Blood Red Moon Resurrection Chapter 7:
     Calm Winds, Stormy Clouds

     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.
     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.

*****

     Ryoko stood up, stretching.  It had been five days, now, and
there had been no word from the children, no change in Tenchi.
Tsunami, still in her trance, was beginning to look haggard,
tired.  Ryoko knew that the goddess was starting to lose her
strength, and wondered uneasily if she would be able to maintain
the energy web long enough.
     Fears had begun to crawl about inside her more boldly.  Losing
Tenchi, and the children.  Her dreams had started to become
troubled.  Just that morning, she had awoken from a nightmare,
where she had been under Dracula's control again.  She still
remembered that short, terrifying time vividly.  In his grasp,
she had thrown Tenchi from the spire of Castlevania.  For two years
after, she had spent some nights screaming in terror as she dreamed
of that, over and over again.
     Now, those dreams were coming back, slowly, but surely.  Only
through an effort of will had she not given into them already.
In her mind, she kept trying to rationalize what was happening,
to try and stop them, but it was no use.  There was no
rationalization to this.  Looking again at her husband, she hoped
that she herself would have enough strength to hold them at bay.
     "Mom?"  Ryoko turned as Mayuka entered the room, and smiled.
What a change from the girl that Yuzuha had sent to them, in order
to trap and kill Tenchi.  She still had the same joy, the same...
pureness was all Ryoko could call it, yet tempered with that was a
real life, instead of just programmed memories.  She had grown into
a strong, fun loving woman, yet one with sense that escaped most,
and deep understanding.
     "What is it?" asked Ryoko, noticing her concerned expression.
Mayuka bit her lip.
     "I don't really know if it's important or not, but last night
I had a very strange, but very real feeling dream.  I saw Reinhart
and Rosa, and a young lady - very beautiful.  They were walking
on a path, and a strange man with white hair joined them.  Half of
his face was lighted, but the other half seemed like it was in a
shadow.  They welcomed him, and together, they continued.
     "Up ahead of them on the path was a castle.  It...  frightened
me, just the appearance of it, but not nearly as much as the figure
before it.  I couldn't make out his face, it was hidden.  But when
I saw him, I saw the path that Reinhart and the others were on
split apart.  As they reached it, another copy of Rosa and the
strange man both appeared.  But Reinhart and the young lady each
went down a different side of the fork, with one of the pairs of
Rosa and the man."  She came to a stop, frowning.
     "Somehow, I'm not sure how I know, but I'm certain that the
faceless man is going to hurt Reinhart and the young woman.  I just
knew it, when I saw them split up."  Ryoko frowned, and was about
to answer, when they heard another voice.
     "A... dream of the... paths that may be..." croaked Tsunami.
They turned, to see the goddess looking at them through tired eyes.
"May I have some water?"  Ryoko filled a glass from a pitcher
that Washu had left in the room, and brought it over to her.
Tsunami swallowed it down quickly.  "Thank you, Ryoko."  She
nodded.
     "What do you mean, 'the paths that may be?'" asked Mayuka.
Tsunami looked at her.
     "The... vision that you described was a picture of what may
happen.  Likely it is a gift from Yuzuha that hadn't manifested
itself until now.  You have been worried about Reinhart and Rosa;
subconsciously, you reached across the dimensional veil and looked
at what might happen."  Mayuka nodded slowly, and Ryoko frowned.
     "Can you remember anything else clearly about the dream?"
Mayuka frowned a moment, and then nodded.
     "The young lady...  Her hair and eyes were like yours.  Cyan
tresses, and golden eyes like a wolf's."  She paused a moment,
and then suddenly lit up.  "And she and Reinhart stayed very, very
close together, actually touching at one point, until they reached
the fork and split up."  Ryoko nodded, grinning.
     "Cyan hair and golden eyes?  That has to be Carrie.  Close
to Reinhart, and he wasn't stumbling over his own feet?"  Mayuka
nodded.  "Hmm...  Close to her and then touching her for a short
time...  I wonder if that means what I think it does..." she mused,
and looked at Tsunami.  The goddess shrugged, shaking her head.
Ryoko looked back at Mayuka.  "But I don't understand the rest of
it.  Are you certain that was all?"  Mayuka though hard for a
moment.
     "There... was some sort of robed figure at the fork.  He had
wings, and a scythe...  There was something uncertain about him,
though...  I'm not sure.  That's all I remember."  But that little
bit was all Ryoko needed to understand the rest.
     "Death...  You saw Death, Mayuka," said Ryoko calmly.  Too
calmly, she was aware.  It made sense.  The fork, Reinhart and
Carrie continuing on separate paths with the others.  Mayuka
gasped, as she came to the same conclusions as Ryoko, and Tsunami
blinked, frowning.  Why was she so calm, she wondered.  Shouldn't
she be a nervous wreak now?  But it wasn't shock, Ryoko knew.  She
didn't understand, even so.
     "We have to do something, Mother!"  Ryoko blinked, and shook
her head.
     "There is nothing that we can do, nothing but wait, and hope.
Wait, and pray that it was just a nightmare."  She looked at
Tsunami.  The goddess looked at her with sad eyes, and shook her
head almost imperceptibly.  Just as Ryoko had known that she would.

