Blood Red Moon: Eternity Prologue: Crimson Light Disclaimers: All characters belong to their various Copyrights; Reinhart, Rosa, Cain, and Elayne belong to me. Alucard, Carrie, Sheann'a, Drathar, and Dracula belong to Konami. Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Tsunami, Sasami, Yosho, Nobuyuki, Washu, Mayuka, Ryo-Ohki, and Nobuyuki all belong to Pioneer/AIC. Beyond my characters, I claim no rights to any of the characters, beyond their use in this story. Comments, quips, insults, and death threats will only be accepted at Platinum_Dragon@usinternet.com Blood Red Moon: Eternity is set one year after the events in Blood Red Moon: Resurrection. Reinhart and Carrie have been married, and their daughter Elayne has been born. Alucard and his familiars have built a small cabin near the rest of the clan. Blood Red Moon: Eternity is the last in a three series story arc. "Here we belong, fighting to survive in the war with the darkest power!" - Queen, Princes of the Universe ***** Reinhart Masaki found himself suddenly awake, staring up through a skylight that provided an excellent view of a huge, full golden moon. The face that men had always attached to it seemed to be laughing tonight, laughing at him, as if it knew something that Reinhart didn't. He wondered idly what it was that the moon knew, and if it would tell him. As he lay there, wondering this, and wondering why he had woken up, he felt his wife shift beside him, snuggling a little closer to his body. Carrie Masaki, though she had the body of a twenty year old, was actually just short of being a hundred and thirty-eight. For many, he reflected, the more than a full century separating them would be an impossible barrier. To him, it seemed to only be a few days difference. His own father, Tenchi, had married the demoness Ryoko, who was over five thousand years older than him. The difference in age made no difference to him. He loved Carrie more deeply than he would have thought possible, and knew that she loved him just as much. The thought of losing her was something that he couldn't even comprehend; though once she had been taken away from him. The pain of that short time had faded very little in the past year; still fresh in his mind's eye was the suddenness that she had been ripped away, the senselessness of her killing. Cain had been insane, but he was dead now. Reinhart smoothed a hand over her hair, and felt the warmth of her body next to his, as she sighed in contentment. She had been given back to him, and it was a gift that he knew he would be forever indebted for. Finally, the sound that had woken him came once again; the soft, yet penetrating cry of a baby. It was a warming sound, but still surprising to hear, even three months after she had been born. They had decided to name her Elayne, which had been the name of Carrie's step-mother. Though only three months old, Carrie said that she could already sense an incredible amount of magic power within her. As she cried a third time, Carrie woke up, and looked around groggily. She had come far in her year with them; with him. She no longer stumbled over the idea of airplanes, or space travel, no longer was she surprised when she entered Tokyo and saw the sheer size of it. Coming from a universe where technology and the way of life belonged to what for him was medieval times, he had worried that she might have trouble adjusting to her new home. But she had gotten used to it quickly, to his relief and her delight. "Whose turn is it?" she asked, only half awake. He kissed her on the cheek. "Yours, I think... this is about the time that she usually wakes up hungry..." She nodded, and slowly sat up. A sphere of light appeared just above her open hand. Reinhart blinked at the sudden brightness of it, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the new light level, as she rubbed at her eyes with her free hand. Even with her long cyan hair tangled from sleep and out of place, and trying shake off the last bit of her tiredness from being woken in the middle of the night, she was still absolutely beautiful to him. Her golden eyes reflected the light just a little, making them sparkle. The light illuminated their bedroom; near the bed, propped up in the corner, stood a tall staff. The entire piece had been carved in an intricate pattern that subtly twisted to the eye, so that it wasn't quite possible to follow a straight line all the way up or down. At the top, set in a strange lavender metal, a large, smooth blue stone sparkled somewhat. The staff was Juraian wood, shaped by his father twenty years before, and given to Carrie as a gift. On the other side of the room, in one of the tall cradles that Tenchi had made when Reinhart and his sister Rosa had been born, little Elayne stretched a hand out toward the light that Carrie had made. The baby shared her golden eyes, and her father's black hair. When she had been born, he just hadn't quite been able to believe that this tiny being was his flesh and blood. Even now, three months after her birth, Reinhart couldn't help but be amazed that she was really his daughter. Carrie stood, the ball of light floating along beside her, as she moved over to the tall, carved cradle. Reaching in, she lifted Elayne out, and cradled her