Blood Red Moon Eternity
	Chapter 7: Power Struggle

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 

*****

	"Two minutes until we're within range of their scanners.  If 
you're going to do it, now would be the time," said Rosa.  She was 
strapped into Ryo-Ohki's command chair with the controls before 
her; she glanced back at her brother and the others.  Reinhart was 
watching from against a wall; Carrie, Alucard, and Sheann'a sat in 
a triangle.  Between them, Carrie's staff stood on end, and had 
began to glow slightly.
	"Alright.  Open yourself to the magical energy, and simply 
hold it.  The staff will be our focal point; when I nod, you must 
direct all of your powers to it.  Are you ready?"  Carrie and 
Alucard both nodded to Sheann'a, and then all three became very 
still, scarcely even breathing.
	"Winds of Time blow; send the Mind's Fog to cover us.  Winds 
of Change blow; gently push the Mists of Memory to surround us."  
She extended her hand toward the staff, and a small sphere of light 
appeared there.  "Fog of Mind, Mist of Memory, now fly to cover our 
enemy's eyes and fill their ears.  Hide us in your cool embrace, 
and deliver us from this battle in safety!"  She nodded slightly, 
and Carrie and Alucard each raised their hands and formed their own 
spheres of power.  The three balls of energy floated away from 
them, and melted into the staff.
	It blazed alight; Rosa squinted against the brightness of it.  
Impossibly, it grew brighter and still brighter, until suddenly a 
beam of light shot away from it, straight through Ryo-Ohki's dome.  
A moment later, she miyaed in curiosity, and brought up a screen 
which showed herself.  Rosa grinned.
	"That means that it worked, right?" asked Reinhart.  Sheann'a 
nodded, grimacing.
	"You must hurry...  I can't hold this much power in focus for 
very long."  Rosa turned back to the controls.
	"You heard her, let's get going, Ryo-Ohki!"  She miyaed, and 
exploded forward.  On the main monitor, a red warning appeared:  
Inside Scanner Range.  They all held their breath, as they got 
closer and closer to the huge fleet.  She glanced back; Sheann'a 
and Carrie were sweating, and Alucard was frowning in 
concentration.   Rosa looked back at the screen, and spoke quietly.  
"You have your weapons charged, right?  Just in case?"  The ship 
miyaed softly.  She looked up as the lead ship's weapons glowed 
briefly, and fired.  The laser beams slashed through the image of 
Ryo-Ohki.  Rosa smiled grimly.
	"Let's move it, sis.  They'll figure out something is up 
pretty quick," said Reinhart.  Rosa nodded, and watched as more of 
the ships fired at their ghost.  With a gasp, she swerved to avoid 
a blast that was actually heading toward them, and then pushed 
Ryo-Ohki to move faster.
	"I... can't... hold...  AHH!" screamed Sheann'a suddenly.  
The image of Ryo-Ohki disappeared, and a moment later the shots 
from the battle fleet began tracking them.  The deck shuddered as a 
few of the bolts struck home.  Rosa started an evasive pattern, and 
frowned at the view screen.  
	"Fire!  If they're gonna try biting us, we'll bite back!"  
Ryo-Ohki miyaed, and opened fire, blasting away the two battleships 
closest to them.  The ship was rocked as more bolts crashed into 
it.  Rosa frowned, and looked for a way out.
	"Alucard!  Do you think you have enough energy to cast the 
Twin Rage spell?"  Rosa risked a glance backwards as Carrie pushed 
herself unsteadily to her feet.  The dhampeal moved next to her, 
nodding slowly.
	"I... believe so, but I question its effectiveness in our 
current situation."  Carrie frowned at him.
	"If you've got any better solutions, I'm open to it!  But it 
will at least buy us some time for Rosa to get us away."  He shook 
his head in agreement.
	"What are you two planning?" she asked, as the deck was 
rocked again.
	"Just get us into the middle of them!" answered Carrie.  Rosa 
looked at her in surprise.
