A/N: Hola again everybody! I am seriously amazed at how many people love this story and it's making me veeeeeery happy! Now technically I said I'd update when I had fifteen reviews….and I have twelve….but I couldn't wait any longer because chapter three was already written and I reeeeally wanted to update. So, here you go!

Now, a note about this chapter that YOU MUST READ! During this chapter Kara/Regina is in the world of Leviathan. Basically Leviathan is being rewritten with her in it. I've seen this done many times with other series and they were terrible. But Bramblepool and I take extreme pride in making these chapters the funniest things you will ever read.

Also, from this chapter to the end of the fic (and possibly its sequels-hint hint), Regina and Bethany will always be referred to as Kara and Apocalypsia unless one is thinking about the other. For example, if Kara is thinking about how Bethany is her best friend, or Apocalypsia is thinking about how Regina's her best friend. Get it? Hopefully. Good.

Now, I also suggest you read these chapters word for word despite how amazingly close they are to the books. Trust me- reading it all makes it better.

Okay, I think that's all. Please review!

Disclaimer: Since I copied straight from the book here, I cannot stress this enough: Bramblepool and I do not own Leviathan. All rights go to Scott Westerfeld.

Copyright: However, we own the original characters and anything else we make up.

Last thing (sorry I'm forgetful): I apologize if the spacing is weird. I wrote it just like the book, so the paragraphs are all novelly instead of fanfictiony. If it gets annoying and/or confusing, I'll alter it for chapter four.

Chapter Three

The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised. Behind them two ranks of diesel-powered walking machines stood ready to fire, cannon aimed over the heads of the cavalry. A zeppelin scouted no-man's-land at the center of the battlefield, its metal skin sparkling.

The French and British infantry crouched behind their fortifications- a letter opener, an ink jar, and a line of fountain pens- knowing they stood no chance against the might of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But a row of Darwinist monsters loomed behind them, ready to devour any who dared retreat.

The attack had almost begun when Prince Aleksandar thought he saw a bright light coming from outside his door….

He took a guilty step toward his bed- then froze in place, listening hard. Trees stirred in a soft breeze outside, but otherwise the night was silent. Mother and Father were in Sarajevo, after all. The servants wouldn't dare disturb his sleep. That just left Kara… but hopefully she knew not to disturb him either.

Alek turned back to his desk and began to move the cavalry forward, grinning as the battle neared its climax. The Austrian walkers had completed their bombardment, and it was time for the tin horses to finish off the woefully outnumbered French. It had taken all night to set up the attack, using an imperial tactics manual borrowed from Father's study.

It seemed only fair that Alek have some fun while his parents were off watching military maneuvers. He'd begged to be taken along (as had Kara, although she didn't really have a reason to go), to see the mustered ranks of soldiers striding past in real life, to feel the rumble of massed fighting machines through the soles of his boots.

It was Mother, of course, who had forbidden it (both for him and for Kara) - his studies were more important than "parades" as she called them. She didn't understand that military exercises had more to teach him than musty old tutors and their books. One day soon Alek might be piloting one of those machines.

War was coming, after all. Everybody said so.

The last tin cavalry had just crashed into the French lines when Alek heard a sound coming from his door. He froze and glanced up, but the door was closed and the night still silent. Alek reached down to his tin figures and-

"Hi hi!"

Alek jumped practically a full meter in the air. (A/N: for the record I am American and I have absolutely no idea how high that is. For other Americans out there, I imagine it about five feet…ish) Turning around, he glared at Kara who stood grinning behind his desk.

"What are you doing here?" he growled at her.

Kara continued grinning. "Making you scream like a girl; what does it look like?" she replied.

Alek clenched his fists, seething. Kara had a hard life, he knew. She was an orphan that Alek's father had taken in to be a companion for Alek when he was little. He sometimes caught her crying alone in her room, probably remembering her parents. Alek felt sorry for her, but as they got older, she just became infuriating.

