A/N: This chapter will be told from the pov of multiple characters. Italics outside quotations are thoughts, while words italicized inside quotations denote emphasis on the spoken word. (Forgot to mention that before.) Because I haven`t found the exact location of where the walled city would be located in the equivalent real world, I am saying it is somewhere near the Switzerland-Germany border for this story. The 'Homeland' mentioned in the manga I am placing in Germany itself. All characters are speaking English unless otherwise stated. (I know originally it was Japanese but too bad.)

[Chapter Two: Aether]

[Levi`s POV]

The air up here was thinner than I was used to, making it a little harder to breathe. Or maybe I was just dizzy from the pain as I discovered one of my shoulders was dislocated. Perhaps it was this ache that made me realize that I wasn`t actually dreaming or having a nightmare. I stumbled, disoriented as whoever it was that had brought me here released me. I was standing on the deck of what appeared to be a galleon, except instead of sails this one had a gargantuan cloth balloon looming over it. Several cables attached to a net held the inflated fabric in place. I stared in shock at my surroundings. Looking past the edge of the dirigible I saw a sea of clouds. The slowly sinking sun shone gold and orange, tingeing everything with its light. This was a completely different world than the one I had been fighting for my life in just moments before. My head spun and my legs felt oddly unsteady. The voice from earlier returned, along with a steadying hand on my uninjured arm as I tried to take a step and almost lost my footing.

"Take it easy, you and your friends are safe here."

Where is here, exactly? And my 'friends'? "Where are they?!" I whirled suddenly, moving instinctively back and away from the person behind me. The floor creaked under my feet with a strong air current, and I wound up nearly falling on my ass again as I moved too quickly. The one sword I hadn`t dropped fighting below was raised in front of me defensively. It was in my right hand, in a reversed grip out of habit. My left arm hung painfully limp at my side. As I laid eyes on my rescuer I had to wonder for a moment if she was real. Standing with both hands empty and raised in front of me was an unusual looking woman.

Dark leather boots encased her legs up to her knees, bearing armored metal plates on the shins. Tucked in to these was a pair of fitted black pants that had corset lacing up the entire outer edges. A long, collared gray jacket with flared sleeves covered her torso. The neckline was cut squarely and trimmed with black lace and silver embroidery that mirrored the cuffs. Her hands were encased by black fingerless gloves. A black belt harness ran up her sides, across her chest, over her shoulders, and around each of her thighs to hold a strange metal pack in place against her back. Her skin was a shade of pale golden tan I had never seen before, and loosely curling silvery white hair hung just past her visible collar bone. She was slender enough that I had a hard time believing she had lifted me. The boots gave her about three inches on me in height, but what struck me most oddly was the color of her eyes. The irises were nearly as white at her hair, with the only darkness in them being her black pupils. Her face was angular with high cheekbones, and smudges of shadow that spoke of too little sleep gave her a somewhat ill appearance. She looks like some kind of strange noble, but that stance looks like one of someone who`s used to fighting hand to hand. One of her feet was further back than the other and she was turned partially, with her right side facing me. Both hands were raised in a gesture that said she didn`t want to fight. Her palms were devoid of weapons, although a wide, flat sword hung at her left hip. The guard of the weapon was gleaming gunmetal gray; while what I could see of the blade itself was an ominous black. A flare gun rested on her other hip. Like mine, her clothing was damp from passing through the clouds.

There were other people all around us. Most of them had curly black or brown hair, tanned skin, and small, dark eyes. Their clothing looked bizarre to me. Several wore harnesses similar to the woman`s, with more modest attire. These ones had weapons with them of varying styles. The others carried tools or barrels, first aid supplies and other goods around the large space. All of them had their gazes fixed on us. One man stood apart from the others, visibly almost half a foot taller than anyone else present. His clothing was more ornate than his fellows` as well. He had coal black hair shot through with gray at the temples, and gleaming golden beads were woven in to his trimmed beard. A gilded flintlock pistol was raised in his left hand. It was pointed straight at my chest over the young woman`s shoulder. He spoke directly in a gravelly voice;

"Lower your weapon, boy. That`s my daughter you`re threatening."