*****

     Tenchi stepped into the room slowly.  When the portal had
appeared before him, he had paused, sensing something familiar
there.  Something had drawn him toward it.  Now that he was inside,
he did recognize the room.  Hundreds and hundreds of toys were
piled high against the walls, everything from stuffed bears to
futuristic seeming robots.  In the center of the room, what
appeared to be a little girl with silver hair sat with her back to
him.  He approached her carefully, his energy sword ready.
     "It is hard enough to maintain this shelter without having
to fend off an attack from you," said Yuzuha suddenly.  Startled,
he stopped and looked at her.  She turned toward him, then.  "Most
would have gone mad out there by now, put through this hell.  I
couldn't have come up with something this bad on the best of days!"
He stared at her, raising his sword again.
     "How did you get here?  For that matter, where is here?"  She
grinned, showing her fangs.
     "Where we are isn't too tough, princey-boy.  Inside you.
Sorry to tell you prince charming, but you seem to have contracted
another slight case of vampirism.  How did I get here?  That's
a little tougher."  She gestured, and there was suddenly a chair
next to him.  He looked at it warily, but did finally sit down.
     "As best as I can tell, it was a side effect of using your
Light Hawk Sword against me.  It pulled a piece of me in when you
destroyed my body."  He blinked.  "That Kagato guy is here too -
seems he's helping who ever it is that is running that castle,
and so is a little of Dracula."  She barked out a rough laugh.
"Hope you don't mind, but you're going to have to live with your
past demons."
     "Then why are you here, seemingly to help me?"  She grinned
humorlessly.
     Two simple reasons.  One, it's in my best interests.  Two, if
you die, I die.  Ok, so there really isn't much difference
there, but what are you gonna do about it?"
     "How do I know that you aren't just another of the enemies
here?"  She sighed.
     "Do you really think that the thing running this show would
use me, an enemy you've already killed, to try and attack you?  It
would be a bit of a waste, since you already know that I was
against you."  He nodded.  "I can't say who or what is doing this,
because I honestly don't know.  It isn't Dracula - he entered
the castle not long after it appeared, with the intentions
to stop this.  Kagato is helping it, but he isn't the leader.
And I'm here, as you can see."  Tenchi frowned, and then stood to
leave.  Just before he did, though, she called to him.
     "I really did love him, you know, and I'm glad that you have
taken care of Mayuka," she said softly.  He looked at her a moment.
     "That is the only reason I'm putting any trust in you at all."
Then he stepped back into the nightmare.  Yuzuha looked after him
with an almost pitying expression.

