Blood Red Moon Resurrection Chapter 2:
        Old Friends

     Disclaimers: All characters belong to their various
copyrights, with the exception of Reinhart Masaki and Rosa
Masaki.  Those two are mine.  Beyond their usage in this story,
I claim no ownership, no rights of creation, no nothing.  Please
don't sue me.  Comments, quips, insults, and death threats may
be directed to Platinum_Dragon@usinternet.com
     The Tenchi Muyo Characters in this series are based on the OVA
versions, but don't be surprised if there aren't one or two TV
references.  The characters Carrie Fernandez, Alucard, Death,
Dracula, Maria Renard and Lisa all belong to the Konami Castlevania
series. This cross-over series is placed roughly 17 years in
Tenchi's world, 120 years in Alucard's world after the events in
Blood Red Moon.  Reinhart and Rosa Masaki, the children of Tenchi
and Ryoko, are now young teens.

     "To what profit is it to a man, if he gains the world and
loses his own soul?  Mathew 16:26 I believe." - Dracula, as he dies
at the end of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

*****

     Reinhart felt himself falling through nothingness, and then
suddenly, he just wasn't anymore, not landing yet at the same time
that feeling of falling stopped.  Sound touched him first, the
music of crickets, and other nightlife.  He blinked a couple of
times, and his eyes adjusted to the darkness.  Slowly, he made out
the fact that he was in what looked like a town square.
     Once his eyes had adjusted fully, he was able to see as well
as if it were day, part of the abilities that he had gained from
his mother. They were in a town square; his sister stood up from
where she had appeared.  Surrounding them were huge, Victorian
style houses, some of which appeared to be very old.  In the middle
of the square stood a tall fountain.
     There were four people carven into the stone of the fountain.
One, a tall man with a serious expression that held a whip at the
ready.  There was a young girl, holding a staff.  Reinhart's
breath caught, as he recognized the other two people.  They were
his mother and father.  The water shot up from behind them, and
then spread out over the four figures.
     "I don't think we're in Japan any more, Toto," quipped Rosa.
Groaning, Reinhart looked around.
     "Mom said that we should find Reinhart and Carrie."  She
nodded, and then abruptly turned toward one of the shadowed alley
ways.
     "Who's there?" she called out.  A rhythmic, singular tapping
sound came from that direction, as they waited.  Slowly, the form
of a slump-backed, bent over person wrapped up in a cloak appeared
out of the darkness.  The person walked with the aid of a tall,
beautifully carven staff, with a small green stone on top; the
source of the tapping sound.  As the figure approached them, silent
except for the click of the staff striking the stone of the road,
Reinhart automatically began to summon the energy for his force
blade.  He jumped in surprise, when Tenchi-ken, at his waist, began
to glow a soft blue.  The figure, now right in front of them,
stopped, and looked up.
     An old, wrinkled face looked out at them.  It might have been
beautiful once; now it held a sort of stern, motherly warmth.
The wisps of hair that could be seen from under the hood were gray,
although Reinhart thought that he saw just a hint of cyan.  But it
was her eyes that drew his attention.  They didn't belong in that
old, weathered face.  In the moonlight, they shone golden, ancient,
and yet young and vibrant at the same time.  Intelligence
and wisdom of the ages danced behind them, just out of reach.
     "Who are you?" he asked.  That gaze took both him and his
sister in.  He could see the old woman weighing them in her eyes,
down to the last ounce.  Leaning on the staff, she reached down,
and touched the glowing Tenchi-ken.  In surprise, he made no move
to stop her.
     "Tell me, young man, how did you come by this sword?" she
asked. Like her eyes, the woman's voice didn't belong to someone
as old as her.  There was strength, conviction to that voice.
Somehow, he realized, she was not a threat to them.
     "It is my father's.  He sent it with us as proof of who we
are," he said.  The old woman looked up, letting go of the sword,
and smiled just slightly.
     "And who does it prove you are?" she asked.  Reinhart drew
himself up proudly.
     "My name is Reinhart, and this is my sister Rosa.  We are
searching for two friends of our father, whom we are named after."
The old woman nodded.
     "Noble names.  That was a long, long time ago.  I was only
twelve. I'm sorry, but Reinhart Schnieder and his wife are dead
nearly ninety years gone."  Rosa gasped.
     "Ninety years!  But its only been seventeen years for us!"
Reinhart stared at the old woman.
     "What of Carrie Fernandez?  You didn't mention what happened
to her yet."  She smiled.
     "Oh, she's still around.  Hanging on by finger nails, but she
was always too stubborn to die."  Now Reinhart understood,
remembering his mother's stories about Carrie, and her golden eyes,
and smiled.
     "Rosa..." he said, turning to his sister.  "Meet Carrie
Fernandez."  Rosa stared at the ancient woman in surprise, while
the older woman chuckled quietly.  She sobered quickly, though.
     "Come.  There are better places than this to talk, and safer
as well, in these times."  She started quickly toward one side of
the square.  They stared at each other in surprise, and then
hurried to follow her.

