AHH!! Psycho fanfic fans, jumping me left and right telling me to update!! It's CRAZY!!!!........And I love you all! You're what keeps me going on this fic, ((besides my everlasting love for the red eyed wonder)) and I am sooooo sooooo sorry I made you all wait such a long time fore the next chapter, but jebuz shit happens, I have absoulute NO free time out side of the weekends, cuz of my job and all, my fault mostly, I've been saving up money for Anime Week Atlanta (AWAcon) and believe me it was worth it!! ::holds up Escaflowne artbook:: LOOKIE!!! EHEHEHE, with a whole couple of half pages dedicated to DILANDU-SAMA!! My beloved pyro bad man/boy of the year!!! Ooo and he's 18 in the movie, just FYI in case anyone was wondering. But while I'd love to rant on about what a lovely experience I had at AWA, I know you guys have just been waiting and waiting on the chapter so with out further ado.....er...the next chapter! Yes....finally...::blows razzberry::
~Sarah~


Chapter 21- Far Behind


"Now maybe I didn't mean to treat you oh so bad
But I did it anyway
Now maybe some would say you're left with what you had
But you couldn't share the pain
And you Left me far behind" ~ CandleBox




Serryn was blinded by rage as she rushed out the door of the sparring room. "How dare he," she gasped, wiping angry tears from her eyes, "how DARE he!" Violent imagery was not something the princess was accustomed to, but as she stormed down the hallway she couldn't help but fantasize what holding a knife to that cocky bastard's throat would be like.

So involved with her thoughts, Serryn wasn't aware of the presence of another person, or persons, until she ran right into them.

"Oh," she exclaimed, startled, "sorry, I didn't mean to-" She stopped suddenly as she looked up. They were soldiers, but their armor clarified that he was no Zaibach. A single scream escaped Serryn's throat before one of the soldiers clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Quite girl!" the man's voice hissed in her ear, 'If you know what's good for ya."

Serryn nodded franticly, fear welling up within her. Who was this man??

"Girl??" a voice from behind them asked, "What girl? Where?"

The man hold Serryn sighed, "right here captain," he replied turning around.

A group of men stood in the shadows around the corner. The young, dark haired man who must have been their captain stared down at Serryn, his golden eyes focusing on her own. "What's a girl doing on the Zaibach floating fortress??" he asked frowning, "unless..." his eyes widened, "Are you Princess Serryn Conil??"

Serryn mouth dropped open in surprise but she managed a nod. The man broke out in a wide grin. "Wow! This was easier then I thought it would be!" he exclaimed, "And Woah! No one said the princess would be a babe!"

Serryn nearly toppled over at that remark," Excuse ME, but just who ARE you people and why-" but Serryn was cut off as a bought of cursing sounded from behind them.

Dilandau stood in the hallway, his sword drawn, and a fury flashing in his garnet eyes, "Get the fuck away from her right NOW!" he growled, stepping towards them.

To Serryn the look on the dark haired captain's would have been almost comedic if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Holy shit!" the captain yelped, "It's Albatou! Get him guys!!" He ordered to the group of men accompanying him.

"Are you kidding, boss?" one of the mean asked, in surprise and fear.

"Yeh, that kid's crazy!" the man holding Serryn added.

This just proved to agitate Dilandau even more, "That's it. You're all fucking DEAD!!" he roared, diving at the group of men. Two of the braver ones, ran to fend him off, but Serryn could tell they wouldn't last long.

She gasped suddenly as a new pair of arms wrapped around her and then proceeded to hoiste her up off the ground and over a shoulder. "What the hell! Put me down!" she exclaimed kicking, but her captor, who turned out to be the young captain held on firmly.

"Just hold him off until I get her to the airship!" he told her previous captor, "That's an order!" With that the captain turned, running down the hallway, hauling Serryn along with him.