	"Ryo-Ohki can barely take the punishment she's taking right 
now!  We'll be torn to shreds!"
	"Trust me!  Just get us there!"  Rosa frowned, as Ryo-Ohki 
miyaed nervously.  She looked at the interface crystal.
	"Do you think that you can make it?"
	"Miya...  Miya!"  Rosa grinned.
	"I thought you said you weren't as feisty as you used to be.  
All right, here we go!"  Rosa sat forward, and began to pilot the 
battleship in, dodging and weaving between the blasts, and firing 
back when she had the chance.  She managed to disable three more of 
the enemy ships, but a couple of shots slammed into one of Ryo-
Ohki's wings.  She yelped in pain, but kept going.  Finally, the 
tactile display said they were literally in the middle of the fire 
zone.  "We're there!  I'd say you have about half a minute before 
they take us apart."  Carrie nodded to Alucard, and placed a hand 
on her staff.
	"I summon the power of the great white dragon Bahamut!"  
Carrie's voice rang out, seeming to echo in the small room.
	"I call forth the might of the dread black dragon Tiamat!"  
Rosa turned to look at them, and blinked in surprise.  Carrie was 
glowing white; Alucard seemed to be absorbing the light around him.  
Even more surprising; or maybe frightening, was that above them, 
the hazy outlines of a white dragon's head, and a black dragon's 
head had begun to form.  They seemed to be staring at each other, 
anger in their eyes, anger, rage even, at each other.  As one, 
Carrie and Alucard finished the spell.
	"Turn your eternal rage against our enemies, and wipe them 
from this coil!  Go forth now, your wills turned to our bidding!"  
With twin blood-curdling screams of fury, the two indistinct forms 
leapt away, and passed through Ryo-Ohki's dome.  Once they did, 
they solidified, gaining full bodies, shimmering pearl white, and 
glistening raven black.  Rosa and Reinhart watched in amazement, as 
they began to systematically tear apart - quite literally - the 
battle fleet.  Debris quickly began to little the battle zone, as 
the few remaining ships turned and began to flee.
	The two dragons flew together, and joined, becoming a strange 
blaze of energy that flashed by the retreating ships.  There was a 
moment's pause, and then they exploded in dazzling burst of light 
that Rosa had to shield her eyes from.  She heard a groan, and 
looked back to them as Carrie crumpled to the ground.  Reinhart was 
at her side instantly, cradling her head into his lap as she fell; 
Alucard stayed standing a moment longer.
	"I... believe that should... take care of the problem," he 
said weakly, before dropping to his knees and toppling forward.  
Rosa unstrapped herself, and rolled him over, to see if he had been 
hurt.
	"They... sleep.  Too much magical energy used.  They need to 
regain their strength...  Oh, what hit me?" asked Sheann'a, as she 
stumbled over to them with Drathar's help.  She sat down, leaning 
up against Alucard's side.  Rosa looked at the fairy.
	"Asleep?  From only two spells?"  Sheann'a looked at her 
wryly.
	"When we get home, try picking up a couple of mountains, and 
see if it doesn't tire you out a little.  Sure, they can cast 
plenty of minor spells, just like you could throw lots of small 
stones.  But major spells, like those two, would be about the same 
as picking up and throwing, say, the mountain that the shrine sits 
on."  She leaned back again.  "Wake... us up when we get there.  
Should be... long enough..."  The fairy closed her eyes, and 
drifted off to sleep.
	"How long?" Rosa glanced at her brother.
	"Ryo-Ohki probably lost the trail, but I don't think it 
matters."  She stood, and walked over to the read outs.  The 
interface crystal flashed Ryo-Ohki's furry face, with tears 
streaming down from her eyes, and she miyaed.  "She got hurt pretty 
bad, but she says that it should only be six hours, even as beat up 
as she is."  Rosa sat down against the wall.