Excuse me, I thought, I`m thirty one. I am no 'boy'. "Not until I know what the hell is going on. Where are my squad members?" I barked back, not dropping my guard or giving any ground. His piercing navy eyes took on an increased menacing glint. The white haired girl held out an arm to bar his advance, but did not take her eyes off of me. She said;

"Captain Virgil, I do not require your assistance. He`s as uneasy as you are right now." She was frowning, but her expression cleared when she addressed me. "As for you, I`ve already told you that your friends are safe. Our medics are treating them as we speak. I`ll take you to them myself as soon as you put that weapon away. You`re aboard the Aether; the man with the gun is her Captain. He`s a bit overprotective. I am Aether Artemis Alamanni, and I`m the one who ordered your people to be rescued."

"I`ll stand down when he does. You can forget about me handing my sword over though. I`ll determine for myself if my people are safe or not." I jerked my chin towards the other 'Captain' as I responded. The one called Artemis nodded in acknowledgment.

"Father."

"Not a chance in hell. We saved him and his people, risked our lives to do so. Now he has the casetti to threaten us?"

"I and my Dead Men rescued them. We risked our lives. You wanted us to stay on the Aether and ignore the screams. We just plucked this man and four other people out of a war zone, injured, and surrounded them all by strangers they probably didn`t even know existed. Inferne a fuoco, we had no idea they existed. Would you not be uneasy if it were you?"

"…I am only trying to look out for the members of this crew. You brought them aboard against my wishes, not knowing anything about them. Obviously they are dangerous. If you can`t keep them in line then I will have to, Artemis. Daughter or not, you`d better be willing to face the consequences of your actions." He glared at me for a moment longer before slowly uncocking the gun and tucking it away inside the breast of his coat. The elder man continued to give me a cold stare, but seemed to have thought better of causing a fight with so many of his own near harm`s way. I lowered my sword as well, easing it in to its sheath. My hand remained on the pommel out of paranoia. Artemis lowered her head and bowed to me slightly from the waist while keeping her eyes raised. She didn`t trust me either. Smart.

"We can discuss my insubordination later. Right now there are people who need my help. I will accept whatever judgment you pass, regardless. But I do know one thing about these people. They fight the titans, just like we do. Any enemy of my enemy is a potential ally."

[Artemis`s POV]

I studied the battered man standing on the deck of my father`s ship. He was shorter than I had originally thought, and had more fight left in him too. After being partially crushed by that abnormal titan less than ten minutes ago, I would have thought he`d try to avoid another confrontation. His expression was cool and almost blank even with his left shoulder dislocated. He`s a tough poco bastardo, I`ll give him that. After my father was done having his fit and the guy I had cut free from the titan`s grasp calmed a little, I lowered my hands. I was wary of the people we had saved too, but more than that I was incredulous. As different from myself and my people as they appeared, they were still unmistakably humans. We had found what we were looking for, finally! There are other people left! We have proof now that we aren`t the only ones who have managed to escape those monsters! A real, living, breathing human being stood before me. He was in rough shape, but he was here. While the intelligent part of my brain was warning me towards caution, another part was lighting up with the high of victory. After three long and vastly unsuccessful scouting missions in the past six years it was a spectacular relief that all of our efforts weren`t wasted. I couldn`t quite keep a small smirk from tugging at the corner of my mouth. I made eye contact with the unnamed stranger and tilted my head towards the door behind him leading to the lower levels of the Aether.

"Come on, they`re this way."

"After you."

The walk wasn`t a long one; my boots tapped softly on the smooth wood underneath my feet as I opened the door and led him down a short flight of stairs. There was no railing on either side, but the boards were sturdy and free of debris or obstruction. I skirted around one of my fellow crew members when we reached the bottom and waited for the man to follow. He did, shooting a curious glance around the interior of the galleon. Below deck was dimly lit at the moment, since the majority of the crew was upstairs and there was still daylight outside the portholes. When I glanced back over my shoulder I caught the young-looking man peering around with suspicion. Still his hand never moved from his weapon. I guess I can`t blame him, whoever he is. I said;

"I`m going to warn you now; your people are in rough shape."

"How many of us are there?" He inquired quickly.

"Four besides yourself. Three males and one female. The young woman I brought up before you was unconscious when I found her." I could see the metaphorical gears turning in his head at that.

Is it the female titan`s true form, or someone else? I had no idea what he was thinking, but judging from his expression it worried him further. "Can you treat their injuries?"

I appreciated that he didn`t ask me if I could save them. I answered truthfully; "My medico is already working on that as we speak. I have my own people to attend to."

