Blood Red Moon Eternity
	Chapter 6: Ancient Ties

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 

*****

	"Gin!" said Carrie triumphantly, as she lay down her cards.  
Reinhart and Rosa groaned as one, and Alucard grinned slightly.  
After three hours, most of the games had been won by the sorceress.  
Reinhart looked at his wife, frowning.
	"Are you sure you aren't using some sort of magic to help 
yourself win?"  She laughed quietly, and kissed him on the cheek.  
Alucard shook his head.  Crude as her method had been, Rosa had 
managed to all but erase the tension that he hadn't even realized 
had been building among them.  Now, a sense of easy readiness had 
filled the room.  Alucard recalled once questioning Rosa's often 
too easy going ways, even in battle, but he had to admit even he 
felt more calm about the coming fight.  As easy going as she was, 
Rosa definitely understood what they were about.
	Standing, he excused himself.  As well as the game passed the 
time, he still had quite a bit of reading to do.  Walking back over 
to the shield, he sighed, sat down, and began to read through the 
book again.  His father had always held an interest in technology, 
and the interest had been passed down to him, but with all the... 
improvements Washu had added, he wondered if he would even be able 
to use it.
	Some of the things, at least, made sense.  The book said that 
it had been made to reflect energy, instead of simply absorb the 
blow, and that it could generate a field that would make his form 
shadowy and indistinct.  The practical uses for something like that 
were obvious enough.
	But, why would he want it to pull weapons fire to it?  What 
use would that be?  A shield was meant to block attacks, true, but 
only in singular, hand to hand combat.  Sighing again, he put down 
the booklet, and looked up.  His stomach only lurched a little; the 
first time that he had looked up to see the field of stars above 
them, it had been all he could do to lower himself to the ground 
instead of simply dropping and throwing up.  Space sick, Rosa had 
called it.  Whatever... concoction Washu had sent them, it seemed 
to have worked.
	As Sheann'a had said earlier, the real thing surpassed by far 
what little they had seen in Washu's lab.  There was a... clarity, 
even looking through Ryo-Ohki's dome, that Alucard had never seen 
when looking at the night skies on Earth.  Truly an amazing sight.  
His stomach trembled warningly, and he looked back down,  
considering the book again.
	"You're awfully quiet today, even compared to your normal 
talkativeness.  Why'd you leave?  You actually seemed to be 
enjoying yourself for awhile."  He looked up as Sheann'a flew over 
to him.  Not far away, Drathar slept, propped up against a wall.  
Alucard frowned.
	"Do you remember the bonding ceremony, Sheann'a?" he asked 
suddenly.  She blinked in surprise, and landed before him, sitting 
down.
	"It was a long time ago," she said, and then frowned.  "I 
don't exactly like to think about just how old I really am, you 
know."  He looked at her, and spoke dryly.
	"So you're a woman after all."  Sheann'a got a dangerous 
glint in her eye, and he hurried on.  "Truly, though...  What do 
you remember of it?"  She frowned in thought.
	"I remember wondering why I had been summoned to Castlevania.  
I was little more than a child, had never left the fairy vale.  It 
frightened me, but in those days, nobody disobeyed a direct order 
from Dracula, not even the fairy kind."  He nodded.
	"Mother woke me up that night.  She seemed both afraid and 
happy...  It was the night that I turned seven...  Almost two 
thousand years ago."  She nodded, a far off look in her eyes.
	"Death led me to Dracula's study; and left me there.  He 
seemed angry that night.  I suppose that when I learned why, I 
couldn't blame him.  He was...  for lack of a better term, dead set 
against me becoming your familiar.  Dracula himself...  Well, I 
don't think that he ever really cared for the idea, but he never 
could refuse Lisa something she truly wanted."
	"Mother led me to the altar room, and had me change into the 
ceremonial robes.  I asked her what was happening, but she would 
tell me nothing, save that I must ready myself."
	"Dracula explained to me what was going to happen, and I 
can't exactly say that I was happy to find out that I was going to 
be linked to his son."  Alucard smirked at her, and she grinned 
sheepishly before continuing.  "Still, like I said, nobody refused 
Dracula in those days."
	"I remember she told me to wait there, and then left.  After 
she had gone, Death came to me.  He said, 'I don't know why he 
can't see what a disaster he initiates in his wish to please her.  
