Well…uhm…hi. I'm TheDayYouSaidGoodnight and this is my first Van Helsing fanfiction. I don't rant about reviews. Flames are very welcome. They'll be used to forge a dagger and metal for a gun. Forgive my attempts at humor. I hope this can be funny. Names here are fictional. That includes priests and cardinals and ordinary people. This won't help anyone in history.
Disclaimer: I don't own Van Helsing or its characters. I don't own Cardinal Jinette, the Knights of the Holy Order, the Vatican, and the Pope. I only own these characters of mine. I also don't own Filipino folklore…wait, I am Filipino. There are some true places mentioned here.
Full summary: In the year 1888, another vampire incident coincides with the mission of Van Helsing. This time, it's not in Europe anymore. It's in Asia, in the other side of the world. Send a misfit for a Knight of the Holy Order and a friar who's afraid of mosquitoes to meet a tomboy for an aristocratic heiress and you will find secrets within an archipelago.
Chapter 1: A New Problem
1888, Spanish-controlled Philippines…
The sun went down from the panoramic sky. A silent village did not see the beauty of this sunset. An awful horror awaited them as the darkness engulfed the heavens.
"Hide in your homes! A vampire is coming to get us!" a frightened old woman said in her native dialect as she saw a half-bodied woman flying in the air like a bat out of hell. "It's the manananggal!" another man said, dropping his belongings.
The monster landed on the cobbled streets. She had long, tangled hair like the vines of the banyan tree. Her body was bloody and she was only dressed in crude black cloth. Her entrails reached to the ground, coming out from the split at her waist. Her eyes were bloody red and scary. Bloody fangs dripped from her mouth. Her nails were long and sharp with a disgusting yellow tinge in them. Her bat-like wings reached a span of 10 feet.
The manananggal, as the people called this kind of vampire, saw an open window of a wooden house and saw a baby in her crib. She flew into the window and grabbed the baby with her claws. The mother came to the scene late. "No! Please spare my baby! Kill me instead!" the mother said.
The monster seemed not to listen. She took the child in her arms, impaled it with her long, sharp claws and smiled evilly. The mother dropped to her knees, crying. The manananggal cackled, saying, "Nobody can stop me from doing what I want to do. I will still get your children and eat their pure livers and insides." The mother rushed to the family altar and sprayed some holy water on the vampire. To her surprise, it didn't work. The vampire cackled even more and flew into the dark sky. "God, help me…" the mother wailed, as family members came into the scene. They wept too. This was the first time ever that a vampire went to their village.
The parish priest of the village sent a letter to the Cardinal in the Philippine capital, Manila about this. The Cardinal felt pity for the people of the village. He sent a letter to the Knights of the Holy Order, where he was once a member before he was assigned to the colony as a priest.
Vatican City, Headquarters of the Knights of the Holy Order…
The old Cardinal sat on his desk in his office, reading some papers as he awaited the return of Van Helsing and Carl, the friar. The morning sun peered into the glass windows, illuminating the whole room. A knock was heard on the door of his office.
"Come in." the Cardinal said. A messenger handed him a letter in an envelope with the seal of another Cardinal. "A letter from the Cardinal in the Philippines, your Eminence, is here." The messenger said.
"Ah, a letter from an old friend of mine, maybe he just wants to say hello. Oh, and of course, the holidays are near." The Cardinal Jinette said, chuckling to himself. "No, your Eminence, it didn't seem to be a greeting card. They had me deliver it urgently." "Thank you. You may go now." Then the messenger left and closed the door.
Cardinal Jinette sat on his chair and opened the letter using his letter opener blessed by the Pope himself. He read the letter.
Cardinal Gregorio Jimenez
Residence of the Archbishop
Arzobispo Street, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Cardinal Jinette
Knights of the Holy Order
Vatican City Headquarters
To my friend, Cardinal Jinette,
Greetings, my old friend! Happy holidays to you!
"See…it was a holiday greeting. Wait…what's this?" the cardinal said.
My true intention of writing to you is to ask your help and especially the help of the Knights of the Holy Order. In one of the villages of the Philippines, in Roxas, a village in the province of Capiz, in the Visayan archipelago, a new kind of evil has awakened. It is called a manananggal in local folklore and it has started attacking young children. The townsfolk have tried all methods of getting rid of this creature but they have failed. Please help these devout people. They do not really know what to do and seek help. I shall be waiting for your response. If ever your forces will need help, tell them to look for Maria Cayetana de Agoncillo. She can help them. Thank you for your help, my old friend. May God always be with you.
Sincerely yours,
Cardinal Gregorio Jimenez
Cardinal Jinette stared at the letter. "I can't send anyone! Van Helsing is off chasing Dracula! Carl is with Van Helsing! What am I going to do? God, help me!" he said, pacing around the room in a panicked state.
When he had calmed down, he took a pen and paper with his seal and started writing.
Cardinal Jinette
Knights of the Holy Order
Vatican City Headquarters
Cardinal Gregorio Jimenez
Residence of the Archbishop
Arzobispo Street, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Dear Cardinal Jimenez,
Thank you for the greeting. I have received your call for help. I am very sorry to tell you that my best monster hunter is off to a mission in Transylvania. I will send another knight to help you. I will also send another friar/scientist for the mission. I will send them both directly to the village. May God always be with you.