*****

     As they rode back into her home town of Winchester, Carrie
breathed a long sigh of relief.  The traveling that day had been
somewhat slow, and they had left Timberton a little later than she
had hoped.  The sun had already set, and she did not want to be out
after dark, for fear of being attacked.  Tucked safely into her
pack, the Whip waited, safely hidden.  Around them, streetlights
burned cheerily, lighting the way.
     It had been a long trip back.  Alucard had told them what he
could about the danger they faced.  The more he had said, the more
ill she had become.  If Alucard was right, and Cain's target was
this Pendulum of Chaos, then their mission was more important
that she had first thought.  When he had said that Heaven and Hell
were forming and alliance, she had all but fallen from her saddle
in shock.  Reinhart had been close enough to her and had given her
a steadying hand.
     At the thought of Reinhart, she smiled.  Over the past three
days, they had drawn closer in earnest.  The last of his unease
had disappeared, and he was now comfortable being as close to her
as she generally tried to be, which in some cases meant all but in
his skin.  At Eagle's Point, she had packed a second small basket,
and then he had held her as he floated down the sheer cliff.
     It had been one thing to know that he could fly; another
entirely to be carried down in his arms.  The feeling of the wind
rushing against her face had at first been startling, and then
rather exciting.  He had held her with an arm about her waist,
firmly, but not uncomfortably.  They had spent a peaceful,
uninterrupted evening there.
     Which was why she was concerned now.  After returning to their
rooms, and going to sleep, she had had a strange, almost
surrealistic dream.  She had been on the path to Castlevania,
and came to a fork.  Down one path, she had seen the Reinhart
and Rosa that had died so long ago, and their children with them.
The group had been looking at her with pained, but welcoming
eyes.
     Down the other, she had seen herself, Rosa, Alucard and his
familiars.
One by one, they had faded away, until only herself had remained,
facing away so that she couldn't see her face.  Yet, at the same
time, that person hadn't seemed to be her anymore.  She was
shadowy, indistinct.  That Carrie had turned to face her - instead
of her own face, she had seen Actrise.
     The strange dream troubled her, because it had held a feeling
of dread.  She had awoken in a cold sweat, to find that it was only
a short time after she had first gone to sleep.  She had lain
awake, trying to puzzle it out, but to no avail.  Eventually,
she had fallen asleep again, but it had not been a very restful
one.
     She was certain that it meant something, a warning of some
sort that concerned her.  The strange absence of Reinhart from
herself and the others left her chilled inside.  Sighing, she
wondered if she had just been shaken up by seeing Rosa, ghostly
as she had been.  It had been shocking to see her appear, and to
hear her message had been even more so.
     Carrie sighed again, and then looked at their new companions.
Alucard walked alongside them calmly, in his human form at the
moment.  In order to keep up with them, while they rode on the
trail, he would run in wolf form.  It had been somewhat
unsettling, at first, to seem him change, but now it almost seemed
normal.  Sheann'a rode on his shoulder.  The fairy was talkative,
but also deeply cared for him.  She had a good sense of humor,
and Rosa and she had hit it off instantly.  One would finish the
other's thoughts.
     Drathar floated along nearby.  The demon was quieter, more
moody than his fairy counterpart.  For the most part, he let
Sheann'a do the talking - which she all too happily did - but when
he did say something, it was well thought out.  The demon was
rather opposite of most of his kind that Carrie had met, trustable
and honorable.
     In many ways, she had come to the conclusion that they were
as much representations of the two halves of his bloodline as they
were the only family he had.  Sheann'a, his human side, bright
and energetic.  Drathar, his darker side, quiet, and methodical.
     Alucard himself was an enigma to her.  Outwardly, he was
composed, dignified, and serious to the point of being cold.
Almost, she reflected, what she might have been, had it not been
for Reinhart and Rosa's friendship long ago.  He wore his
stoicism like an armor about him, keeping them from coming too
close.  Yet, at times, something would slip through, a faint smile,
or a nearly warm comment.  Alucard was a living legend, yet Carrie
sensed that he much rather would have never been involved.  She
sensed a pain akin to hers in him, of losing those he loved.  They
trotted up to the stables, and Jarl hobbled up to meet them,
grinning toothlessly.
     "Welcome back, Carrie!  I see you seem to have found what you
were looking for."  She smiled, as they dismounted.
     "Thank you, old friend.  We never would have gotten this far
without your help."  He grinned again, as his stable hands came up
to lead the horses away.  Bidding them farewell, she led them back