This is the first step in his ultimate end.'  With that, he left.  
Hmm...  He must have known even then that you would be instrumental 
in bringing about Father's end."  Sheann'a nodded.  It was true 
enough; Sheann'a had saved Maria's life, and Maria had then given 
birth to Cain, who had killed his father for all time.
	"She came to me after Dracula left to prepare.  I remember 
thinking that she was the most beautiful person I had ever met, 
both physically and spiritually, and if it was her son I was to be 
bound to, perhaps it wouldn't be too bad.  She said, 'I have to ask 
a favor of you, Sheann'a.  I fear that a time will come when I 
won't be able to be at Alucard's side.  He has a good spirit, 
though it is troubled.  I wish him to have a companion that will be 
by his side, a friend who will listen when he needs to be heard.  A 
friend that will remind him when he forgets his way.  A friend that 
he will listen to when he will not, or can not listen to his own 
heart.  A friend that he can share his pains with.'
	"At first, I didn't really understand what she meant by all 
that, but I sensed that she held a true concern, so I agreed.  I 
was taken to the altar chamber, and Dracula began the ceremony.  
When Lisa led me in, and I saw you for the first time, I wondered 
what she was worried about.  You seemed like a normal kid.  You 
started laughing when you saw me, and your eyes lit up..."  She 
grinned, and shook her head.  "It's been a long time since I last 
saw you laugh like that, Alucard...  Dracula cast the final 
incantation, and a drop of our blood was exchanged.  That was the 
first hint that I had, of what Lisa had been talking about.  The 
pain...  I wanted to scream that entire first week, until finally I 
figured out how to block it out."
	"I remember... the lessening of the pain that I was always in 
when the bond formed.  I was so used to it by then that I was 
shocked there could be anything else.  I looked over at you, saw 
the astonishment in your eyes, and realized that you had taken 
it...  I wondered why you would do something like that for me."  She 
looked at him.
	"I didn't exactly have a choice, you know.  That was... just 
a taste...  It took me almost a hundred years to finally figure out 
just what she meant...  I finally understood just after she..."  
Sheann'a trailed off, and he shook his head.
	"My companion for nearly two thousand years.  After you, 
Drathar is the oldest, and I didn't bond him until just before we 
met Sonia; that was just seven hundred years ago."  He smiled at 
her, and she blinked in surprise.  "You asked me once if the 
eternal battle I have taken upon myself was beginning to wear on 
me.  I said it was; at least I have someone that I can always trust 
will share it with me."  She floated up to him, and gave him a 
quick kiss on the cheek.
	"You never had to doubt it, Adrian.  You've given me the 
chance to sever the bond before; I haven't yet, have I?"  She 
paused, and then grinned mischievously.  "Besides, if I left you 
now, who would tell you what to do about Ayeka?"  He blinked in 
surprise, and resisted an urge to ask what she meant by that.  
	"Webchild."  She blushed at the sound of the nickname he had 
given her as he had untangled her from one of the giant spider's 
webs in the castle.  They had both been children, true enough.  The 
bond had began as merely a magical one; it had grown into something 
deeper than that.  There were very few that he had ever loved in 
his long life.  His mother, Lisa.  Sonia, the first Belmont.  
Maria, the mother of Cain.  Sheann'a was the only one he had left.  
Even Drathar, though a close friend, was not nearly as close as 
Sheann'a.  
	"MIYACK!"  He looked up in concern as Ryo-Ohki shouted out.  
Rosa gracefully stood, and walked over to the command chair.
	"What's up, Ryo-Ohki?"  
	"Miyuck!" A screen appeared, on which a small, white object 
floated against a backdrop of stars.  It bounced off of the ship, 
and the camera followed its path.  Alucard frowned.
	"What is that?" asked Rosa.  The screen zoomed in on the 
object, and suddenly Carrie gasped.  "Is... is that what I think it 
is, you two?"  
	"I... think so...  I'll bet Ayeka is having a fit, changing 
her diapers..." said Reinhart.  Alucard frowned.
	"If it was her...  Did not Lady Misaki say that Ayeka 
would... not be in a good control of herself?" he asked.  They 
looked at him, and frowned.  Rosa shook her head.
