"Ah, yes, since we're arriving in Japan tomorrow, we'll be greeted with a welcome party. Literally, actually," the captain of the Leviathan explained. Deryn exchanged a glance with Alek at this. "I expect everyone to be in full dress uniform when we land tomorrow."

"Great. I expect that I'll be abandoned tomorrow," Alek complained sulkily.

"And give you the possibility to escape again? Not a chance," Deryn pointed out.

"True…"

Almost as if summoned by those words, they heard a familiar voice shout, "Hey! Dylan! Alek!"

"Hello, Helen," Deryn deadpanned on default, not even bothering to turn around. Helen had done this sort of thing the entire way to Japan. She was getting used to it by now.

Helen stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and spun her around. "Okay, Alek, we figured out how we're going to keep an eye on you during the party," she said, a slight smirk on her face.

"How?"

She did a slight head-tilt, the smirk widening. "Well, you're going to be with Dylan the entire night, for starters. And secondly… you'll be known as Midshipman Alexander Ferdinand."

"I can't believe this. She was dead serious about this," Deryn said disbelievingly. She was in her fancy dress uniform, and Alek was in a borrowed one.

"Does Helen ever bluff?" Alek questioned.

She had to think about that. "No, I don't think so."

"She was serious about firing that gun, serious about us taking her bird for a fly, serious about trying to beat terminal velocity… She's insane, Dylan. That's what I think," Alek confessed.

She laughed slightly. "But she knows what she's doing, and she's barking brilliant with the beasties. I like her."

"Thank you, Dylan." The pair jumped as they realized Helen had opened the door and was looking in. "I appreciate the compliment. I would also appreciate it if you got ready to go out now."

"It's time already?"

"Better believe it. Come, middies."

As the pair trooped out of the room after Helen, finding Tesla waiting for her as well, she suddenly paused. "Oh, Alek, I think Nora wanted you to bring Bovril. She said she was in her room, because she was giving the thing a bath. Might want to go fetch her."

"What do we need Bov for?" Alek was clearly confused.

Helen rolled her eyes, gesturing to the top of her head where Alek and Deryn finally noticed a black bowler hat. "It's sort of a boffin convention, too, as well as a welcome party. Meaning I have to wear this silly hat."

"Oh, shush," Tesla chided her, "You know you like dressing up and showing off."

"Too true, Nicky. Okay, Alek, run along. We'll wait for you here, then," she shooed him away.

Deryn watched him go, not aware that Helen was waiting for him to leave. The instant he was out of earshot, the boffin casually remarked, "So, Dylan, Nikola and I were wondering why you haven't told Alek your little secret yet."

Deryn froze. No, no, no….she'd been found out? By a boffin and her companion, who'd been on the ship for only two and a half weeks? Bloody hell… What could she do? "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she stuttered, heart beating rapidly.

Helen fixed her with a critical eye. Despite the fact that woman was even shorter than Alek, Deryn felt tiny in her dark brown gaze. "Really, Dylan? That's not going to work on us. All three of us know that you and I have quite a lot in common."

So she did know. It wasn't a random guess like Dr. Barlow's that ended up being right, but right about the wrong secret.

"Please don't tell anyone," she pleaded, not sounding like herself.

The woman laughed. "Dylan, do you really think I'd do that? I'm not heartless."

Tesla, who'd been doing no more than watching the pair of them from beside the wall, said quietly, "You are aware that Helen would never do that? She's like you. She flies, she wears pants and short hair, and she's a woman."

"Thank you, Nikola," Helen thanked him with a nod before turning to Deryn. The panic she'd initially felt was beginning to die down. "So, Dylan, just to tell you, I think you're, as you say, barking brilliant for doing this. And, if I were you, I'd tell Alek sometime soon. Poor boy's too oblivious to figure it out on his own."

Alek had been to a lot of fancy parties and such, but none of those which he'd attended were quite this… interesting. This was in part due to Helen (obviously), who was strutting around in a low-cut silver dress that was quite ruffled at the bottom. Dr. Barlow and Tesla hadn't even tried to get her to not stand out quite so much.

She'd thrown her much-hated hat out the window first chance she got, had eventually (somehow) gotten Phillip in the ballroom and was currently stroking him with a black-gloved hand, and was eating raw fish on rice with gusto. And yet, the Japanese boffins loved her. It turned out that she was fluent in Japanese, a language Alek had never practiced.

He'd stuck with Dylan the entire night. They eyed a plate of the raw fish and rice with apprehension. "They call this sushi," Dylan mused, "I'm not sure if this is safe to eat. It looks barking suspicious."

Alek reached for one of the sushi rolls. "Helen's been eating them all night… I think they're safe…"

"Well, Helen's not exactly normal, is she?" Dylan countered, still suspicious of the sushi despite the fact that his best friend was considering eating one.

Quickly, before he could change his mind, Alek shoved it in his mouth. Dylan stared at him in alarm as he chewed and swallowed. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Alek nodded. "I'm fine. I don't think I'll try eating that again, though…" Suddenly, the boffin convention, as Helen called it, felt stifling. The ballroom was packed with crew members from the Leviathan, Japanese boffins and high-ups, and a giant bird. "I'm going to get some fresh air," he declared, standing and moving towards the doors leading to the multiple small balconies.

He wasn't surprised to find that Dylan followed him out. The blond boy looked oddly nervous as he stared up at the night sky. There was a strange calm out here, with the music and chatter from the party behind them. They were alone, finally able to relax.

Dylan's voice was soft when, after a few minutes of silence, he said, "Hey, Alek?"

He turned to him. "Yeah, Dylan?"

Dylan didn't say anything for a moment before turning full-on to Alek. His blue eyes were huge- was that fear in them? "I haven't been completely honest with you…" he murmured, looking down a bit, not quite meeting his eyes.

"What do you mean, Dylan?" Alek was curious now, but a feeling of dread was creeping on him.

"…I'm a girl, Alek," he- no, she whispered.

"What?"

"Shhh!" she shushed, frantically looking around.

He felt betrayed. He felt furious. He felt confused. Other than the fact that Dylan was now speaking in a more feminine voice, he wouldn't have been able to tell that she was, well, a she. "W-w-why?" he stuttered out.

"Alek, be quiet! I don't want anyone hearing this," she hissed, "Barking spiders, work with me here!"

Well, at least Dylan was still Dylan, no matter which gender she was acting as… "Fine!" he said, quietly, "I'll be quiet. But why, Dylan?"

"I had to fly, plain and simple," she explained, "and my ma was intent that I would never do that at home…"

"So you ran off, disguised yourself as a boy, and joined the crew of the Leviathan? That's a bit extreme…"

"But it worked, didn't it? I had you dead convinced," she said with a slight smile.

"Why are you so happy, now of all times?"

She sighed. It occurred to Alek that he didn't even know her real name. "I thought you wouldn't take it this well… but promise me something!" She was suddenly fervent, staring at him intently. "Don't tell anyone. Please."

He couldn't hold her intense gaze. "I-I don't like this, Dylan," he said, "I don't like the idea of women in the war like th-"

She smacked him. "Lilit was fine, wasn't she?" she growled.

"I, uh-"

"And I've proved myself, haven't I? I kept your secret. Keep this one for me."

He couldn't argue with that… he looked at her again. "Fine. I'll do it."

He was unprepared for the tight hug she gave him. "Thank you, Alek," she murmured.

AN: Aw, crap, is that a plot forming? No! Stay away from here, plots!