The chants of the humans and Plutonian's pound against the walls outside, I can feel the angst in their cheers beat into my skin, shaking me down to my bones. The crowd is wild today and it has barely been two matches.

My fingers tighten around the smooth fabric of the seat I am on, knowing that my match is after the next.

"Did you sleep well? You look more tense than you were before the last match," Cassandra states and points one of her dainty fingers at my eyes.

Just like last time, she was brought to keep me company before my match today and I was utterly thankful. Sitting here alone waiting for my turn would have driven me mad.

I look at her calm and rested face and think of last night.

Did I sleep well? Surprisingly yes. After admitting the monstrous things Lucian has been up to, he had held on to my hand and slept like a baby. No nightmares, no out bursts, not even a slight shake. It was almost as if him admitting his plans and reassuring me that he was going to save the humans made him feel better than I did.

Thinking about him made me remember the Plutonian's horrible plans to bring in two thousand children within these next few weeks. The thought of so many children being hauled up in the slave quarters at the North gates made me sick. Not to mention this so called virus on Earth which had been unleashed and were killing humans at this instant.

I couldn't help but think of my family. What if they were infected? What if they died before I could ever see them again?

The thought caused a bubble of fear to form in my chest. It was all too much. I couldn't bear not knowing.

The sound of a whistle blowing told me the next match has started. Mine was next.

I grab Cassandra's hands, startling her in the process.

"Wha---," She begins but I quickly shush her.

I look at our human attendant who is standing by the door, a young boy who is clearly listening in on our conversation.

"Can you excuse us for one minute?" I ask him in a firm voice. Thankfully he is much younger and my stern expression makes him quickly nod his head and leave the room through a small tunnel that leads to the other waiting rooms.

"Did you know about them bringing in a thousand humans next week?" I ask her in a whisper, unable to keep it inside anymore. Hopefully, her master would have told her.

She stares at me with a shocked expression and then she slowly nods her head. "Siphus told me they're going to announce it today."

Her admission surprises me. Why does she look so calm?

"There's a virus on Earth. Apparently it's killing many humans," I choke out the words as images of my parents and brother flit through my mind painfully.

"Yes, that's why they're bringing as many as they can here," She says in a soft voice and I look up into her green eyes wondering if she believes her own words.

"Cassandra, that's two thousand. Two thousand slaves who will be tortured, enslaved and killed," I say angrily. Her calmness about the whole situation makes me feel even worse.

"Not all will die. Look at us," She says and I am at a loss for words.

"How can you not see how wrong this is? What if it's all a lie? A ploy to bring more of us here to be tortured? Have you forgotten your slave days already?" I rant on in a harsh tone and she quickly covers my mouth with her hand.

"Are you insane? Talking like that will get you killed," She hisses and then she looks around in paranoia. "I don't believe Siphus would lie to me. He has treated me well so far and he genuinely cares for the humans. The Plutonian's are going to be saving all those children. They can't catch the disease if they're here and yes some of them - the weaker ones- might die along the way but the stronger ones will survive just like we did. It will be an honor for them to serve our predecessors like we are. Imagine living on Earth, never knowing about our origins, about the extent of the colonization of the Great Plutonian empire. Imagine going through life never knowing how vast the universe is."

I am completely dumbfounded as I stare at her. It never occurred to me that we thought so differently and I have to know just how different we really are. She's mentioned her parents before but only very vaguely, it makes me realize that I don't know her as well as I think I do.

"Aren't you worried about your family on Earth? About the disease affecting them?"

She barely reacts at my question but her answer is cold and laced with anger. "My single mother was a drug addict and I have no good memory of her. My family was dead to me the moment I was brought here. It would be wise if you thought the same way, Aria."

I close my mouth and nod my head slowly not wanting to speak about this anymore. Memories of Stela's betrayal and my back suddenly come to mind and I quickly realize that I might have made the same mistake.

"I know. I'm sorry. They've always had our best interests at heart that's why I became a fighter. It must be the nerves before the match," I reiterate and Cassandra's face softens immediately.

"Of course. Don't worry you'll be great," She smiles suddenly and the change in the atmosphere makes me feel awkward.

Thankfully, our attendant rushes into the room and heads for the door.

"It's your turn now." He says.

I get up and run my sweaty palms over my pants. The shock over Cassandra's words quickly wears off as I step into the open arena and the voices of thousands of spectators fill my ears. I feel the familiar rush of adrenaline, the loud pumping of blood in my ears and my heart beats against my rib cage as I make my way to the center.

Leslie joins me soon after. He stands before me but his signature smirk and arrogance is missing. He is barely able to hold my gaze and his eyes keep darting to the exclusive seating area in front of us. I follow his eyes and sure enough Lucian sits in his usual seat facing us.

