again tonight. 

Every time one worry trickles in, I drown it out with a sip of my drink. So much so that at the end of the night, I'm barely able to walk. Lucian gives me a yearning look as I leave with Lazarus. I wave him goodbye but my insides churn uncomfortably the further I am from him. 

"Tonight was nice," Lazarus squeezes my thigh once we are in the backseat of his glider. His driver rolled up the divider, giving us some privacy and now Lazarus strokes my leg suggestively. 

"It was," I slur, leaning my head against the console. 

"Another drink?" He presses a button that reveals the mini bar in the back of the glider and proceeds to pour a drink for himself. 

"Some oxygen infused drink would be great," I tell him and he prepares my drink for me immediately. When he hands it to me I don't take a sip. 

"Are you taking me home?" I ask him, my throat tight. 

"Yes, we are going home." 

"My parents-."

"Your parents suggested we stay together for a short while. To iron out our differences before the wedding." 

I swallow the ball of worry that has lodged in my throat. 

Lazarus has his attendants escort me to his bed room while he attends to a few things downstairs. I get ready silently, steadying my breaths so that I don't have another melt down. I still haven't drunk or eaten anything the attendants left for me, afraid they might be drugged. 

I'm brushing my hair when he finally comes in. He leans against the door, staring at me. 

"Beautiful," He murmurs, looking satisfied. "I could get used to this." 

Colour rises in my cheeks, I don't even know why that statement made me feel shy. 

"Make yourself at home." He gestures to the bed, the table and then the sofas by the screens at the back of the room. "I'm going to wash up." 

I nod but the moment he goes into the shower, I rush to the door. I check it a few times just to be sure and release a sigh of relief because it's unlocked. Not knowing what to do with myself, I walk around the room and open up the cupboards, noting that my clothes have already been pressed and laid out next to his. 

Everything preplanned. 

"Let me know if you need anything." 

I whip around to see Lazarus in his towel. His muscular chest is glistening with moisture, damp hair hanging over his forehead that he has to smoothen back. I suck in a breath, taken aback by how attractive he is once again. 

My reaction must be obvious because he smiles ever so slightly before rubbing his hair roughly with a smaller towel. 

"It looks like everything is here already." My words are barely legible. It feels awkward, like this is my first night here with him. 

He's still smiling to himself, clearly aware of his effect on me which makes me frown. I need to stop being so obvious when I admire him. He slips on a pair of loose pants and a top and then gestures to the sofas by the back wall. 

"Let's watch something." He suggests. 

I nod following him. He gives me a box of choco bars from Earth and I take one hesitantly.

"They're not drugged." He gives me a pointed look before putting one in his mouth. He then settles comfortably against the multitude of cushions around us and puts on the matches from tonight. 

I wonder if it's the copious amounts of drink we've had because he seems more relaxed, letting down his guard as he watches a human battle it out with another with two electro poles.

The fights in the pits serve as a primary source of entertainment for not only Plutonians and humans on Pluto but also Plutonians serving across the galaxy. Hence, every single fight is recorded and broadcasted for days, some sold as copies to those who want to keep them for storage. 

I sit back and pop the piece of chocolate into my mouth, the sweetness a little too much for my liking. Unlike the coffee from Earth, chocolates have never been my favourite but I can tell Lazarus enjoys them. He takes two more and snarfs them down easily. 

After a few minutes of silence I find myself drifting off. The exhaustion from the last few days plus the concoctions from our night out are now settling in, lulling me to sleep. 

"This match is boring." Lazarus says, noticing my lack of enthusiasm. "Let's move to a more entertaining one."

He presses the buttons on his seat console and the screen fast forwards in a blur. I catch a few fighters that I recognise, some I've grown to like and cheer on. There's a brown skinned girl that I always bet on, I didn't realise she had a fight today and feel a small bout of relief that she won her match. 

He skims through her match until he settles on the death sentence match between a young human girl and a newly inducted Plutonian whom just joined a defence squad. 

Lazarus pops another chocolate into his mouth and I scoff. 

"Boring?" He asks me. 

"Aren't they all?" I wave my hand in disdain. "We both know the human's going to die."

"We already know the outcome of this one." He stares at the screen, watching the Plutonian and human take a bow before the speakers blare, announcing that the match has started. "But who knows, maybe one day a human might defeat a Plutonian." 

His statement makes me snort. "That will never happen. It is physically impossible." 

"Physical strength is only one factor in combat." He justifies. 