Kara would never leave Alek alone, either. It was almost as if she followed him everywhere just to annoy him. Plus, she was so different from everyone else. She had a weird way of talking and Alek sometimes wondered if she was originally from Darwinist upbringing, even though her German was impeccable.

"Get out of my room," Alek commanded weakly, Kara's presence making him tired.

"I can't," Kara replied. "Volger and Klopp will be here any minute."

That's when Alek heard the soft sound from outside his door: jingling, like a ring of keys.

Alek turned, peering at the gap beneath his bed chamber's double doors. Shadows shifted along the sliver of moonlight, and he heard the hiss of whispers.

Kara was right, for once. Someone was right outside.

Silent in bare feet, he swiftly crossed the cold marble floor, sliding into bed just as the door creaked open. Alek narrowed his eyes to a slit, wondering which of the servants was checking on him.

Meanwhile, Kara had plopped herself into Alek's chair, clomped her feet onto his desk, and knocked half of his army onto the floor, causing an involuntary whimper to escape his mouth.

Moonlight spilled into the room, making the tin soldiers left on his desk glitter. Someone slipped inside, graceful and dead silent. The figure paused, stared at Alek for a moment, then turned and jumped when he saw Kara.

"What are you doing in Prince Alek's bedchamber?" Alek heard a familiar voice ask.

"Playing with his war dolls; what does it look like?" Kara replied.

They are not dolls, Alek thought grimly, clenching his fists angrily despite his fear. They are action figures.

The stranger made a growling noise in the back of his throat.

"Get your feet down, girl," he whispered angrily.

After a short hesitation, Kara clomped her boots off the desk and the stranger crept towards Alek's dresser. Alek heard the wooden rasp of a drawer sliding open.

His heart raced. None of the servants would dare steal from him!

But what if the intruder were something worse than a thief? Kara had mentioned Volger, his fencing tutor, but what if she was wrong? What if she'd acted calm in front of the stranger, but was actually scared of being attacked? His father's warnings echoed in his ears….

You have had enemies from the day you were born.

A bell cord hung next to his bed, but his parents' rooms were empty. With Father and his bodyguard in Sarajevo, the closest sentries were quartered at the other end of the trophy hall, fifty meters away. (A/N: that one's from the actual book but again I have no idea how far that is. I assume it's a lot)

Alek slid one hand under his pillow, until his fingers touched the cold steel of his hunting knife. He lay there, holding his breath, grasping the handle tightly, repeating to himself his father's other watchword.

Surprise is more valuable than strength. Even if the intruder attacked him, he could hopefully at least get Kara out safely.

Another figure came through the door then, boots clomping, a piloting jacket's metal clips jingling like keys on a ring. The figure tromped straight toward his bed, ignoring Kara.

"Young master! Wake up!"

Alek let go of the knife, expelling a sigh of relief. Kara had been right after all. It was just old Otto Klopp, his master of mechaniks.

The first figure, probably Volger as Kara had predicted, began rifling through the dresser, pulling at clothes.

"The young prince has been awake all along," Wildcount Volger's low voice said, recognizable now that Alek really listened. "A bit of advice, Your Highness? When pretending to be asleep, it is advisable not to hold one's breath."

Alek sat up and scowled. His fencing master had an annoying knack for seeing through deception.

"It is also advisable not to have your companion guard you while you 'sleep,'" Volger continued.

"Yeah, Alek," Kara chided. "You shouldn't have had me guard you."

Alek glared at the girl; then turned to his teachers.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"You're to come with us, young master," Otto mumbled, studying the marble floor. "The archduke's orders."

"My father? He's back already?"

"If he were back," Kara muttered. "These hooligans wouldn't have interrupted me while I was playing with your war dolls."

"They are not dolls," Alek growled.

"Your father left instructions," Count Volger said with the same infuriating tone he used during fencing lessons. "And don't worry," he added, gesturing to Kara. "She's not coming."

"Why can't I come?" Kara complained. "I wanna come! Wait, where am I not coming?"