	"He's got a point.  One way or the other, though, we know 
that we're on the right track, now."
	"Miya!"  Rosa looked back at the display, as it changed to 
show a new scene.  Alucard saw her pale slightly as she saw it.  
	"Thirty two... thirty three... thirty four...  I think that 
we may be in trouble."  On the screen in front of them, they saw 
the approaching battle fleet.  Rosa scowled.
	"When she said a dozen, she must have meant a couple of 
dozen!  Oh, when I get my hands on that bubble head!" she growled.  
Carrie stood.
	"Alucard, I believe now would be the time to prepare the 
spell."
	"Indeed."  He looked at Sheann'a, and she nodded.
	"Well, in for a penny, in for a pound."

*****

	Tenchi sighed, as Misaki, Funaho, and Tsunami adjusted the 
robes they had just finished dressing him in.  Until a half hour 
ago, he wouldn't have thought even the three of them together could 
literally drag him to a room and strip him naked.  Well, they might 
not have, but Ryoko had just stood there, grinning and watching 
them as they did it.
	Now, one of his favorite shirts lay in shreds on the floor, 
and the rest of his clothing had been scattered to various places 
around the room.  They had told him what they were doing - It was 
the ancient ceremony of bonding that all of Jurai's rulers had to 
go through.  By tradition, they were to strip him of his former 
self, symbolized by literally stripping him, and then begin the 
bonding, by first dressing him in the robes which signified his 
station.  The three women were humming softly to themselves as they 
wrapped a long, wide white belt around his waist.  This was the 
final step.
	"The first knot, a symbol of your bond to the people of 
Jurai," intoned Funaho.  She tied the end of the belt she held, and 
then kissed him on his left cheek.
	"The second knot, a symbol of your bond to the soil of 
Jurai," said Misaki, tying a second knot in her end of the belt, 
and then kissing him on the right cheek.  They stepped back, and 
each handed their end of the belt to Tsunami, as she came forward.
	"The final knot, a symbol of your bond to the duty of Jurai."  
She pulled the belt tight, and tied the two ends together.  
Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the forehead, and then 
backed up, to stand a half step ahead of Misaki and Funaho.
	"You are bound to the people."
	"You are bound to the soil."
	"You are bound to the duty."  As one, they crossed their arms 
over their chests, placing their hands on their shoulders, and 
then spoke in unison.
	"Three roots of the Tree of Life, and three bonds to 
yourself.  As the Tree grows stronger through its roots, so shall 
you grow stronger by your bonds.  You are now one with the people, 
the soil, and the duty."  They all bowed deeply.  "As we are bound 
to the Tree, so too are we now bound to you."  After that, they 
straightened, and Tsunami looked at him.
	"It is done, Tenchi.  Now, we must address the council.  By 
now, Sagami has informed them of the situation."  Tenchi looked 
down at his white and silver robing.  The garment felt... heavy.  
On the breast of the robes was a huge, embroidered tree with three 
roots, and emerald leaves.  He sighed again, and thought back to 
how he'd ended up in this mess.  The meeting with Sagami had 
been.... interesting, to say the least.

*****

	"As requested, Lady Funaho, I have come.  Commander Akagae 
would not tell me what was wrong, so you will have to forgive me 
for wondering why exactly I am here at this late hour."  Tenchi's 
first impression of Sagami was that he seemed normal enough.  Of 
average height, he looked like somebody he might meet on the 
street.  Brown hair, dark eyes, a slightly boyish handsome face...  
Given human garments, he would have fit right in.
	"I apologize, Sagami, but I do not believe that you will be 
seeing her again...  You are free, of course, to replace her from 
among my retainers."  Tenchi blinked in surprise as Misaki stepped 
forward and spoke; surely she couldn't mean...  The deck shook 
slightly, and he spun in enough time to see the last little bit of 
the shuttle exploding.
	"I... see.  She will be missed, but you need not worry, Lady 
Misaki.  I... believe that I know somebody who would be interested 
in taking her place.  If I may ask, why did she have her... 
accident?"  Tenchi turned back, his jaw dropping.  Just before he 
confronted Misaki about it, Ryoko sent him a quiet thought through 
their link. -No.  Let it be, Tenchi.  It had to happen; she knew 
too much.  We... can't take the chance that she might have spoken.-  
He glanced at her; Ryoko turned away, but not before he saw the 
sadness in her golden eyes.  Funaho stepped forward.