*****

     "And the curse has returned, at its full strength?" asked
Carrie, taking a sip of tea.  Reinhart nodded.
     "Mother said she thought it might be Dracula, trying to take
revenge," he said.  The older woman appeared deep in thought.
     "Tenchi and Ryoko...  How often I've thought of them both in
the last hundred twenty years.  They were good friends, and we all
missed them dearly after they left.  Rosa was hit hardest of all.
She was sad that Ryoko hadn't been able to say goodbye.  Their
first child was born not long after.  It was a girl, and they named
her Ryoko, just as they had planned.  She was the first of three.
Ryoko, Angela, and Cloud, their only son."
     "What happened to them?" asked Rosa.  Carrie frowned.
     "About ninety years ago, a great and terrible plague came to
this land.  Many people died.  Reinhart found out that the source
of the plague was a dark cave not far east of here.  Together,
he and I went there.  Deep under the Earth, we found an Elder
Demon.  Pooling our powers, we were able to send it back to Hell,
sealing the Gateway it had formed.  But during the battle, he was
badly wounded."  She paused to take a drink of her tea before
continuing.
     "Healing magic was never my strongest suit; the spells in
Sypha's book were mainly to combat the dark powers of Dracula.
I did what I could, and we made it back to town.  He lived a week,
and then two, stayed to his bed as though a giant's hand held him
there.  Much of the time that he was awake, hallucinations
plagued him, but in the few moments of clarity that he had, he was
with his family."  Carrie Fernandez sighed, sadly.
     "On the tenth day of November, in the year nineteen ten,
Reinhart Schneider passed away.  In the end, not even the Belmont
blood that flowed in his veins was enough to keep him alive.  He
was buried in the Belmont family graveyard, as was his right.
     "Rosa tried hard, after he passed away, but slowly, the life
drained out of her.  She rarely smiled anymore; often she would
cry on my shoulder.  For a short time, she began to become better;
than one of her sisters was killed in a house fire and she fell
back into her depression.  One year after Reinhart, Rosa joined
him in the Earth's final embrace.  Her will to go on had simply
left her.  I took the children in, and took care of them as best
I could.  I had never married; most men in that day and age simply
couldn't deal with a woman who is more powerful than they are.  Cloud
had shown promise as a mage, and I began to teach him what I could.
     "Five years after Rosa passed away, the denizens of Hell, who
had been in upheaval since Dracula's death, found a path here.
Under the leadership of four Elder Demons: Thanatos, Demadred,
Ishmael, and Death, they surged out of Hell, into the Living world.
The Earth itself screamed and bled at that terrible tide.  The
children and myself hurried there, as fast as we could.  The power
that flowed in their blood aided us, and we were able to reach the
leaders.
     "Ryoko challenged Thanatos.  Her blade, blessed by the Holy
Priests of Avalon, bit deeply into his side, but as he died, flames
rose about him and consumed her as well.  The first to be born,
she was also the first to die on that dark day.  Angela, with the
Lance of Gabriel, fought Demadred to the edge of a cliff,
overlooking a river of fire.  With a mighty charge, she pierced
his black heart, and drove them both over the edge.
     "Cloud, the last one to be born, faced the most powerful,
Ishmael. The match seemed a poor one; it took all of Cloud's powers