"Humans are blatantly weaker. They weren't born for battle like we are," I point out. I don't elaborate that they haven't trained like we have all our lives. No matter how entertaining and lucrative the matches are, they will never make sense to me. 

"That's what makes it all the more fun to watch though," He says. 

"It's pointless." I murmur.

Lazarus turns to me, losing interest in the match where the Plutonian has smashed the humans electro pole into two halves with his heated knife. I can see the girl's legs shaking visibly through the screen. 

She has a mop of brown hair crowing her head, reminding me of Ron. I feel a flicker of irritation for the human, as if my relationships weren't tumultuous enough, before he came into my life exposing dangerous bits of information that has compromised my relationship with Lazarus and my father further.

And now Ron has selflessly volunteered to head to Earth even though it isn't even confirmed that his twin brother is there or not. I looked up his file. Ron won three fights in a row a Plutonian month ago and was nominated into the army by Commander Philo. The Commander recently took up another lover leaving Ron who has since climbed the army order to become a second rank officer. 

He's achieved so much and yet he's risking everything for a brother who is most likely dead. And here I am sitting here, watching a clearly advantaged Plutonian pummel another human to death. 

I realise with growing surprise that I am jealous of the human. Jealous that he is much braver than I ever will be. Jealous that is he so selfless. In this moment, I feel we Plutonians are more primitive than the sub species we created. 

"What's pointless?" Lazarus's voice pierces my thoughts as he looks at me curiously. 

"I hate them." It slips out before I can stop myself. Probably not the most accurate choice of words because I don't actually hate Ron but what difference would that make? The humans are pitiful and we treat them like dirt, my hate is more misplaced than anything.

"The humans?" The look of surprise on his face is priceless. 

I nod, letting the jealousy get the better of me. "I hate that they're so weak. That they don't stand a chance against us and probably never will." 

Lazarus smiles, a real genuine smile that I hardly ever see. "Isn't that a good thing?" 

I cross my arms over each other. "Probably is but it doesn't make me like them any more."

"I always thought you shared the same sentiment as Lucian. You are honestly full of surprises, Luna."

He reaches over, taking my hand in his. His thumb brushes against my wrist. "You know, your father was always worried you might not think like the rest of us." 

Now, that's a first. My father never shared that sentiment with me before. 

"What do you mean?" I ask him, my tone borderline defensive. 

"It doesn't mean anything. Now that I know how you really feel, it makes all the difference." 

I almost laugh in response. "What difference could it possibly make? My opinion doesn't change anything. Things are the way they are and nothing is likely to change."

"We're making them stronger, better, more Plutonian. That's what we've been doing, Luna. This is the change we need." 

Lazarus is talking about the experiments, he's sharing more than he usually does, especially recently. 

I decide to shoot my shot. 

"Don't you think the humans here would be better off experimented on, rather than fighting for us in the pits?" I raise my shoulders nonchalantly. "Entertainment is one thing but I believe their miserable existence should serve a better purpose." 

He stares at me, his gaze calculating as the wheels turn in his head. I know he's gauging my reaction, wondering if he should share more. 

"And what purpose would that be?" 

"Well, if your experiments have successfully turned humans into Plutonians, then all the humans here should be transformed, don't you think?" 

His mouth forms a grim line. "We need them here to serve us. Also that would be illegal." 

I scoff at him, my tone belittling. "We are the Trinity, Lazarus. When have the rules ever applied to us?" 

Lazarus leans forward now and it's obvious he's seeing me in a different light. He doesn't look as guarded as he usually does around me. "So you suggest we steal humans from here?"

"Why not? It's not like they have much use to us. And you said it yourself, you need more humans." 

He strokes his chin. He's obviously stolen humans before but he's considering my words like it's the first time. The untrusting bastard. 

"And you could get them for me? Undetected?" 

He's testing me and my word and it's impertinent that I deliver. "Yes, I can. But not many." 

The silence between us stretches as he deliberates. The matches have concluded, the screens are black and on pause. The lights above us dim, sensors picking up our silence and concluding that it might be time for bed. 

"I'll tell you what," He finally says, his thumb brushing against mine. "If you can get me five humans to volunteer willingly and silently, I'll take care of their logs and numbers. But if you do that then it would mean you're one for the cause and you're one of us, Luna. There's no going back from there."

His words ring true, like alarm bells in my head. To steal humans here is illegal, I'd become complicit but then I'd finally be able to earn his trust, maybe even my father's.

It is the only way I can get Ron into such a highly secure facility. 

I nod, swallowing the growing trepidation in my belly, a feeling of foreboding telling me I am making a mistake.