	"What I am about to say must remain sealed only to this room, 
unless you agree to what we offer.  Will you swear to that, in 
Empress Ayeka's name?"  He nodded slowly, and Funaho took a deep 
breath.  "Empress Ayeka has been kidnapped by Tokimi."  He gasped 
in shock, and she hurried on.  "We have already sent somebody after 
her, but there are complications.  She has begun chi'partain, and 
without her, it is likely that the alliance will fall apart.  We 
believe, though, that if we give the members a leader that they will 
follow until she is recovered..."  Sagami's eyes flicked to Tenchi 
for a moment, and then back to her.
	"I see.  I assume you wish me to lend my support, and thus, 
the council's, to this young man?"  Funaho nodded.
	"Tenchi Masaki, grandson to Crown Prince Yosho, and to whom he 
passed his title, and the Master Key."  Sagami raised his eyebrows, 
and bowed to Tenchi.
	"Yosho was my teacher before he left.  I assume he has 
trained you as well?  Does he still enjoy showing off by hitting 
you from unusual stances?"  Tenchi glanced at his grandfather.
	"Constantly."  Sagami blinked, as he recognized his old 
teacher, and bowed low.
	"Forgive me master; I did not realize it was you.  I trust 
you are feeling well, sir."  Yosho frowned slightly, but nodded.  
Sagami grinned weakly, but then turned back to Tenchi.  "Ayeka has 
spoken of you, most especially of your sword fighting talent.  I 
will support you, but you must defeat me in battle first.  If you 
are not worthy of the throne, then you will not be able to win.  Is 
this agreeable?"  Funaho and Misaki frowned, but looked at him 
expectantly.  Tenchi looked at his family.  Washu nodded slightly; 
his grandfather frowned, but slowly nodded as well.  Tsunami's face 
was unreadable.  Ryoko shrugged, and grinned at him.
	"If it is what is needed to be done to gain your support, 
then that is what I'll do."  Sagami nodded, and Washu grinned.
	"I've got just the place!"  Washu led them into the core of 
the Shukuen, and opened a door to a large, empty, black painted 
room.  Tenchi looked around.  The room was totally featureless.  He 
looked back at Washu, his confusion mirroring everybody else's.  
She grinned, summoned her keyboard, and typed for a moment.
	Suddenly, they stood inside a huge coliseum, filled with 
cheering people.  The sun stood high in the sky, and there was a 
tropical heat that made them all start to sweat.  Tenchi looked 
around in astonishment, and then sighed, moving over to Washu.  She 
grinned at him.
	"How about a simple gym, Washu?  One that doesn't include a 
screaming crowd?"  She lost some of her grin.
	"What, you don't like the ambiance?"  He smiled slightly.
	"A simple gym.  Or else I'll tell Mihoshi that you wanted her 
to press every button she can find in your lab back home."  She 
swallowed.
	"You're serious, aren't you?" she asked.  He nodded, and a 
moment later, the coliseum disappeared, to be replaced by a small, 
simple gym.  A rack of bokken rested against the wall, and Tenchi 
walked over, picking one up.  He tossed it to Sagami; the man took 
a couple experimental swings with it, and then nodded.  Tenchi 
picked up a second one, and turned to Sagami.
	"All honor to your house, but I will not hold back."  Tenchi 
nodded, and dropped into a ready stance.  Sagami grinned, and 
mirrored him.
	-Don't fight with your full ability to begin.  He is testing 
you; trick him into thinking that you are not as good as you are, 
and then surprise him once he thinks he knows your ability.-  
Tenchi blinked in surprise, as he parried a swipe from Sagami.  
That thought had been from Dracula...  It wasn't horrible advice, 
though.
	They settled into the fight.  Tenchi had to give him credit; 
Sagami was good.  Most of his energies went into defending himself 
against Sagami's attacks, though he recognized the battle style.  
It was exactly as Yosho had trained him, so Tenchi began to 
start the next block in the pattern while Sagami was still moving 
to the next attack.