"They were injured in your rescue attempt?"

"I strongly doubt it. I trust in their abilities. Even so, I ordered them to return before myself to prevent that from happening. I still want to check on them and hear their reports, though." I paused before a narrow wooden door and placed my hand on the brass knob. The dark-haired man stopped short as I stepped to one side of the frame and opened the door for him.

[Levi`s POV]

I frowned but stepped forward; I wanted to see my comrades more than I wanted to believe she was setting some kind of trap. I didn`t like that she forced me to walk past her in to the room first, since I didn`t know what to expect inside. However as soon as I saw Eld, Petra, Yeager, and surprisingly; Arlert- alive and whole I forgot to be quite as worried. We were instantly greeted by the clamor of several people trying to talk over each other at once. Every person in the room had turned towards the door. From the outside I would never have guessed the room was this large, but it managed to fit all four of the other scout regiment members plus a man in a lab coat and two other people I didn`t know. Petra was laid out on a narrow bed; her short hair splayed around her head like a dull halo. Next to her in a wooden chair was Eld, holding her hand while the medic splinted and bandaged his leg. Eren was tucked under a blanket in another bed a few feet away. His burns seemed to be healing more by the moment; they would probably be gone by the time he woke up. Keeping a watch over Yeager was Armin. The small blonde boy looked to be in the best condition out of all of my people which was saying something. I spotted only a small bandage on one of his cheeks. His bright blue eyes darted over and lit up when I entered the room.

"Captain Levi! You`re alive! Are there others? Have you seen Mikasa? Do you know-"

"Arlert, kindly contain your enthusiasm. I don`t have any better idea what`s happened than you do. What`s important right now is that we aren`t dead yet." Inside I was smiling, but outside I had to appear controlled and unflustered, for their sake. "Eld, you made it. How is Petra?"

"Heichō…She hasn`t woken since they found her. The wound isn`t very deep, although this one tells me she has a concussion which may lead to some memory loss." Eld gestured at the man wrapping his leg and looked at me with sad eyes full of worry. He and Petra had always been close friends. If I remembered correctly the two had actually grown up as neighbors in the same district. "Sir, there`s something else… I know you saw Oluo`s body, but Gunther is dead too. Someone dressed in the Scout`s uniform attacked us and disappeared right before the female titan showed up out of nowhere at our backs. I can only assume the titan and the attacker were one and the same person."

"I never found Gunther after we parted ways. He was a good man, and so was Oluo, if a bit annoying. They gave their lives for the cause, and I will make sure they are remembered for it when we return home. Their sacrifice is part of the reason at least you and the others are alive." Two more of my men were dead. Two more of my strongest were gone. Oluo had had the highest number of solo titan kills among us. A fist sized pain twisted in my chest. I refused to show it in front of these strangers and tried to focus on what little good had come of the tragedy. Stubbornly, I kept pushing forward. "You, what`s your name?" I asked the skinny male doctor. He turned to face me and I saw fear in his ice blue eyes. His curly black bangs reached nearly to his nose, hiding part of his face. His nose was short and somewhat crooked, clearly having been broken at one point. I took a step towards him and cocked my head expectantly for his answer. It did not go unnoticed when his crewmate strode past me to the two people on the other side of the room, that the clasp on her blade`s sheath was visibly undone. Point taken, I won`t hurt your boyfriend.

"Aether Icarus Alamanni." The man responded quietly. His accent, like the others`, was thick and rich but I could not place it. He gave me a furtive glance before quickly returning to his work of splinting Eld`s leg. One side of his face was terribly scarred from his right cheekbone down as if it had been burned by a splash of caustic liquid. Same last name. Is he her husband? I wondered silently. Then;

"I`m Levi Ackerman; a Captain within the Scout Regiment. Aether-sensei, what can you tell me?"

"Not much until they wake up. There`s no way to be certain that she`s suffered any brain damage before that happens. I am optimistic about her recovery, though. This man has a compound tibial fracture. It will take a few months to heal properly during which time he will need to stay off his feet. Too bad he can`t heal like your other friend over there. Now that`s something I don`t see very often. Is he a ghoul? He does not look like one."

"'Ghoul?' I`m not sure what you mean by that." I squinted hard at him, wondering what the hell he was rambling about. My shoulder and arm throbbed, but I ignored them. Artemis took the liberty of explaining somewhat.