to simply stay alive.  Suddenly, though, a golden nimbus surrounded
him, and Ishmael stared in surprise.  Above them, the clouds that
blackened the sky parted, and a bar of light, brighter than any I
had ever seen save that of the Light Hawk Wings shot down at them.
     "Blinded, I had to turn away.  When my vision returned,
both Ishmael and Cloud had disappeared.  Death, my opponent,
an old acquaintance from when I battled through Castlevania
with Reinhart and your parents shook his head.  'The fools,' he
said, 'The fools would not listen to me.'  The ancient specter
ordered the hellspawn back, much to my surprise, and then turned
to face me.
     "'Know this, Carrie Fernandez.  The deaths of your friends,
and their children, were not my doing.  There is something of great
power, turning events away from their intended path.'  I asked him
what he meant.  'They were not on my lists for a long time, and it
was not I who guided them to their afterlife, nor are you, Carrie
Fernandez. Remember well: The night comes again.  Prepare.'
With that, he disappeared."  Rosa and Reinhart, who had both been
on the edge of their seats, leaned back as the older woman finished
her story.  Rosa looked at Reinhart.
     "So that's it then.  We'll have to get into the castle
ourselves," she said.  Carrie cleared her throat.
     "No, you will not be alone.  I will be going with you.  I know
the way to your enemy, and I would not be much of a friend if I did
not help."  Rosa looked at her in surprise.
     "But you're so...  I mean, we couldn't..." Carrie laughed.
     "Old?  My child, I take this form merely because it suits my
needs.  I'll likely live to see the end of this century and the
next, if not more.  Being a sorceress does have its advantages."
Reinhart nodded.
     "We need to find Dracula.  Mom said that she was certain
that was who was fueling the curse."  Carrie shook her head.
     "Dracula is dead, now and forever.  Tenchi killed him for the
last time a hundred twenty years ago.  The night Castlevania
rose again, I went there, to find out the same thing.  There were
no creatures to stop me; indeed, the castle seemed to want me to
arrive at the high tower.  When I reached it, I found what appeared
to be a young man.  At first, I thought that it might be Dracula's
son, Alucard, but he named himself Cain."  Reinhart looked up.
     "As in the Christian Bible?"  She nodded.
     "I doubt that was his real name or not, but the connotations
are... chilling, to say the least."  Carrie paused.  "I didn't
notice it at the time, but now that I think about it, it occurs
to me that he resembled Reinhart, just slightly.  The same build,
the same eyes.  When I found him, I could feel no power flowing
from him.  Over confidant, I was still certain to cast a spell that
would have utterly destroyed any normal man."  She scowled.  "He
deflected it back at me as though I had thrown a feather at him,
charging it with his own power.  It fouled my most powerful staff
- your father carved this one for me ages ago - and then knocked
me across the room like I was a day old kitten.
     "He told me to come back here, and wait for somebody - you,
I assume - and then to take you to get the Whip."
     "The 'Whip'?" asked Rosa.
     "The holy whip of the Belmont clan.  He wanted me to have you
get it, and then bring it to him.
     "What are we going to do?" asked Reinhart.  Carrie looked
at him.
     "Exactly as he wants us to do.  I'm going to take you to the
Whip, and then we're going to use it to send Cain happily on his
way."