	"Listen, get some sleep Rosa.  I'll wake you up in three 
hours.  We'll all need to be awake when we get there."  Rosa 
nodded, and closed her eyes.

*****

	Tsunami turned to Tenchi as they reached the makeshift 
council chamber.  He truly did look as if he belonged in the royal 
robes.  At least, he would if he hadn't have looked like he was 
going to his own funeral.  She laughed quietly, and he blinked at 
her.  It was the exact same expression that he had always gotten 
when he used to get caught between Ryoko and Ayeka.
	Oh, how she had come to miss those days.  Sometimes she 
forgot that she was as much Sasami as Tsunami.  She missed those 
days of happiness, when all that she had ever really had to worry 
about was what to make for dinner, or when to let Mihoshi into 
Washu's lab before she got her... samples.  She laughed again.  
Washu never had figured out how Mihoshi always seemed to get in 
just in time to save Tenchi.
	She shook her head.  As much as she would have liked to be 
just Sasami, at the moment, she had to be Tsunami.  She reached 
out, and straightened Tenchi's robes.  He sighed, and then stood 
straight, smoothing his expression.  From helpless boy to Emperor 
of Jurai in just a single moment.  Tsunami smiled.
	"You must trust your instinct... and the instincts of those 
within you, Tenchi.  It may be to your advantage that they are with 
you, for certainly one in particular has had experience as a 
ruler... no matter how cruel he may have been."  That was the one 
thing that she most deeply regretted.  The Light Hawk Sword should 
not have absorbed the pieces of their souls, and she still did not 
understand why it had.  Yet in a way, it might have worked out in 
their favor, for Tenchi surely would have died a year before if 
Yuzuha and Dracula had not aided him.  Tenchi nodded.
	"Right...  Let's just do this before I manage to talk myself 
out of it."  She nodded, and opened the curtain, as Ryoko took her 
place next to Tenchi.  She too wore the symbolic robes, though hers 
were less ornate and lacked the embroidered tree.  Together, they 
stepped out into the huge room.  Tsunami pressed down the 
butterflies that suddenly formed in her stomach, and followed them, 
trailed by her mother and aunt.  Twenty thousand years of 
planning...  It had come down to this.  Now, she would see if her 
last effort to save what she could would be worth the sacrifices.

*****

	Tenchi slowly walked down the steps.  When Funaho and Misaki 
had said that they were going to speak to the council, he had 
expected the Juraian council.  What he was faced with was almost a 
hundred different races of alien species, some very human seeming, 
some very definitely not human.  There were those covered in 
clothing, those covered with fur, some that looked like giant 
rocks, and some that seemed like nothing but mist.
	One and all, though, they all turned their eyes - which often 
as not meant more than just two - toward him, and the quiet babble 
that had filled the room moments before disappeared.  He walked up 
to the dais, in the center of the room, and stepped onto it.  Above 
him, a towering holographic image of himself appeared.  Taking a 
deep breath, and saying a quick prayer in his mind, he began to 
speak.
	"I stand before you as Emperor of Jurai.  Empress Ayeka has 
been kidnapped by Lady Tokimi.  I have been chosen to take her 
place until she is found, and can be restored, at which time I will 
step down, and return what is hers by right."  An alien whose skin 
resembled green scales stepped forward.
	"By what blood do you claim the throne?"  Funaho had prepared 
him for this question.
	"I am Tenchi dai'Achika tai'Yosho dai'Azusa."  Tenchi, son of 
Achika, daughter of Yosho, son of Azusa.  The ancient form of 
naming one's heritage, and naming his direct bloodline.  The green 
scaled alien looked to Funaho.
	"Is this true, mother of Yosho and wife of Azusa?  Does he 
claim his blood truthfully?"  Funaho nodded.
	"It is."  The alien frowned, but slowly nodded.