"A 'ghoul' is someone with extraordinary regenerative capabilities brought about through mutation. We have them in our city of New Roma as well, but they are very rare and usually treated like second class citizens. Icarus, I strongly doubt he needs to know about that right now. You might try fixing his shoulder instead."

New Roma? 'Your city'? So there are more of these people out there?! This is an important find for the Scout Regiment… Something good has come from our sacrifice. I`m not sure I like the way she looked at Eren just now though; like she knows a lot more than she`s letting on. I made an effort to slow my whirling thoughts and focus more clearly. I told them; "No, Yeager`s not a ghoul, whatever that might entail. He does heal faster than normal, which is one of the things we were trying to study back home before we were chased by that Abnormal female titan. I would appreciate it if you are able to do something for my injury, doctor. But worry about those four first." Feeling drained but immensely relieved at seeing Eld, Petra, Yeager, and Arlert alive I glanced around for an open seat. There were only three chairs, and all of them were occupied currently by Armin, Eld, and the doctor. There was one other bed with no one in it, so I sat on that and observed the woman instead.

Right now she seemed to be getting an enthusiastic scolding. The two she was with wore the same harnesses and gear as she did. One was a short, flat-chested redheaded girl who didn`t look like she could be any older than twenty, the other was a muscular guy with a shadow of stubble and shaggy brown hair. The man`s voice was too low and he spoke in a fluid language that I didn`t understand. He had his thick arms crossed over his chest and was clearly unhappy. He gestured to his vertically challenged companion as I watched, which prompted her to cut him off verbally.

"Come hai potuto fare questo a noi?! Artemis! Idiota! Che diavolo?!"

"Juliette-" My rescuer tried, but couldn`t get a word in edge-wise.

"Non e vero 'Juliette' mi! Non si puo solo scappare ! Pietre pensa cosi anche."

"Juliette. Ecco perche." The taller woman leaned down and grabbed the other`s chin, physically stopping her tirade. I wondered what she meant to do just then. I assumed it was 'Juliette' by their argument who`s face turned bright red at that moment. Artemis gently turned her companion`s face to one side and pulled a handkerchief from a pocket hidden in her jacket. With that she dabbed expertly at a scratch on the girl`s face. I saw her from the side; her profile was smiling kindly. I couldn`t tell what language they were speaking, and I could only guess at the meaning behind the words. But to me it was obvious that the Captain`s daughter cared about the other girl. I wasn`t clear on what their relation ship was, although it was interesting to watch and it distracted me from the pain as I waited patiently for the doctor to finish patching up Eld. Meanwhile the man in the harness (I thought his name was Peitre) was looking at his comrades with something like jealousy. The angry little woman`s eyes were watering; then she was suddenly crying.

"Artemis! Che diavolo…" He reached out almost faster than I could see, making a pouting expression, and punched her on the arm. Surprisingly, her boot caught on a part of the floor and she fell on her ass laughing. The sound was a happy one. In it I heard the same relief and fleeting joy I had felt upon finding Eren, Armin, Eld, and Petra alive. The male Alamanni`s hands jerked in surprise. He looked over and stared at the trio before rolling his eyes. Then he too spoke, his voice a playful growl;

"Don`t make me come over there. I have patients who need rest and quiet in here you pagliaccis." He had finished with Eld and turned to me now.

He asked if I was able to remove my cloak and jacket so that he might examine my shoulder. I suppressed a sigh; doing so meant I would have to take my hand off my weapon. Come on, Ackerman. What are they going to do, tie you up with bandages? I nodded and exhaled, then unclasped my cloak. It fell back on the bed behind me with a light slithering noise. The jacket was harder with only one working arm, especially as I was trying not to jar the other one and aggravate the injury. After a moment I finally managed it although I could feel my cheeks starting to burn marginally. Relocating my shoulder was a painful process, but thankfully it was over with faster than I had expected. Once that was accomplished and everyone had been treated for their ailments, the medic turned to the woman with whom he shared a last name. She was sitting between her friends; they were all crammed on to the edge of one bed talking quietly now. Standing over her they looked nothing alike, yet certain aspects about them were identical. Like the cadence of their speech, for example.

"What about you, Artemis?" Her gaze rose to meet his after a moment and she stood up.

"What about me, Icarus?"

"Are you kidding? You dead dropped off the Aether in to a forest writhing with titans and you came out without a scratch? Come on."