in her arms. Immediately, the child began to coo, and push at Carrie's breast through the thin fabric of her nightgown. His wife laughed quietly. "A little impatient?" Carrie sat back down, and handed the child to him as she undid the top couple of buttons on her nightgown. Elayne giggled, as he smiled and kissed her softly on the forehead, squirming in his grip. He would never have believed that a baby could possibly have this much energy, yet at times he felt as though she was actually slowing down just so he could keep up. Carrie put her arms out, her gown open enough to expose a milk-laden breast, and Reinhart gave Elayne back. As Carrie settled back with Elayne hungrily suckling, she looked at him, smiling. It struck him suddenly that it had been a busy year. Today was the anniversary of their return from Carrie's world. After defeating Cain, and Death returning Carrie to life, they had escaped Castlevania through Washu's portal. Both Carrie and his sister Rosa had been unconscious; Alucard, the half-vampire son of Dracula had helped them by carrying his sister through the portal while Reinhart brought Carrie. They had been married not long after, his grandfather Nobuyuki calling in a few favors from friends to build them a house next to Tenchi's. Since then, most of their time had gone into helping Carrie - and, to a lesser extent, Alucard - get used to their new world. Then, three months ago, Elayne had been born, and sometimes Reinhart wondered if they would ever get a little time to themselves again. Alucard had built himself a small cabin in a clearing not far from there. The dhampeal was a good friend, though quiet. Reinhart somewhat envied the peace and quiet that he had to himself - of course, his familiars, the fairy Sheann'a and the demon Drathar were there to keep him company. His stoic contemplativeness had become as much a part of their family as Sheann'a's wisecracking, or Drathar's deliberateness. Even Ryoko, Reinhart's mother who had suffered so much pain at the hands of Alucard's father Dracula, had come to accept him. Later in the day, they were planning an anniversary party. Their entire family would be there - Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, Katsuhito, Mayuka, Washu, Sasami, Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, Misaki, Funaho... All of them. Reinhart smiled. It would be the first time in a year that they were all together again. Ayeka and Sasami had both been away, trying to band together a fleet to fight against Lady Tokimi. Mihoshi had been given command of the Galaxy Police fleet that would be fighting against Tokimi. Washu was only very rarely seen out of her lab, working hard of some top secret project. Reinhart sighed as he thought of Tokimi. Tsunami and Washu had told them everything that they could about their sister, and as they had spoken, he had known that they would have to fight her. Reinhart, never a great supporter of battle, had had his fill of it in Romania, and now, with Carrie and Elayne to think about, he held even more reservations against it. But it was something that he knew would have to be done. "Penny for your thoughts, my heart?" Reinhart jumped as Carrie spoke softly, startling him from his thoughts. Elayne still nursed contentedly, as Carrie looked at him. Reinhart smiled, and settled back slightly, sliding an arm behind her back, and giving her a light squeeze. "Just reflecting on everything that has happened over the past year... It seems like we only just came back, even though I know it's been more than that. It just seems like we haven't had any time for anything..." Carrie smiled at him. "I know... it's hard to believe that it's been a year since... that time. But there is no way I would have rather spent it. I truly have my family here... I have you, and so, I have everything that I need." She smiled softly, and then looked down as Elayne cooed, pushing away from Carrie's breast. Laughing quietly, she carried their daughter back to her crib, and lay her back down. She giggled, and then fell back to sleep. Buttoning her nightgown back up, she came back to the bed, and lay down pressed up against him. He kissed her gently, lightly stroking her hair, and she smiled at him. "A hundred years ago, I would never have believed that I would love, much less marry, or have a child. Sometimes, it's almost surreal, as if I were in a dream," she said softly. Reinhart grinned a little mischievously. "Then you'd better kiss me quick, before you wake up and I disappear." She laughed softly, and they moved together as the sphere of light she had made winked out. Adrian Farienhights Tepes looked up at the moon, as the light it cast played off his broken sword, and sighed quietly. There was a hush to the land tonight, a sense of waiting, as though the earth itself was bracing for something. What, he did not know, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, picking up on the almost electrical charge in the air. He did not know what had woken him this night; indeed, the peace that he had enjoyed in the past year was unparalleled by any other time in his life. This land... it was at peace with itself, unlike his native Romania. There may have been blood on it once, long ago, but now... All his life, he