	"I believe your word.  I accept him as new Emperor of Jurai 
and commander of the Alliance, until Ayeka is returned."  Tenchi 
breathed a sigh of relief, until the next alien stepped forward, 
and repeated the question.  One by one, each race followed suit, 
each asking the same question.
	It went smoothly, until the last one stepped forward.  It was 
a male, with black fur and black eyes; strapped to his back was a 
wicked looking sword.  He too asked Tenchi's blood, Tenchi answered 
as he had before, then Funaho was asked her question, and she 
answered as she had before.
	"I do not believe your word.  I do not accept him as the new 
Emperor, or commander of the Alliance.  As such, I will now kill 
him, as is my right, for impersonating the Emperor!"  Before 
anybody could react, he had pulled out a small blaster and fired.  
The crowd gasped.
	The blaster bolt splashed against a Light Hawk Wing.  In the 
silence that followed, an pin drop could have been heard.
	Slowly, Tenchi floated off the dais, not bothering to dismiss 
the Wings.  He advanced toward the alien, who was suddenly alone as 
the rest of the aliens backed away.  To his credit, he didn't back 
down; defiance shone brightly in his eyes.  -He will respect a show 
of power.  His is a warrior clan.-  Tenchi blinked, as Dracula's 
voice entered his head again.  He was on the point of dismissing it 
out of hand when he heard Ryoko's thoughts through their link.
	-He is a Dartack; I fought them three thousand years ago.  
Their entire race are warriors; they respect those that prove they 
are stronger.-  Tenchi would have stared at her in surprise, but he 
didn't dare take his eyes off his would-be assassin.  A show of 
power, they both said.  Tenchi scowled.
	"You wish more proof of my identity?  Proof of my blood?  
Very well!  I'll give you proof that none can deny!"  He produced 
Tenchi-ken from his robes, and held it above his head so that all 
could see it.  "You all know that no Juraian can use the Light Hawk 
Wings without a link to one of the trees.  With this, I can touch 
any of the trees, even Tsunami, the only one capable of generating 
all ten Wings of the Light Hawk."  Tenchi tossed it away, and there 
was a soft gasp as the Wings didn't disappear.
	"Tsunami!  Am I drawing energy from you, or any other tree?"  
She blinked, but shook her head.
	"No, he is not.  He has no other keys, and I am not supplying 
him with energy.  By the ancient covenant, you all know my words to 
be true."  A second gasp rippled through the crowd, but the Dartack 
held his ground still.  -This guy has got balls...- came the 
thought from Ryoko.  Tenchi sighed inwardly.  There was one more 
thing that he could do, though it was a step he did not want to 
take.
	"You wish more?  Tell me, how many races here know the name 
of Kagato?"  A murmur of assents rippled through the crowd.  "You 
know of his power?  You know of his evil?"  Again, they nodded.  He 
looked around.  "Do you know of his demise?  Of the sword that 
brought his death?  No?  Allow me, then, to show you!"  He reached 
forward, and took hold of a Wing, changing it into the Light Hawk 
Sword, and then laying it at the Dartack's throat.
	"Is this proof enough, or do you still want more?" asked 
Tenchi coldly, biting off each word, and punctuating the last with 
a very light press.  Blue blood seeped onto the end of the blade.  
The Dartack stared at him coldly, weighing him in his eyes.
	"I... accept your proof, and recognize you as new Emperor and 
leader of the Alliance, until Ayeka is found."  A collective sigh 
passed through the crowd, and Tenchi lowered the sword, letting it 
disappear.
	"As everybody is agreed, then we must now move.  A team has 
been sent to retrieve Ayeka; by now, they should nearly be there.  
We must attack Tokimi's fleet; hopefully we will finish her, but at 
the least, while they are distracted, Ayeka can escape."  He turned 
to walk back to Ryoko and the others.
	His only warning was their eyes widening; Tenchi spun, 
dropping to his knee and throwing a fireball.  He sensed rather 
than felt the blaster bolt go by his ear; heard it sizzle as it 
smacked into a wall.  Tenchi's mind noted that automatically; 
through the link he knew that Ryoko was unharmed.  All taken down 
and filed away without really thinking about it.
