Chapter 3

A/N: need beta reader. Don't own anyone.

Deryn had been woken by the water. It hadn't been too long after she landed that she had decided to sleep. Normally a person would have decided to, say, try to escape the brush fire that her downed Huxley had started. Normally a person would have decided that they had gone mad if they had been hurled through a storm of blue lightning and watched as thousands of impossible battles played out around them. So with this in mind Deryn decided that the best, most sensible course of action was to fall asleep and see if she woke up in her cabin, away from this Russian forest, perhaps never having placed that bloody letter to Alek on his bed, maybe even having never met him and Volger and the rest in the first place.

The water dosed this hope, along with the fire that had slowly been creeping towards her. Still groggy from the nap Deryn pulled herself into motion. The forest stretched out around her forcing her to pick which way she went. Eventually choosing the direction that the Leviathan would have taken (further into the nation) Deryn began the long trek back to civilization. "If they try to hang me for treason they're have to think again." She said aloud. It was too lonely out here not speak to someone, even if there was no one around.

As she walked Deryn began to think of the storm. Hours of memorization and study seemed useless when compared to the storm. It had sprung out of nowhere, completely engulfing her and the Huxley. And whatever observers said there was no such thing as blue lightning. Deryn herself could testify to that. And the visions… Deryn shook her head trying to come up with some reason for the strange ships that had appeared. They couldn't have been her imagination. And they couldn't have been air pressure making her delirious. There had to be some answer to the appearance of a barking clipper ship in a storm thousands of feet up in the air. Her dad had always told her that there was some answer to everything. That everything had a reason.

Her musings were cut short by crackling twigs. Drawing her rigging knife Deryn sidled up against a tree and waited. The twigs kept breaking the noise moving ever closer to her hiding spot. At the last possible second Deryn whipped the hilt of her blade at what she thought was the head of whatever was nearing her. The creature collapsed. Looking down at what had nearly found her Deryn couldn't have brought herself to be surprised when she saw that she had just knocked out a woman. The girl was in her mid-twenties, blond and looked to be a little taller than Deryn.

Stranger still was the girls clothes. Now Darwinians aren't particularly offended by the more vulgar aspects of gender politics, but even from her standing, Deryn would have told the girl that she was pushing at the boundaries of acceptability. Her clothes were skintight and exposed almost too much cleavage to be considered decent. Deryn was about to pick her up and try to see which way she came from when she moaned loudly and opened her eyes. For a moment Deryn and the girl looked at each other before the girl swore. Deryn recognized the word as German and smiled at the girl. "Ooh its good you're a Clanker." before knocking her out again.

Searching the girl until satisfied that she wasn't armed Deryn slung her over her back and decided that she would head east-northeast and find the Clankers the mystery girl had come with. It seemed as through the girl had been searching for something. Yeah, me. Deryn thought. It's not like there's something else out here that the barking Germans would want to find.

Well, ignorance is bliss.

Several minutes passed as Deryn lugged the girl along. Her muscles could carry her for a few hours if it came down to that. And if the girl came to Deryn could always make her walk. Deryn was starting to wonder at the girls name when she came onto an open clearing. A young man stood in the center of the field, his side turned towards her. Behind him a walkway led up to … empty space. Deryn dropped the girl and picked up a stone. If she could just get him from here than no one would be the wiser and she could find the craft they came in. Straightening she watched the boy turn to see her. "Ah Juliet, I would like to assist you in fin…ding… ".

Deryn whirled her arm like a sling and released the stone. The boy hopped back as the stone threw sparks over the walkway. Deryn ran flat footed at the boy as he reversed away from her. His heel, amazingly, caught on the stone she had only just thrown and tumbled back. Deryn jumped on the boy and pressed her rigging knife to his throat. "Know then, you're going to take me to your plane and get me back to the Leviathan."

The boy murmured something, over and over. "Are you cracked in the attic boy?" He just kept muttering under his breath. For a moment she wondered if he was praying. Then he heard him.

"5 25 125 625 3125".

"You are cracked in the attic. "Deryn stared down at the boy, unsettled. There seemed something fundamentally wrong with him. He seemed too small to be a soldier. Too pail either. But there was something more. He seemed almost familiar to her, an old friend long forgotten. Then she saw his eyes.

"Your-r-r eyes, h-how do you…" A shadow fell over his face, her tone breaking him from his number trance. His mismatched eyes burrowed into hers for a moment. Then he looked up, arching his head back and said one word.