had known nothing but battle; here, he had found peace, acceptance. It was something that he had not been expecting, when he had carried Rosa Masaki through the portal. The moonlight flashed golden on the silver of what had once been his mother's sword. The pommel was worked to look like two long stemmed roses; the blade itself had been nearly two and a half feet long; now, it ended a foot from the cross-piece in a clean break. It had snapped, driven through the heart of his own son, the madman Cain. Born of a metal that none in his world could identify, it had been passed down in his mother's family since before even his father's time. "So I see that I'm not the only one with a sleeping problem tonight." Alucard smiled slightly, as Tenchi spoke up from the shadows. The young man moved toward him, seeming to simply melt out of the night. On his shoulder rode Ryo-Ohki, the strange half-cat, half-rabbit creature that was Ryoko's familiar. Her golden eyes shone like little gemstones in the night. "The land called to me. It knows that there is something amiss." Tenchi nodded, looking around, as Ryo-Ohki hopped down, and bounced over to Alucard. He reached down, and ruffled the creature's fur, and she purred quietly. "I know... I've felt this only once before, the day that I released Ryoko. Something is going to happen. Something that will change all of our lives." Alucard nodded in agreement, sheathing what remained of his sword, and Tenchi suddenly laughed. "It's hard to share a soul, I'm learning. Somehow, I can remember that day that your mother gave you that sword; for that matter, I can remember the day that she gave birth to you, but the memories are fuzzy, as if it was only something that I imagined..." He paused, and frowned slightly. "Though it seems that with each passing day, they become more and more clear..." It still caught him off guard sometimes when Tenchi spoke of a memory that couldn't possibly be his. Somewhere deep within his soul, a piece of Dracula lived on... Thoughts, memories drifted into Tenchi from that piece. Alucard nodded. "My sixteenth naming day. She felt that I was old enough to understand the consequences of unsheathing it." Tenchi nodded, but remained silent. The twin gems in his wrists sparkled almost ominously, a crimson glitter in the darkness. Smiling and open, Tenchi was also a deep thinking man, and this night was one for the deepest of thoughts. "I was once told that for every man, there is a time he must fight... For awhile, I had hoped that that time was over for me... I don't know what is coming, but I know that time has come once again." Tenchi reached behind his back, and pulled something off. He tossed it to Alucard, and he caught it automatically. To his surprise, it was a scabbarded sword. He looked at Tenchi; the man simply shrugged. Slowly, he unsheathed the blade. It was two and a half feet long, the hilt shaped into two long dragons made of some shimmering white metal, twisted around one another. Their long tails made the cross-piece; down the length of the blade, a long, serpentine dragon marched, scales worked in platinum, mane scarlet enamel, its claws tipped in gold. The beast's maw was open in a roar that Alucard could almost hear. It was only sharp on one edge, and as wide as his second, third, and fourth fingers pressed together. Suddenly, he blinked, and unsheathed his own blade once again, holding the two next to each other. Save for the pommel and the dragon on the blade, they were an exact match, and the same metal. Alucard looked back at Tenchi in stunned amazement. "It's been in the Masaki family for... millennia. Grandfather received it when he married into the line. It's almost ironic; I've trained with the sword for a long time, but I can't use it because I can't get used to its weight. I've used force blades for too long. It seems fitting that since you lost your sword saving my children that you should have it," said Tenchi quietly. Alucard shook his head. "No, I cannot accept it. I have nothing to give in return." Tenchi grinned. "I thought that you might say that. You gave up your world in order to get Rosa home. I would say that I'm a bit late in returning your gift... my daughter's life, and my son and his wife's, not to mention their daughter's as well, because he wouldn't have left without either one of them. Its name is Ryuu-ken, and all that I ask is that you use it with the same wisdom that you use your mother's blade with." Alucard looked at the sword again, and slowly nodded. "I am honored, Lord Tenchi, by your gift, and I swear on my mother's name that I will use it justly." Sheathing the blade, he bowed deeply to Tenchi. The young man bowed back, smiling slightly. Almost reverently, Alucard attached the blade to his sword belt. It felt almost odd to have the weight of a whole sword at his side again. "Empress Ayeka sent a message that she would be arriving fairly early." Alucard sighed in exasperation before he caught himself, and Tenchi grinned slightly. Empress Ayeka Jurai, of the Juraian Empire. Though she had not often been there, as most of her time was spent gathering an army, when she was on Earth, he found himself feeling almost hunted. It wasn't that her company was unwelcome, but more the sense that