"Sorry about this inconvenience Princess, we're in a bit of a hurry," the young man yelled over his shoulder as he ran, "the Zaibach probably know we're here by now, so we gotta get you off this ship as fast as we can!"

"Who ARE you??" Serryn yelled in frustration.

"Oh! Please forgive me princess! I'm Captain Aiden Murdok, and I'm here on behalf of the Duke of Cala to rescue you from the Zaibach empire!"

****

Aiden made it to the Vione's hanger without much difficulty. He no longer need to carry Serryn, she ran herself which probably made things easier on both of them. A group of guards greeted them in the hanger. Serryn knew it would be highly unlikely they would get of the ship without a fight.

"There they are! Stop them!" the guards yelled advancing on them. Aiden grinned, welcoming the challenge cheerfully despite his behavior back when his challenger had been Dilandau. Most likely because his odds of winning were more improved with this scenario.

"Stand back princess, I'll take care of these morons," he boasted, drawing a pair of long daggers from their sheaths.

Serryn was about to object, but Aiden had already thrown himself into the battle, and she sighed. Aiden was certainly one of the strangest people she'd ever met. He'd only known her a few minutes and already he was fighting for her life, and showing off in the process. She concluded their must be some sort of reward out for her return.

All of the Zaibach guards had fallen now, but Serryn was surprised to see that neither of Aiden's daggers had a single drop of blood on them.

"Right this way," he said smiling as he pointed to one of the hanger doors. A large air ship, bearing the Cala emblem on its side anchored it self to the Vione. "It's a bit of a jump, if you need help I could carry you," he offered.

Serryn smirked. 'Nice try buddy,' she thought eyeing the jump. It was a good five or six feet. Serryn studied it for a moment before taking a running jump, landing with a loud thud on the wing of the ship.

She glanced back at the stunned captain, wiping imaginary dust from her hands, "I think I'll manage," she assured him.

Aiden shook his head and took his own leap to across the gap, landing next to Serryn. 'I knew I liked you the moment I saw you," he told her grinning, "you're the type of girl a guy like me could really fall for."

Serryn raised an eyebrow,"Is that so?" she asked, trying to keep her face straight.

"Yeh! So what'dya say, cutie?"

"Don't you think you're being a bit forward?" Serryn asked, but in a way she was actually flattered, he did rescue her after all, and though she had never been the type of girl to turn into a puddle at the thought of heroics, she couldn't help but grin. That grin was wiped off her face as she noticed figured coming at them. It was the rest of Aiden's men being pursed by a flaming mad Dilandau.

"I'd say lets get the HELL out of here!" she exclaimed, pointing.

Aiden turned around and swore. "Ore, Danel! Hurry up!" he called to his comrades. "Come on!" he said grabbing Serryn's arm and rushing inside of the air ship. "Gordon! Get this thing going! We gotta get out of here right now!" he shouted.

Two thumps signified the arrival of the other two of Aiden's soldiers, and the pair rushed inside right as the airship jerked away from the Vione.

"Danel, where are the others? Did they make it back...?" Aiden asked one of the men, worry evident on his features. The man's shoulders slumped, and he shook his head.

"Sorry boss..." he sighed, "That Albatou kid got them..."

Serryn winced, hearing Aiden's cursing, and turned away looking out a nearby window. 'They died rescuing me...' she could help but think, guilt making itself know to her. She glanced back at the Vione and drew a sharp breath. It was a large window, and she knew as she stared at him that Dilandau could in turn see her too. He stood at the edge of the open hanger, and even from this distance she could tell his eyes were burning hot with rage.

"That bastard..."Aiden muttered joining her at the window, but he smiled weakly, 'but don't worry princess, you're safe from him now." Dilandau turned his back walking away from the opening in the Vione and Serryn smiled as well nodding. Suddenly a frightening thought occurred to her.

"NO!" she exclaimed, turning to Aiden, "You have to speed up, he's going for his guymelef!"