"Butler."

Deryn starred at him for a second, uncomprehending. Then she saw the shadow had fallen over her to. She looked up… and straight into a black hole.

…

Alek had just entered his cabin when he saw the note. Picking up the letter he saw it had been addressed from Dylan. Alek frowned. Why would Dylan give him a letter if he could just talk to him? Dylan had never seemed the kind of boy to try to talk indirectly. He was a plainspoken boy. Alek moved to the desk that stood in his room when he felt his stomach start to do backflips. Stepping back out he called to an officer that was running past. "Sir, why are we descending?" The officer looked at him and shrugged. The feeling of falling intensified. Alek gripped the frame of his door for balance. For a moment he thought that the ship was venting every bit of hydrogen it had. The idea was followed by a sovern BOOM. Looking after the officer that had been running through the halls Alek quickly decided that Dylan's note could wait. Shook up from explosion Alek struggled in placing it in gently in his pocket before starting off toward the bridge. At least he could figure out what had happened to the ship.

The Airship's gondolas were nearly on the tree tops when Alek reached the bridge. He had fallen twice in his attempt to reach the front of the ship. Standing at the helm, Captain Hobbes and Dr. Barlow were arguing over some storm while Mr. Rigby watched on, slowly shaking his head.

"Captain, why did we descend?" Alek asked. Hobbes and Barlow kept talking, but Rigby looked at Alek and gestured to come forward.

"I know that Your Highness would like to be informed of what has happened on dorsal just now, but we have more pressing matters to discuss." Alek wasn't sure whether Rigby had meant to get the attention of the captain and boffin or to tell him off, but it certainly worked in the former aspect. Both of them looked at Alek. Was it simply his imagination or were Dr. Barlow's eyes wet.

"Your Highness, we really can't talk right now. It's imperative that we relay our findings to the admiralty."

"We have no findings." Dr. Barlow cut in. "We can't leave now, not when midshipmen Sharp was in that."

Alek's pulse sped up. Dylan's in danger.

"And if the Germans find this while we're gone then we may as well wave the white flag and sue for peace."

"Wait, wait, what was Dylan in?" Alek interrupted. Both Hobbes and Barlow looked at him, then back at each other. Dr. Barlow's eyes looked wet again.

"Maybe it would be best if I told him." Rigby put in. Looking at the he clarified "If I may." The captain nodded and let him Mr. Rigby out. In the hallway Rigby looked down on Alek. Suddenly Alek wasn't sure he wanted to hear what he was going to say. "I know that Dylan was your best friend." Rigby began. "Your only friend on the ship. But the thing is when we were venting the hydrogen Dylan was in a Huxley above us."

Alek started. "Why were you venting hydrogen when he was in the air?" This had to be some cruel joke. They wouldn't actually endanger Dylan. Wouldn't they?

"A storm came right over us. The lightning nearly got the whole ship. If we hadn't dropped then we'd be a ball of fire in the middle of nowhere".

"But couldn't you winch Dylan down. Try to get him back to safety."

Rigby starred his boots, as though they held the reason why he had done what he had. "The storm didn't just form above us. It formed around Dylan."

Alek swayed on his feet. He hardly heard Rigby cry out. Didn't hear the pounding of feet. Didn't even hear himself hit the floor. Dylan was gone.

…

Alek watched the world slowly revolve around the Leviathan from dorsal. Trees. Sun. Hills. River. Trees again. The Leviathan had circled this patch of sky for two days now, steaming up and down the region in search of Dylan. The Admiralty had agreed with Dr. Barlow that they had not managed enough data on whatever was up there and would need to stay here for further study. But Captain Hobbes wasn't sending any more of his officers up there to see if the anomaly had changed position and certainly wouldn't risk his ship. So now the ship couldn't leave, but couldn't study the anomaly. So the crew had set about to find Dylan's body. Mr. Rigby had told Alek that even if Dylan had been in the center of the explosion of hydrogen that there should still be a body to be found. But days of searching on the ground and in the air had yielded nothing except tired men and hungry tracking dogs. It seemed like there was no body to be found.

They still planned a memorial service, regardless of the body. Klopp had told Alek that it was an old superstition that sailors would need to honor the dead even if they weren't found before the first Sunday after they went missing, lest there spirit haunt the men for the rest of their lives. Alek only hoped that, somehow, Dylan was out there, trying to make his way back to the ship.

"May I speak with you, your Serene Highness?"