"What does it look like to you? I didn`t go down to engage them, just to steal their supper."

"How`s your leg?"

"I`m walking on it, aren`t I?"

"Artemis…"

"Come off it. If I need stitches or something I`ll let you know. I have to go deal with the Captain now, so stay out of trouble." She shot me a look of farewell before she walked out of the room. The door swung shut with a quiet smack. I glanced over at the tall doctor with tired eyes. Arlert chose that moment to speak up somewhat inappropriately;

"What was that about? She didn`t look hurt to me…"

"Tch. She rarely lets on when she is anyways. She`s the most stubborn person I`ve ever met."

"Is that why you married her?" Eld wondered, having made the same assumption as I had earlier. Icarus`s eyes bulged and his face turned paper white, then beat red in quick sequence. His mild manner vanished in a wave of mortification.

"W-what the hell made you think we`re married?!"

"You do have the same surname." I contributed to the conversation, hoping it would be over and we could all catch some rest soon.

"Artemis is my sister." He explained, casting a glare at his fellows who were snickering from their perch. "Out." He told them sternly, and pointed at the portal through which his sibling had just left. Both obediently rose, still suppressing laughs albeit not very well.

"Can they understand us?" I wondered out loud.

"They understand enough. Maybe not the finer points, but Artemis has been teaching them for about a year now."

Were they speaking that other tongue to make sure I didn`t understand? I found that idea suspicious. "Did she teach you this language too?"

"No, our mother taught us both when we were children, but Artemis speaks better English than me."

"She`s multilingual." Armin chimed in helpfully. Eld appeared to be resting his eyes as he leaned back in the chair, still holding Petra`s hand. Icarus peered over at Arlert from underneath his dark bangs.

"Yes, she has a talent for languages. She speaks English, Italian, German, and some Latin. It`s one of the reasons she was allowed to come on the expeditions in the first place." That caught my interest, and I asked him about it since he seemed to be in a talkative mood.

"What is the purpose of these expeditions? I can`t imagine it`s just to save random strangers."

"Tcht." Icarus clicked his tongue in a way that seemed the equivalent of a snort. "No, this is the first time we`ve even met other people from outside our city. That is the point of these journeys. An ancient temple from a long gone culture serves as the foundation for much of New Roma. Within that structure are many different kinds of history recorded; paintings, sculptures, carvings, scrolls, and tomes. They tell of a vast world populated by thousands of civilizations. But since the titans appeared, that world has been lost. All of those people, their memories, they made their mark. We want to make our own mark by rediscovering the rest of the world. We want to meet the descendants of the people that we read about in those stories. But, more than anything, we want to be rid of the titans to live outside of New Roma`s walls. The island is large and well defended, but it can sustain only so many."

"So, your people in this 'New Roma' are running out of space and supplies?" Armin wanted to know curiously. I could see in his young face a spark of fascination. He was an avid reader according to Eren; I bet he was fantasizing about some library in a distant, magical land. Listening to the two of them talk I was just glad for a reprieve. Of course I knew we would have to worry about getting back home and fighting the titans again soon. For now though, my survey corps squadron needed to rest and heal, and I was content to let them do so while relaxing myself for a while. The doctor meanwhile had turned his chair around backwards and had crossed his arms on top of its back. Armin pulled his own seat up next to Icarus, leaving Eren to sleep in peace. I swear those two are attached at the hip. All that`s missing from this picture is Mikasa hanging around. And Oluo, and Gunther… I shifted slightly, easing my back up against the headboard of the bed and crossing my legs at the ankles so that I was more comfortable.

"No, Meister Arlert. We have both things with spare still, but our leaders like to plan ahead for the future."

"You have more than one leader? Don`t you follow a king or queen?" The blonde asked. All my pessimistic thoughts could come up with was; It must be nice to have the luxury of worrying about a future that far ahead.

"Do you? We have a small council of five leaders. They vote on all important matters. The majority votes rules and makes the final decision. But that`s all boring political merda. What is your home like?" They went back and forth for some time gossiping with and learning from each other. I dozed in and out of slumber; I was too exhausted to fight it and too paranoid to sleep properly. Eren began fussing in his sleep at one point and half yelling unintelligibly. Armin rose then and went to comfort him by sitting next to his bed and talking softly. Icarus bid us both rest and apologized for letting his curiosity run away with him, then left us to our own devices. I drifted off vaguely wondering just what I would wake up to.