	Too late, Tenchi realized his mistake.  Sagami's patterns 
were exactly as Yosho had trained Tenchi - there were none of the 
variances that would have come in an actual battle, none of the 
movements that would have come with Sagami's own practicing of 
them.  He was following the forms to the letter, right down to the 
order that Yosho had taught them to Tenchi in.  Too late, he tried 
to alter his defense, but he was already committed to the low cross 
block that would counter the waist-level sweep in Sagami's current 
pattern.  Checking his feint, Sagami brought the sword up, and 
lightly rapped Tenchi on the throat.  A gasp rippled through the 
onlookers, as Sagami stepped back.
	"You're holding back.  I'll consider that to be merely 
practice, because I know that you can do better.  This time, if you 
lose, you will lose completely."  He stepped back to a comfortable 
distance; Tenchi nodded, and returned to a ready stance.  He had 
never even considered that Sagami might see through the ploy...  
was he slipping?
	Sagami seemed to literally flow toward him this time; Tenchi 
automatically moved to block his first strike, and hastily dove to 
the side as Sagami twisted, throwing three high speed slashes at 
his chest.  His fighting style had changed completely.  Though 
still loosely recognizable as including his grandfather's 
teachings, there were now elements that he had never seen before, 
and elements that reminded him of Kagato.  
	Recovering, Tenchi spun, and tried feinting high before 
dropping to the side and slashing at Sagami's sword arm.  He 
grinned, before backflipping away.  Tenchi stepped forward, and 
lashed out with his foot, connecting solidly with Sagami's chest.  
He stumbled back, and Tenchi pressed the advantage, leaping forward 
with his bokken poised.  Sagami parried, and Tenchi spun in just 
enough time to block his counter stroke.
	They began to trade blows, circling around each other and 
striking when they could.  Tenchi found that every time he thought 
that he had Sagami's style down, he altered it just enough to keep 
him guessing.  It was beginning to worry him, but he still wasn't 
ready to give up.  Frowning, Tenchi stepped in, and opened with a 
chest shot, followed up by sweeping his leg out under Sagami.  He 
blocked the sword strike and jumped over Tenchi's foot, and then 
twisted to land a sharp blow on Tenchi's shoulder.
	Off balance, Tenchi stumbled to the side, and turned in just 
enough time to block Sagami's next attack.  The blow jarred him, 
and Tenchi frowned as the shoulder Sagami had struck throbbed with 
pain.  It wasn't his sword arm, though, so Tenchi pushed it out of 
his mind.  Slowly, though, Sagami pushed him back.  Sagami whipped 
his sword across before Tenchi could react, and drew a thin line 
across his chest.  Tenchi groaned as it began to bleed slightly.  
Ryoko gasped, and stepped forward; Tenchi glanced at her.
	"Don't, Ryoko.  I'm not done yet."  Sagami looked at him.
	"You have tried, Tenchi.  There is no dishonor in ending a
fight when you have been out fought."  Tenchi scowled at him.
	"I haven't lost yet!"  He jumped forward, and Sagami put up 
his sword to defend.  Caught by surprise, he pushed him back on a 
burst of adrenaline.  Tenchi forced Sagami into a corner, and 
raised his sword for a final strike.
	Sagami kicked out, and drove his foot into Tenchi's stomach.  
Caught offguard, Tenchi exhaled, and dropped to his knees.  Sagami 
leveled his sword at Tenchi's neck.  Tenchi sighed, and bowed his 
head, as Sagami took the sword away.  He offered Tenchi a hand up, 
and spoke as Tenchi took it.
	"Well then, I believe that I have to speak to the council, 
and apprize them of the situation.  I believe that with Tsunami, 
Funaho, and Misaki here, they can raise you as I am doing that?"  
Tenchi stared at Sagami in surprise.
	"But... I lost to you!"  Sagami shook his head.
	"You wouldn't stop, even when it was obvious that you were 
beaten, and almost won.  It is said that every man has his better.  
I just happened to be yours.  But in this fight, if you stop before 
you are dead, then we're all dead.  You have the will power to 
keep going; I must admit, I wouldn't have the same drive.  So 
you've got my support, and if you'll excuse me, I need to make 
sure that you have the council's as well."  Sagami set the sword 
down, and then excused himself, walking out of the gym.  Tenchi 
stared after him.
	"Why do I have the feeling that things just got 
interesting..."