across town, to her home.
     "We should get as much rest tonight as we can, because
starting tomorrow we likely will not get another chance to sleep."
Rosa, beside her, yawned, stretching.
     "You'll have no argument from me," she said, and then
disappeared up the stairs.  Alucard bowed to them.
     "I must feed, but I will return in the morning.  Good
evening."  He morphed into wolf form, and flashed away into the
night.  Sheann'a and Drathar looked at them, shrugged, and then
flew off after him.  She turned to Reinhart, who was the only one
left.  He smiled gently.
     "What's wrong?  You should be happy to be back home, but you
almost seem afraid of it."  She sighed, and looked away.
     "It's nothing."  He raised an eyebrow.
     "You realize, of course, that by saying that, you're all but
screaming that something is bothering you."  Carrie frowned,
but finally nodded.
     "I should have known better than to have tried hiding
something from you.  I don't know, it probably is nothing, but last
night I had a very strange dream.  Probably just a bad case of
nerves."  He frowned.
     "Were you standing on a path, and just ahead of you was a
fork?  Down one side, did you see yourself, Rosa, and Alucard,
but they slowly faded out until only you were left?"  She stared
at him in surprise, nodding slowly.
     "How did you know?"
     "I had one too.  Only it was more than a dream...  I don't
know.  If Tsunami were here, she could probably explain it to us.
She understands strange dreams."  She moved toward him a little.
     "It worries me, though.  I don't like ominous dreams,
especially when I'm not the only one having them."  She rubbed
her hands over her arms at the sudden chill she felt.  He placed
an arm around her, and drew her closer.  She leaned into his body,
soaking in the warmth she felt there.
     "Listen to me, Carrie.  We don't know what will happen
tomorrow, or any day after that.  Rosa and I came here expecting
to battle Dracula, beat him, and then go back home having stopped
dad's curse.  But it is more than that now.  Your entire world at
stake, if Alucard is right."  She sighed, looking away.
     "We don't have the right to get you involved in this.
Reinhart and I pulled your parents into it when they came here,
and it almost cost them everything.  It's still costing them."
He touched her chin, and gently turned her to face him.
     "Rosa and I came here to save dad.  But even if he hadn't
been hurt, even if we had only ended up here by accident, like they
did, I would still be right here, to fight with you, and so would
Rosa.  If the world is at stake, and we can help, than we will."
Carrie looked at him in surprise.  His words were exactly the same
as Tenchi's from so long before.
     "I..."  she started, but her voice caught in her throat.
He watched her quietly, his brown eyes gentle and comforting,
and she looked away, unable to face that gaze.  "I'm afraid of
it... happening again.  Of losing the ones that I care for again.
Every time I...  I let somebody get... get close, they die.  I
don't want it to happen again!" she said, tears suddenly welling
up from deep within her.
     She suddenly found herself held close to him.  That feeling
of warmth, of being welcome was there, a soothing gentleness
that called to her.  She lay her head against his chest and cried,
long, wracking sobs born of a pain that she had held in for far too
long.  She felt his hand on the back of her head, gently stroking
her hair.
     Slowly, she felt the pain, the fear begin to drain out of her.
It was gradual, a process that she couldn't begin to explain,
but still, she could feel it ebbing out of her.  Every tear drop
she shed rid her of a little more, each sharp sob cleansing
her just a bit.  Through it all, he quietly held her, his presence
calming and reassuring.
     When the tears had finally stopped, all that was left was a
strange emptiness where the pain had been, a hole in herself that
ached to be filled.  She rested her head against his chest,
listening to his heart beat.  His shirt was wet where she had been
crying, but it didn't seem to matter.  The only thing that mattered
to her at that moment was the constant, soothing beat of his heart
and the feeling of his arms around her, cradling her against him.
Slowly, though, she did look up at him, with eyes red and stinging
from her tears.  He smiled softly.
     "Feeling better?" he asked.  She nodded slowly.  "I told you
that we don't know what will happen tomorrow, and we don't.  But I
do know one thing, and that is that I will not leave you, and
neither will Rosa.  I promise you that.  It won't happen again,"
he said quietly.  For a moment, she stared at him, and then,
slowly, they moved together.  Their lips met, and they kissed.
A terrible, burning desire filled her, and she clung fiercely
to him.  The kiss broke, and they looked at each other again.  In
his eyes, a simple question waited her.
     For a moment, she though about what it might mean, what might
come of it.
     She nodded, slowly, her eyes wide.
     They kissed again, and that was the last coherent thought
that she had for the rest of the night.