	Before him, the Dartack was staring at him in surprise, his 
hands fingering a roughly half-foot wide hole in the center of his 
chest.  Tenchi noted, oddly, that the wound had been cauterized 
already; there was no blood save for the slight trickle that Tenchi 
had caused earlier with his sword.  He noticed suddenly that the 
Dartack's eyes weren't actually black, as he had thought, but a 
very dark red.
	The Dartack dropped to his knees, and fell forward, one hand 
just short of touching Tenchi.  Slowly, he stood, and looked 
around, being sure to meet every alien's eyes.  They all stared 
back, expressionless.  Tenchi cleared his throat, and spoke 
quietly, his voice pitched to carry.
	"Would anybody else like to try to stab me in the back?  If 
you would, please form a line.  I can't promise that you'll all get 
your chance, but at least a one of you might be happy."  None of 
them moved.  "Well?  What are you waiting for?  Do it now, before 
we leave to fight to save your worlds.  Do it now, before you ask 
me to watch you backs.  Do it now, before you have to worry about 
losing your chance in the battle.  Do it now, or don't do it at 
all."  He looked around again.  Slowly, Sagami came forward.
	"The Dartack have broken their part of the alliance.  I 
officially denounce their actions, and declare them allies of 
Tokimi.  Who stands with me?"  Slowly, each remaining race came 
forward.  Sagami looked at Tenchi.  "Where do we strike, Emperor?"  
He looked around.
	"Jurai."  He turned, and walked back to Ryoko and the others.  
"Have your ships ready to leave in an hour, or eat our dust all the 
way there."  Tenchi looked at Tsunami, Funaho, and Misaki.  "Can 
you handle the rest?"  They nodded.  "Then I'm leaving, before I 
throw up," he said quietly, before teleporting away.

*****

	Cain glanced over as Elayne sleepily murmured and shifted 
slightly in the makeshift cradle he had made.  The child yawned, 
and then fell back to sleep.  He smiled slightly, and then turned 
his attention back to the broken sword he had retrieved from the 
tree.  Since the first memory, nothing more had surfaced, yet he 
was certain that the partial blade was the key to his locked away 
memories.  Who was that white haired man?  Why couldn't he 
remember?
	He blinked in surprise as he felt the pain in his hand, and 
looked down to see that he had accidentally sliced open his palm on 
the shining metal.  Blood covered the blade, glistening wetly.  
Blood...  Why did it seem so important, and why did something 
within stir at the sight of it?  A... hunger, almost.  Frowning, he 
pushed the thought away, and activated the ship's medi-bot.  
Moments later, the skin had reclosed, the wound vanished.
	"Ten minutes to Juraian atmosphere, Cain.  I have detected an 
instability within the Empress's hormonal levels.  Do you wish me 
to activate a stasis field?"  He looked up in curiosity.
	"Is it life threatening?"  
"Not currently.  The instability would have to increase by 
twenty-seven percent before it could pose a danger to her health.  
Currently, it appears that the instability will peak in twelve 
hours, and then correct itself.  Correction; the instability is 
growing in spurts: Estimation of peak time not possible."  Cain 
nodded.
	"In that case, a simple holding field will be sufficient."
	"Compliance."  He stood, and replaced the sword into a 
storage compartment, and then turned to find Elayne floating toward 
the control panel.  He blinked in surprise, and snatched her out of 
the air as she reached out for the shuttle's controls.  She looked 
at her with her strange, golden eyes...  Golden eyes...