she was trying to tame him. It was an odd thought, he knew, and likely a fool's fancy; still, he remembered that the first step to taming a wild horse was to be around it as much as possible, so that it got used to your presence. It must be his imagination, bit it seemed that whenever she was there, she was almost never out of his view. "It will be a pleasure to see her highness again," he said evenly, and Tenchi chuckled. "It will, at that." A slight breeze came up, and Tenchi shivered slightly. "Changes... But for the better, or for the worse? If you'll excuse me, Alucard, Ryoko is starting to wake up, and she worries when I disappear. Good night." "Good night, Tenchi, and my most humble of thanks once again for your gift." Tenchi nodded, and then disappeared, teleporting back to his wife. Ryo-Ohki, still at Alucard's feet, miyaed quietly. He looked down at the tiny creature. "So it seems that I shall battle once more... Such does fate laugh at me." He drew his mother's sword, and wrapped his right hand around the blade. "For the peace of this land, or any other, my battle shall last until my final breath." Slowly, he pulled his hand upward, leaving darkly glistening blood on the blade's edge. "By my blood, and the blood of my father and mother, I swear this." Drawing a deep breath, Alucard pivoted, and drove the broken blade deeply into the huge elm that stood behind him. Only the pommel remained visible, the blade entirely sheathed within the wood. Alucard turned, and slowly walked away, blood dripping freely from his right hand. Ryo-Ohki miyaed again, and then scampered away, in the direction of the Tenchi household. ***** He watched, as the man turned, and walked away. Something stirred in the back of his mind, an almost recognition of him. Briefly, he wondered why his hand went to the golden cross that hung at his neck, but then pushed the thought away. The tiny creature miyaed almost mournfully, and then ran off, leaving the small clearing empty. Counting a slow ten, he stood, and entered the clearing. He looked closely at the pommel that stuck out of the tree, and again, something stirred in the back of his mind. There were holes, he knew, in his memory, parts that his goddess had not been able to restore on her own. Holes that blotched out most of his life. He could remember an ancient castle, and a huge pendulum, but at the sight of this sword, his mind burned, straining to remember it. He did not know why, but he knew that it had something to do with the thin scar that stood on his chest over his heart. His lover had asked him to retrieve this sword for her; though she would not explain why. He had agreed, of course; there was nothing that he would not do for his goddess. But the other sword that had been given to the man was the same as this, he was certain... Still, she had said nothing of another blade, so he let it slip from his mind. Gripping the hilt, he pulled it slowly out of the tree. As it came free, he had a sudden flash. He stood facing the man, looking down, he saw the sword embedded within his own flesh. He stumbled backwards in surprise, taking a moment to recover. Over the past year, he sometimes would have a memory like that. Blinking away the confusion, he picked up the broken sword from where he had dropped it. As he teleported away, he suddenly noticed that he was laughing, almost insanely. For some reason, he couldn't stop. He wondered what was so funny, but realized that he must already know if he was laughing about it. ***** Yosho stepped forward silently as the man disappeared, laughing madly. He recognized him, from so long ago. It was the same face, the same insane laugh. Never in all his long life had he felt as old as he did just now. The worst of it was that he knew that he could do nothing to stop the coming storm but wait and watch events unfold. He looked to his side as Tsunami appeared next to him. "Is he the one?" Yosho sighed. "Yes, Tsunami... He is the one that will... Oh, Tenchi, I'm sorry for getting you into this... I'm sorry for getting all of them into this." Tsunami turned to him, her face expressionless, but her eyes sad. "It was, and is what must be done, in order to save everything." "Does that make it right, Tsunami? You need not worry about my loyalty... I will see the events that I have set in motion through to the end. Yes, I know that it must be done, but does that make it right? Maybe it is easier for you, a goddess, to find the justifying answers, but for me, a mortal man, it is impossible." "I can justify it by the number of lives that will be saved." He looked at her. "What gives us the right to sacrifice lives, to chose lives to sacrifice, in order to save them?" "I ask myself that question almost every passing hour." "And?" "I can not come up with a true answer. Everything that I come up with is only running away from what I don't want to think." She sighed, and then disappeared. "Tenchi... this is not your destiny, but there is nothing that I can do to change your path now." He turned, slowly, and walked back to the shrine that he had lived in for over seven hundred years. He hoped to end his days peacefully there, but somehow, he knew that for the sins he had committed in the past, he would not be allowed to rest that way.