Sincerely yours,
Cardinal Jinette
He had this letter sent to the Philippines. As he was walking by the corridors in the headquarters, he saw a young man dancing some eccentric steps which would be the modern "I Feel Good" dance steps.
"What in Heaven's name?" the elderly cleric said as he ran towards the young man. He recognized this man because he was one of the Knights. "You are a Knight, why are you drunk? Why are you dancing like a possessed woman?" The young man stopped dancing. "I'm sorry, Cardinal. I drank too much coffee with sugar this morning. Yes, sir, I know my duties and proper decorum as a knight." "Just make sure you won't do it again. You'll be the laughingstock of the Order!" the elder one said. "Yes, yes." The young man said as he went off.
An older Knight, Severino de Cadiz y Osario, greeted the Cardinal. "Greetings, your Eminence. I believe our loony young Knight passed this way." "Ah, Severino. True, he was dancing here a while ago." "Don't be fooled, sir, that boy is just 23 but he is the second best of the Knights." "That coffee-dependent boy is the second best in the Order?" "Yes, and he's open for any mission." "What is the young one's name?" "Felipe de Lopez y Rodriguez." "Send him to my office when he's not being…loony." He said, as the Knight went off.
"Ayayayayay…some men remain children until you knock their brains out." the Cardinal said, going back to his office.
Later…
A young man burst open into the doors of the Cardinal's office. "Hey, your Eminence! You sent for me?" "Don't you know how to knock?" "Of course I do. I'll give you a demonstration." Felipe took off the Cardinal's skullcap and knocked on the cleric's head. The older man was not at all pleased. "You do not knock at someone's head! Well, anyway, let's get started." He said.
"So, you are Felipe de Lopez y Rodriguez. I've heard from Sir Severino that you are one of the best. I'm sending you to a mission that you might enjoy." "I'm going on a mission! I'm going to be sent on a mission! What's my mission?" he asked.
"I need you to go to the East, in…" the elderly man was cut off in mid-sentence when the man said, "Eastern Europe? I want to go to Transylvania!" "I'm sorry, my son, but someone is there already. You will go to Asia, to an archipelago called the Philippines, currently colonized by Spain. There is a village there named Roxas, Capiz Province in the Visayas Islands which will need your help. It is terrorized by an extraordinary kind of vampire. I need you to vanquish it and free the people."
"It's just a vampire! How hard could it get?" Felipe said. "Don't speak too soon, son, I heard that all means of vanquishing it have failed. Do you understand?" Cardinal Jinette said. "Yes, your Eminence." "Now, go to the laboratory and find Friar Bartholomew Altarcross. He will keep you company during your voyage. Also, you must find Maria Cayetana de Agoncillo, who can help you in your mission. God be with you." "Thank you, sir." "Oh, I forgot. If you want to give that killjoy friar a scare, bring him some mosquitoes…well, I heard there are a lot of them in the Philippines." Cardinal Jinette said, smiling. "Well, okay." And at that, he left.
At the laboratory…
A short, thin friar in the garb of a Franciscan priest came to the young knight. He was newly-ordained. He had small, piercing black eyes, big ears, a pointed nose and parted brown hair. His skin was pale. "So, are you the knight Cardinal wanted me to meet? Felipe de Lopez y Rodriguez? " the short friar said.
The man in front of the friar was of course, Felipe. He was a tall, slender yet strong man with straight, yet wild black hair and deep, dark eyes. He was fair-skinned. He had an aquiline nose and medium-sized ears. His lips were thinly pressed. His cheeks had a ruddy glow. He wore the standard uniform for the Knights and from his belt hung many weapons.
"Yes. I am, and you are Bartholomew Altarcross?" "Yes…now, let's go and get the things you need, for tomorrow, we leave." "Can I call you Bart?" "Holy dammit, no, by all means, no! You may not call me Bart! What will you say if I call you Filly?" "You shouldn't curse…and don't call me Filly! It sounds girlish." "I am a friar…I can curse all I want." Bartholomew said. "Whatever you say, Mr. I-am-afraid-of-mosquitoes!" "Damn that Cardinal! How did you know that, Felipe?"
"Bart, Bart, Bart, of course, Cardinal Jinette told me." "Did I tell you yet that the Philippines has a lot of mosquitoes?" "Nooooooo!" "He ordered me to take you with me." "Alright then. Let's just get the things we need. Cardinal told me the other details, misfit knight. "
They readied the things they needed for tomorrow's voyage: some crucifixes, holy water, garlic, a crossbow, some silver stakes and bullets, a few guns, weird substances and some weapons Felipe himself owned.
That night…
Felipe was packing his belongings in one bag. As he was rummaging through his things, he found a dagger. Its handle was made of obsidian, inset with precious stones. It had a curved blade forged with silver and steel. The scabbard was made of tough and shiny obsidian, also inset with precious stones. He threw it into his bag, thinking that he might need it.
After fixing his belongings, he lay on his bed and said, "What could happen?" before he shut his eyes to sleep.
Okay, a bit long, sorry. Please review…well…that's optional. I'll try to update soon.