*****

     Alucard stalked up near the doe slowly.  The animal had
scented him, he was certain, because it had become uneasy in the
past few minutes.  He waited for a few moments, as she decided
that there was nothing to fear, and settled back down.  Then he
jumped out of hiding, and caught the animal.
     As he fed, he considered his companions.  Carrie was much like
Sypha, both in beauty and in intelligence.  But unlike her
ancestor, Carrie was also physically strong.  Sypha, though she had
not been weak, had not been very sturdy, like many mages in that
age.  Of the three, she was the quietest.  A natural strength
ran in her, something that kept her going through the worst.
     Rosa was the trickster of their small group.  She had a razor
sharp wit, much like Sheann'a, and the two were already almost
like two sides of a coin.  But he sensed a deep set honor within
her, a determination.  That determination would keep her going,
he was sure, even through events that would stop many cold.
     Reinhart intrigued him.  The young man carried an air of
ability about him, yet he didn't acknowledge it, almost as if he
didn't realize that it was there.  He fended off joke after joke
from his sister, letting her implications slide past him.  Alucard
respected that ability in him.
     Still, for all of the comments that she made about him,
Alucard could see that the two of them needed each other.  Her free
spiritedness was tempered by his seriousness.  The two of them made
a team that he would be glad to not have to fight.  As Death had
said, the aura around both of them, while separate, seemed to flow
together.  The potential power in that aura was stunning, and they
were no where near their full abilities yet.
     He finished his meal, and lay the drained corpse back down.
Straightening, he turned to see his familiars waiting for him.
Drathar leaned against a tree, and Sheann'a sat on one of the lower
branches, grinning.  He raised an eyebrow at her.
     "Speak your mind."
     "It's you.  I know that you'll never admit it, but you're
almost enjoying this.  Traveling again, with friends."  He looked
at her coolly.
     "This battle is no different than our last.  I do what I
must."  She sighed, her grin fading a little.
     "I will never understand why you refuse to live a little.
You can't tell me that you don't like the idea of doing this with
allies, instead of alone.  You're slipping Alucard; you were almost
nice to Rosa earlier today."  He frowned at her.
     "You are suggesting..."  Sheann'a sighed again, shaking her
head.
     "Never mind.  What do you think of the two young lovebirds?"
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, much to his surprise.
     "I think that is their business, and none of ours."  She
laughed.
     "Not a chance, Alucard.  Thoughts."  He sighed.
     "I hope that they... do what they need to do tonight, before
we enter the castle.  They may not have another chance."  She
nodded, slowly.
     "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"  He nodded, looking
away.
     "The young spirit's message... unsettles me somewhat."
Frowning, he looked back at them.  "But there is a time and place
to consider that, and that time is not now.  Now what must be
foremost in our minds is that attack on the castle, and what we may
face inside."  Sheann'a looked at him sadly.
     "Sometimes, you have to make the time now."

---
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