*****

     "Rise and shine, Alucard.  Four hours, to the second."
Alucard sat up slowly, sniffing at the air.  He picked up the scent
of a nearby deer without trouble, but more than that, he could feel
something moving towards him.  Something that carried the power
of the Belmont clan with it.  Had he been wrong?  Abruptly,
he gained a sense of the distance, a good four or five day's
journey.  Whatever it was, it broadcast the power with incredible
strength.
     "What is it?" asked Drathar.  Alucard looked toward the sense
of power approaching him.
     "I'm not certain.  Somebody with the Belmont blood is moving
this way...  No, not quite this way, he is angling to the east."
He looked up at the moon, almost ready to dip beneath the horizon.
It would be daytime soon, and with it the slight sting of the sun.
     "Are you certain?" asked Sheann'a, and he nodded absently.
     "Wait here.  I must feed, and then we are going to investigate
this.  If there is a Belmont alive, than he might help us."  The
two familiars nodded, and then he followed the scent of the deer.
The doe, as it turned out to be, never stood a chance, bleating
in surprise only once before he caught it.  After draining it of
blood, he walked back towards the small camp.
     "-be Cain?" he heard Drathar say.
     "He can't go after the Whip.  When it was sealed, it was
sealed forever more," answered Sheann'a.  Alucard crept forward,
and peeked through the foliage.  Drathar walked over to stand
beside Sheann'a.
     "We have to tell him.  Not knowing now may lead him straight
into a trap."  Sheann'a frowned sadly, and her wings fluttered
slightly.
     "I had hoped to spare him the pain of knowing."  Drathar
lay a clawed hand on her shoulder.
     "I would have liked none better than to have never needed
to tell him, but we have no choice!"  Standing, Alucard moved out
from behind the foliage.
     "Tell him what?" he asked conversationally.  The two familiars
both literally flew into the air in surprise, spinning to face him.
Sheann'a looked mortified, and Drathar looked away in shame.
Alucard walked over, and sat down on a large rock.  "Well?" he
prompted. Drathar looked at Sheann'a, and she sighed, nodding.
     "As you know, only someone of Dracula's direct bloodline
can summon the Castlevania, but just being of his bloodline
is not alone enough.  That person must also have immense power.
A son, for instance, would have the power, because he inherited
it."
     "Are you saying that another son of Dracula has come forth?
A brother who wishes to carry on my Father's unholy ambitions?"
he asked her.  She shook her head.
     "I said that he was of Dracula's line, not that he was a son
of Dracula, Alucard.  That was merely an example."  He looked at
her, confused.  "The man that has taken over Castlevania calls
himself Cain.  But he was born to the name...  Trevor Adrian...
Renard." Slowly, he understood what she was saying.
     "Renard...  Trevor Adrian Renard...  but how could that be?
Maria was dead when I left her side... before the Rage took me."
Sheann'a looked away, ashamed.
     "Brisana found her, and brought us to her.  She was in a coma,
but by the time that we got there, you had already... left.  I was
able to bring her out of it.  By the time that she had recovered
from her wounds, you were already asleep again.  Eight months
later, she gave birth to Trent, and raised him for seven years
before passing away while trying to save children from a burning
school.
     "Did she?" he asked quietly.  Sheann'a looked at him in
confusion. "The children.  Was she able to save them?"
     "As she pushed the last one out, the building collapsed."
Alucard smiled, and nodded.
     "True to her heart to the last."
    "Trent was always troubled
as a child, though we didn't realize why until later.  Prone to
mood swings, and violent outbursts, he was also very good hearted,
and extremely devoted to Maria.  Much like another part vampire
I remember."  Alucard raised an eyebrow at her, and she hurried
on, blushing a little.
     "The reason, we found, that there was such turmoil in him was
the fact that the Belmont blood, and the Tepes blood... battled
each other, is the only way that I can put it.  The net result
was a man who was good in nature, but twisted in his motivations
and actions.  We stayed with him as long as possible, but on his
18th birthday, he simply vanished.  We didn't hear of him again
until about a year ago, when Drathar found out that somebody
was trying to find the calling ritual for Castlevania in Hell."
     "Surely, my Father would not have let him raise Castlevania
without a fight," he said.  Drathar shook his head.
     "Your father, Count Dracula, is dead.  The legend came true,"