Volger sighed and tossed a pair of Alek's trousers and a piloting jacket onto the bed.

Alek stared at him and Klopp, half outraged and half confused.

"Like young Mozart," Otto said softly. "In the archduke's stories."

Alek frowned, remembering Father's favorite tales about the great composer's upbringing. Supposedly Mozart's tutors would wake him in the middle of the night, when his mind was raw and defenseless, and thrust musical lessons upon him. It all sounded rather disrespectful to Alek.

"There's only one difference," Kara commented. "Mozart was a genius. In case you haven't noticed, Alek's kind of an idiot."

They all stared at her.

"It's a well-known fact," Kara continued. "He's just really slow to get things! Plus, he's kinda useless. And he only has one friend. And even then, not really."

"I thought we weren't gonna tell him you weren't really his friend," Volger muttered sarcastically.

Alek stared at his tutor and "friend", overly insulted. Did no one like him at all?

Angrily, he reached for the trousers. "You're going to make me compose a fugue?" he asked, referring to the mention of Mozart.

"An amusing thought," Count Volger said. "But please make haste."

"We have a walker waiting behind the stables, young master." Otto's worried face made an attempt at a smile. "You're to take the helm."

"A walker?" Alek's eyes widened. Piloting was one part of his studies he'd gladly get out of bed for. He slipped quickly into the clothes (while Kara awkwardly turned away).

"Yes, your first night lesson!" Otto said, handing Alek his boots.

Alek pulled them on and stood, then fetched his favorite pilot's gloves from the dresser, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

"Quietly now." Count Volger stood by the chamber doors. He cracked them and peered out into the hall.

"We're to sneak out, Your Highness!" Otto whispered. "Good fun, this lesson! Just like young Mozart!"

As Alek and Klopp left the room, Alek heard Volger say to Kara, "Stay here, girl."

Turning around, Alek saw Kara lean against his desk and wave a hand impatiently at Volger.

"No need to worry about me, Count," she assured him. "I'll be fine by myself." Contradicting her point, Kara's hand slipped from the desk and she fell against it, knocking it over with a loud CRASH.

Shaking his head, Alek left the room with his tutors and hoped that Kara's failures hadn't woken the whole castle.

So much for sneaking out.

Kara stood, grinning. She walked to Alek's chamber doors as he and his tutors crept down the trophy hall. This was so much fun! She was really living Leviathan! She was living with Alek! Alek looked at her the same way he looks at Deryn in the later books! Okay, maybe his looks for Kara had a little more annoyance in them, but there was love there too! Deep, deep, deep down inside.

Kara sat down on Alek's bed, thinking about the events that were about to take place. When she had arrived at the archduke's castle, it had been right at the beginning of Leviathan. Now, Alek, Volger, and Klopp would be walking towards the stables to the Stormwalker. Alek would be thinking about how depressed he was that he would never be heir to anything. He'd get really annoyed at Volger for not recognizing his royalness. And then the three of them would go into the walker and escape Austria-Hungary and get stalked by Germans and then… Alek would…die…

Suddenly, Kara jumped up from the bed. She needed to be in that Stormwalker! If she wasn't, Alek would die! And if Alek died, she would have five fictional boyfriends! Five!

Kara quickly grabbed Alek's war dolls (she knew he'd miss them) and rushed out the door to the stables, making a plan in her head. How could she save Alek without him knowing she was in the walker?

Her mind busy making a plan and Kara having always had a terrible sense of direction, she got distracted and slammed into a wall.

By the time she'd woken up from her wall-induced nap and ran to the stables, the Stormwalker was gone.

A/N: Dun. Dun. Duuuuuuun. Okay, not really, but still. I hope you liked the first "Alek" chapter, as I call them. Next chapter will be with Deryn and Apocalypsia, but in the actual book, it's the second Deryn chapter, so we skip the whole girl-boy explanation thing. Hopefully that won't be confusing. Pretty please review!

Also, random question for you all: Deryn and Alek's couple name- Derek or Dalek?