	-He laughed, as he formed a Sphere of Destruction, ignoring 
the pain that always came when he drew on any of his powers.  Soon, 
that pain would never come again, after he destroyed the Pendulum 
of Time.  Carrie gasped, her golden eyes going wide, as she swung 
her staff to form a shield spell that blocked Reinhart from jumping 
between her and the spell.  The Sphere smashed through her light 
armor, shattering it; she inhaled in pain as he teleported to her 
side, and tried to stop him from taking the Whip with a hand that 
would not obey her any more.  He laughed again, and thanked her, 
teleporting away as she crumpled to the ground, her life force 
draining away from the effects of the spell.-  
	Cain shook off the memory with an effort of will, and found 
himself sitting in the command chair, still holding Elayne.  The 
child was giggling... but how could that be?  He had killed her 
mother before Elayne had been born in that memory, yet Carrie - he 
remembered her name, now - was alive as the baby that he held in 
his hands.  More seethed just under the surface, but he just 
couldn't grasp it.  He was so close, he was certain; just a little 
more...
	"Cain, we have landed at the palace.  D3 says he awaits you 
and the Empress in the throne room."  He blinked, and realized that 
they were indeed on Jurai.
	"Please prepare three bottles, several diapers, and a bag to 
carry them in.  I will get Ayeka ready.  Upload the milk recipe to 
the Palace's central core."
	"Yes, Cain."  He moved back into the holding area.  Ayeka 
looked up at him, and he blinked in surprise at first the tracts of 
tears down her puffy cheeks, and then at the quiet fury in her 
eyes.  Still, she seemed much calmer than she had been; perhaps she 
had decided not to struggle.  She stood as he spoke.
	"We have arrived on Jurai, Empress.  I am to take you to the 
throne room; is there anything that you need before we go?"  She 
shook her head.
	"Nothing you could provide," she said icily.  He nodded.
	"As you wish.  Computer, a level four prison bubble, if you 
will?"  There was a shimmer as it activated, and then she began to 
float slightly off the ground.  He deactivated the shield between 
them, and then pushed the bubble toward the front while cradling 
Elayne in his other arm.  "Forgive me, I must collect a few 
things."  He picked up the bottles and diapers, and placed them 
into the bag the computer had provided.  Last, he retrieved the 
sword, and slid it behind his belt, lacking a better place.
	"It would look better through your heart," said Ayeka.  He 
looked at her.
	"I... think it has been there, once.  I'm afraid I can't 
remember too clearly.  I can't really remember much of anything, 
but I'm certain I remember... A... Al..."  Alucard?  The 
name suddenly floated up from the depths of his mind.  "Alucard?  I 
think that is his name, driving it through me when it was whole."  
She frowned at him, as he shook his head.  "It doesn't matter.  If 
we do not hurry, Tokimi will be angry, and it is not wise to... 
anger her."
	He guided the bubble through the empty hallways, the sound of 
his boots echoing sharply off the walls and ceiling.  Out of the 
corner of his eye, he noticed Ayeka looking around; whether in 
disapproval or simply at the home she had been forced to give up a 
year before, he wasn't sure.  In his arm, Elayne fidgeted, and 
reached up to pat his cheek.  He stopped, and dug into the satchel 
for a bottle, and realized that he could not feed her and move 
Ayeka along at the same time.
	Ayeka looked at him, frowning, but her expression slowly 
softened, if the cold fury in her eyes did not.
	"I will swear on the Tree of Life to not try to run or get 
away, to go with you where you direct if you will release me," she 
said finally.  He blinked in surprise, and thought about it for a 
moment.
	"You give me your word?" he asked.  She frowned again, but 
nodded.
	"Yes."  He considered it a moment more, and then released the 
prison bubble.  She touched the ground, and nodded.  "The throne 
room, Empress."  She nodded again, and began to walk at a steady 
pace.  He followed her, half his mind on where she was going, the 
other half on feeding Elayne.  They walked in silence, except for 
the occasional coo from the child.
	They reached the throne room just as Elayne finished the 
bottle; he tucked it away as Ayeka pushed the door open, and walked 
through.
	"Welcome home, Empress Ayeka.  I am D3.  Lady Tokimi shall 
join us shortly."