He stares at Leslie and I can see Leslie visibly shaking as a result.

Anger floods my veins as I see this exchange and it occurs to me that Lucian never believed in me enough to win. The thought hurt me more than I thought it would and when the whistle blows I charge at Leslie without a second thought.

I am going to prove to Lucian I can beat him on my own accord despite his statistics.

Leslie blocks my blows repeatedly until we reach the wall with the attached gadgets. I grab a electro pole just as he does and we swing it at each other. As expected he diverts the attention with his first move but the real blows come with his second step.

I anticipate all of them and block them easily. I frown at Leslie as he continues attacking me in a repetitive manner and when my pole strikes him in the thigh he makes no move to avoid it. It boils my blood that he is purposely letting me win like this.

He clutches his thigh and falls to the floor with his face scrunched up in pain. I throw my pole to the ground and lunge at him, making the crown go wild around us. People cheer at me to finish him off, their voices drown out my whispers in his ears as I wrap my hand around his neck in a choke hold.

"Stop acting. I know your losing on purpose," I seethe.

"Why do you care? You're going to win anyway."

"It was just a threat. He won't act on it."

"What the hell are you two talking for!" Someone shouts from a nearby bench.

"I just don't get what makes you so special. I hope he kills you once he's done with you. I hope you die before you set foot on the army base. You no good leg spreading animal," Leslie elbows me in the stomach and my grip around him loosens. He pushes me away and flashes me a crazed smile. "Just because you're screwing the Trinity doesn't mean I can't hurt you a little."

I fall on my back and he grabs the pole lying next to him. He limps up to me and swings the pole down to strike at me but I quickly role over just as it hits the ground and a burst of electricity erupts from its tip.

"We have to make our fight believable, right?" He says suddenly and then he charges at me again. I get up and run towards my pole. I barely touch it when I feel a burst of stabbing pain in my side. It feels like a million needles penetrating my skin and spreading through my body by cutting through my veins.

I fall to my side, my body shaking in shock from the pain and I hear Leslie chuckling as he approaches me. I close my eyes as a ringing booms in my ears. So this is what an electric shock feels like.

I know Leslie is approaching and it takes all my willpower to focus on him instead of the shooting pain coursing through my body. I can't let Lucian be right. I'm better than this. I have to be.

Leslie approaches me from behind and I quickly swing around and knock him off balance with my legs. He falls on his back but his pole connects with my shoulder sending another jolt of pain that feels like my skin is being ripped in half.

I scream in both pain and anger, grab the end of the pole which sends another burst of pain through my hand and down my forearm. Leslie is stunned at my actions, he doesn't even resist as I grab the pole from him and turn it around.

It must be the mad rush of adrenaline or just the feral anger Leslie brings out in me because I am able to withstand the electric shock like pain as I bring down the pole and strike him in the chest. He falls to the floor with his body convulsing and I fall on top of him, my body shaking just as much.

I strike him in the chest again and again until he jerks uncontrollably.

"See I didn't."

Strike.

"Need him."

Strike.

"To win," I choke out between gulps of air. Speaking more to myself than Leslie.

He shakes beneath me wildly but doesn't tap out despite the fact that I have hit him numerous times. His smile is delirious as he looks up at me and saliva drips down his face, pooling on the ground next to him.

I quickly stop before I end up killing him. I drop my pole to the side and proceed to get up even though he hasn't tapped out yet. He is barely conscious, I know he is going to faint anytime soon.

I stand up and bring my leg over but he suddenly grabs it making me fall down on my face. My chin hits the floor and the pain makes me feel like my face has been split in half.

Leslie drags me back slightly by my leg, his body still convulsing vigorously.

"You...only...won... because...I...let...you," He sputters through blood stained teeth and my eyes widen in horror when I see that he has bitten his tongue badly. He then taps on the floor three times and the whistle blows signalling my win.

Despite the announcement, I lie back on the floor not feeling like the winner at all. My vision is blurred as I stare at the dull grey sky above, the chanting around me suddenly deafening. The arena is chaotic and suddenly the crazed chanting turns into a steady chorus making me sit up in shock.

All around me the humans have stood up in their seats, repeating the same words over and over again as they stare at me. I've never seen them like this. I even catch some Plutonian's cheering the same words. The scene is so surreal it feels like I am dreaming.

I feel someone help me up and as I limp out of the arena the chorus never falters, the deep booming of their voices echo throughout the stadium like a prayer from the heavens above. Their words never leave my ears;

Aria the bone breaker! Aria the bone breaker!

Heyy thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Let me know what you thought of the fight and what do you think about Cassandra's viewpoints?