said Drathar.  Alucard stared at him in surprise.
     "That is not possible, and you well know it.  His curse is
eternal."
     "'Born of blood, beloved of blood, so blood shall you be, till
the day when He who loves one of Hell's children comes with the
light that is not a light,'" quoted Sheann'a.  It was the curse
that had first made Dracula a vampire, millennia ago.  "A hundred
and twenty years ago, a young man, named Tenchi, and a demoness,
named Ryoko, appeared in the silent forest.  Tenchi carried with
him a magical sword, and Ryoko, whom loved him with all her heart,
of course had the powers of a demoness.
     "They found and saved one Carrie Fernandez, descendant
of Sypha, and then joined forces with her and Reinhart Schneider,
the grandson of Richter Belmont.  Together, they breached the
castle.  Dracula's servant, not realizing that Ryoko was not of
this world's Hell, kidnapped her; it only served to fuel Tenchi
and the other's determination.
     "Not long after they entered the castle, Tenchi was slashed
by a vampire, and the curse was passed onto him.  Not being of this
world, he had no resistance, and it took a fast hold."  Alucard
stared at her in stark disbelief.
     "He was turned into a vampire, and you still believe that he
killed my father?"  Sheann'a nodded, and continued her story.
     "The curse took hold with the Rage, but he was able to stay
in control of himself long enough for Reinhart and Carrie to lead
him to a room guarded by a small pack of werewolves.  Once he had
spent the Rage, Dracula's servant appeared to him, and tried to
take control over what he thought was now fully a vampire.  But
somehow, not only did Tenchi manage to resist him, but he altered
the curse, so that he gained all of the benefits, without any of
the drawbacks."
     "He what!" exclaimed Alucard in disbelief.
     "It was his power manifesting itself.  In a last ditch effort,
Dracula's servant sent Ryoko back to them, a spell cast over her so
that at a critical moment, she would attack them.  They battled
to him, and Tenchi then killed him by driving his sword through
the servant's stomach.
     "Dracula revealed himself then, and, with the help of the
magically controlled Ryoko, was able to defeat all three, turning
Reinhart and Carrie partly to stone, so that they could watch as
the world died, and Ryoko knocked Tenchi off of the roof.
     "Things aren't extremely certain on this part, but some how,
Tenchi not only survived the fall, but he cured himself of the
vampirism.  It is than said: 'With a blade of holy light that shone
like a thousand suns, the warrior freed his love, and then did
battle with the Lord of the Night, whose's blade absorbed the light
as surely as the warrior's cast it off.  For one full night, did
they battle, neither drawing blood nor growing weary.  Then, when
the warrior tripped on a stone, and the Master of Evil made ready
to slay him and all hope seemed lost, the sun did rise, and strike
him in the eyes. Tenchi, the great warrior, did deliver Dracula
a mortal blow, driving his blade into the Evil King's breast.
And as they stood there, Light and Dark, the Lord of the Night was
heard to thank the warrior, for his soul had been redeemed by that
holy blade.'"
     Alucard stared at her for a moment, and then looked at Drathar
for confirmation.  The demon nodded slowly.  Alucard drew a deep
breath.
     "In the past half hour, I've learned that I have a son, that
I will likely have to battle him, and that my father is well and
truly dead.  If you have any more surprises, than please tell me
now, instead of later."  The two familiars shook their heads, and
he began to rub his temples.
     "Father... dead.  I had always hoped that someday he might
give up his ambition, and perhaps we could reconcile.  I never held
any real hatred for him, but I could not allow him to destroy
the world."  He paused, and then looked up.  "You believe that
Trevor... no, Cain, as you said, is going after the Whip?"
Sheann'a nodded.
     "Yes.  Being of both bloods, he would need it to gain his full
powers.  I think that the reason he took Castlevania is because
it was the ultimate symbol of Dracula's power."  Alucard nodded,
and stood.
     "Than we must hurry there.  My son or not, he must be stopped
if he intends harm to this world."  Sheann'a floated up to face
level, and looked him in the eyes.  Shame, and pity for him danced
on the surface.
     "I'm sorry.  We should have told you when you first woke up,"
she said.  He waved his hand dismissively.
     "It is of no matter.  Knowing when I first awoke would have
made no difference."  She smiled slightly, and, changing to his
wolf form, he hurried in the direction of the Belmont's power.