****

Dilandau shook with fury as he climbed in to the cockpit of the Alseides. His hands moved on reflex alone, his eyesight blinded by rage.

"They're fucking dead..." he snarled through his gritted teeth, "every single one of them...How DARE they touch her."

The red Alseides crashed through the hanger of the Vione, heading for the open air. He glanced to the side hearing voices yelling. He cursed spotting his slayers gathering below him.

"Lord Dilandau wait!" Gatti called, flailing his arms.

Dilandau ignored the him, pulling his melef into flight mode. With a roar he charged out of the hanger, leaving the group of Dragonslayers behind. They watched him go, baffled expressions clouding their faces.

"Should we go after him?" Dallet asked, breaking the silence.

Migel shrugged, "He didn't order us to do so."

Dallet scowled, "Don't be so thick headed Migel, just because he didn't order us to come along doesn't mean he won't be in danger!"

"It's just one airship," Gatti objected, "Lord Dilandau can probably handle it on his own...but I wonder why he went after them, it's not like him to trouble himself with a bunch of stow aways..."

"Because," Chesta spoke up, his eyes still fixed on the departing Alseides unit, "They took Serryn." Evidently Chesta hadn't retreated as far as Dilandau had expected, and he explained to the others what he had happened to over hear.

*****

Serryn was worrying holes into her shirt, "AIDEN!!!" She shrieked as the blood red guymelef emerged from the hanger of the Vione, "Get us the HELL out of HEAR! NOW!!!"

Aiden grinned, " How many times are you gonna reuse that phrase, exactly?" this remark earned him a glare he probably didn't want her to repeat anytime soon, "Sheesh, for a princess you sure are pushy," he grumbled, and turned to the man he had in charge of the helm, "Take us up Gordon, and lower the Mirrors."

"UP?? What do you MEAN up we are up, just go!! We've got to get away from here," Serryn exclaimed grasping Aiden's shoulders and shaking him, though he seemed quite oblivious to her distress.

"Man that Albatou kid certainly holds a grudge," He commented as he regarded the approaching Alseides, "but I guess I can't really blame him," he added winking.

Despite her growing anxiety Serryn found herself blushing, but gasped suddenly startled and a great vibration began shaking the walls of the ship. She clutched to Aiden's are try to keep from losing her balance. "What in that world is that??" she demanded.

"The Mirror's," was the captain's reply.

*****

Dilandau's grin was nothing short of psychotic as his eyes locked on the small Calan airship rising at a moderate speed into the clouds. It was growing larger and larger, as he approached, and he gloated. 'The fools, their pathetic little ship with never out run mine. They'll all die and she'll be mine again.'

It was a fitting end to those bastards who thought the could just swipe things under his nose like that. His grip tightened involuntarily on the arm mechanisms. "NO one steals from me," he growled.

The Airship was in range now, and Dilandau moved his finger over the crimaclaws trigger, his plan to simply rip the ship apart, collect what was rightful his and discard the left over mass of scrap metal and its crew to fall to their deaths. Although this would take the fun out of torturing them one by one, but the red eyed general decided he didn't really have the time to allow himself that pleasure.

"Excellent," he whispered, and the ship turned to face him, obviously in defense. Of course they were really just making it easier for him by giving him a clear view through the windows into the bridge. Giving him a clear view of the golden haired girl standing there, the facade of fear clear to him even at this distance. Dilandau's grin widened as he locked on target.

Suddenly the image of the princess exploded into an unbelievably bright mass of light. Dilandau screamed in pain, jerking his head away from the eye place. His hand flew up to his face, pressing against his eyelids, willing the pain to succeed.

"What....the fucking hell...was that??" he snarled, finally able to open his eyes, though his vision was greatly blurred, and the purple and blue light spots the flash had left behind making him lightheaded and dizzy.

Though, as disoriented as he was, it didn't take long for Dilandau Albatou to realize that the Calan ship has disappeared without a trace.