"Of course, count Volger, you may." Alek looked at the count. Volger had been working his way out of his room for quite some time. It had been volunteering to help search for Dylan that had turned the Captains ear for him. Having a wildcount to track Dylan was worth three teams of men and dogs. Yet the hunt was taxing for Volger, wearing him down faster than any of the soldiers. But it was good that he would help search for Dylan.

"I don't know why you grew so attached to Mr. Sharp so quickly. He is a good soldier but it wouldn't befit an Archduke to be seen with such rift raft.

"Count…" Alek began warningly.

"But I do feel for you. I can see how it seems that you've lost a brother." Volger watched as the sun passed by. "I still remember how by brother, Aldrich, took a bullet for me." Alek had heard of Aldrich Volger. He had been a soldier that had kept his brother from dying in the Balkan wars.

"Count, it's touching that you would believe that I thought of Dylan as a brother. But he was a friend, nothing more." That was a lie and Alek knew Volger would know it. But it helped to talk about Dylan.

Volger cleared his throat impishly, as though he had something that he needed to tell Alek, but rather dreaded it. "Would you allow me to speak frankly, your Serene Highness?"

"Yes."

"I did believe that your trust with Mr. Sharp was unfounded, but I did know that he was never to betray you. He was good at keeping secrets."

"He was worthy of our trust Volger but if you intend to insult his memory then I, what are you doing." Midway through Alek's sentence Volger had sprung up and began pulling out his spyglass. Standing up along with him Alek saw a distant shape, approaching from above the horizon. "Is it a zeppelin?"

"No, it's another one of these godless airbeasts. The range is too far for me told read the name." Handing the spyglass to Alek, Volger waited for him to read the distant lettering.

"It's the Minotaur. That's the ship that Dylan cousin is serving on."

Volger nodded grimly and murmured. "And so he will know what happened to her." With that he turned on his heal and left for the bridge. Alek stood there for a minute before turning to follow Volger. He was nearly down the spine when he thought something was strange about what the Count had said, but couldn't put his finger on it. Shrugging he continued down.

The Leviathan had been running low on supplies for the last few days so the Minotaur was also to resupply them and replace them in the study of the anomaly. Several Huxley's where tethered together and loaded to bring the supplies over. Jaspert Sharp was with them. He had the same blue eyes of his cousin, but a shock of coal black hair in difference to his siblings. The letter from Dylan, unopened since he first found it in his room, weighed heavily in Alek's pocket. "So which one of you is Aleksandar?" Scanning the small crowd his eyes alighted to Alek.

"So you're the prince my cousin's talked so much about. You don't look like the princely type." Alek looked at the man, confused. He didn't seem to be mourning.

"Yes I am. I would. "

"Did he like the ship?" Jaspert cut him off. Snaking his arm around Alek's shoulder Jaspert lead him away from crewmen.

"Well yes, but."

"Tied knots, worked on the rat lines?"

"He DID, but he just."

"Just what." Jaspert eyed Alek. "Just died?"

"YES, don't you care about him?" Alek shouted. Jaspert seem to brush off Dylan's death, as though it was a simple as swatting a fly. But then Jaspert's eyes flashed. And in a blink of one, Alek felt cold steel on his neck.

"If you ever say I don't care about Dylan ever again, you'll be telling it to him personally." Jaspert threatened. Withdrawing the blade he continued. "Besides, Dylan died doing what he wanted to do. Flying has always been his love." Alek stood rigid, speechless from the man's outburst, almost forgetting why he had come to meet him. He pulled the letter out of his pocket and thrust it into Jaspert's reach. Jaspert looked at the letter, uncomprehending.

"This letter's from Dylan. It's pretty much all I have left of him. I think he would have wanted you to have it."

"If he gave it to you it's yours. Dylan always meant what he did." Jaspert said, trying to shove the letter away.

"I want you to have it then."

"Why?"

"Because," Alek said, fighting to keep his voice level, "I think that it would be easier for me to deal with him if I don't have it."

Jaspert eyed Alek suspiciously and took the letter. Unfolding the paper he read to himself. The color drained from his face, his eyes moistened. Voice shaking he asked, "Have you read this, Alek."

"No"

Before Alek could speak further Jaspert spun, throwing the letter out the window. For a moment Alek watched the man's back, it heaving in sobs before asking, "Why did you do that?"

Jaspert told him, but the words were lost in the aerial attack siren.

A/N: these just keep getting longer. Action for the next chapter, and maybe some lectures.