*****

     Tsunami looked up from her chair as Washu entered the room.
At her side, Tenchi slept, with her hand still on his chest
maintaining the web of power that was dampening the curse's
strength.  On his other side, Ryoko too slept, her hand entwined
with his.  Tsunami pitied her.  Sasami, who was part of her now,
still thought of Ryoko as an older, wilder sister, and loved her
dearly, and Tsunami shared that sentiment.  The gifts of Sasami's
feeling, hopes, and emotions was something that she knew she would
never be able to pay her back for; the gift of her humanity,
something that was priceless beyond what even she could comprehend.
     "How is he?" she asked quietly.  Tsunami shook her head as her
Sister came to stand next to the bed.  Eight years before, her
memories of being the middle goddess had finally come back to her,
and Tsunami had been glad of the support that Washu had given her.
     "The curse is like a festering sore, trying to spread in all
directions.  I have contained it for now, but it is getting
stronger by the second.  Even I can't hold it forever.  Tenchi
is fighting it as well, but he is not doing as well as I had
hoped."  She paused, and felt at the curse again.  "It's as if it
is being fed power to keep it alive."  Washu nodded.
     "When I opened the gateway, I was able to pick up some sort
of energy that I haven't seen before.  After analyzing it...
Tsunami, it's a ninety-nine percent match for the Light Hawk Wings,
with one key exception: the waveform is an exact inverse."  Tsunami
sighed.
     "Balance...  That is what every world, every universe strives
for.  The Night Hawk Wings are the exact equal and opposite of the
Light Hawk Wings.  When Tenchi described them to me after returning
to this universe, I knew that Tokimi would likely find them."
Washu frowned.
     "A distraction.  That's what all this is.  A distraction
to turn our attention away from them.  Sister is after that power."
     "Most likely.  We must wait, and hope."
     "Reinhart and Rosa will be in more danger than we had first
thought."  Sighing again, Tsunami nodded.
     "What else could be done?  Only they have the power to survive
these trails...  Not even Tenchi has the potential to..." She
pounded her free fist against her thigh.  "Tenchi clearly could
not go, and Ryoko must stay by his side for him to have a chance.
Ayeka is already half-way to Jurai, and Yosho will be following
her soon.  He did not want to go, but he understands that in this
case, seeing the both of them together will help to speed the
process."  She laughed abruptly.
     "Poor Ayeka.  When she sees that Yosho isn't quite as old as
he appeared to be...  She will be irritated with me, to say the
least. Even Mihoshi has already left, to go rally the Galaxy
Police.  Now, it is simply a matter of time."
     "What if they fail?"  Tsunami looked at her sharply.
     "Do not even think it.  They will succeed, they must succeed."
     "What if they don't, Sister," persisted Washu.
     "Than everything that we have worked for, everything we have
sacrificed for will be destroyed."  Next to her, Tenchi stirred
slightly, as if in reaction to the grim statement.  "How is
Nobuyuki?" she asked.
     "Not terribly well, but he's in no real danger.  Mayuka has
decided to extend her stay here until this is over, and is keeping
him company."
     "Did you know that I once considered creating some life water
for him, so that he wouldn't have to watch himself grow old, while
everybody else never changed, to his eyes?  But then I realized
that I have already done enough tampering with these lives.  I
simply can't do it anymore.  Hopefully, soon the children will be
back."  Washu looked toward the transporter.
     "I hope so, Sister."  Tenchi stirred again, and then lay
still, and they waited, in silence.  Tsunami could feel the straw
she was clutching at straining, but if that straw held, than maybe
they would have a chance to save this universe.  And so, with a
hope that could have only been maintained by an innocent child,
she hoped, and prayed that it would hold.

---
The Platinum Dragon
"The rising sun will eventually set,
  a newborn's life will fade.
  From sun to moon, moon to sun,
  Give peaceful rest to the living dead." - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of
Time
http://dragonsanime.dreamhost.com - Dragon's Masaki Shrine of Tenchi Muyo
Proud Member of the Ryoko Forever Fan Club