CHAPTER THREE – UNDER THE VATICAN

Once Van Helsing arrives at the Vatican, he makes his way into a confession booth where he sits down, crosses himself with an exasperated sigh and drearily states, "Forgive me father for I have sinned."

The priest slides open the latch instantly and quietly scowls, "If I had it my way that'd be the truth!"

"Father," Van Helsing explains frustrated, "There was nothing I could do about Langwell! I had to destroy Nephren-Ka!"

"Has it ever entered your mind," the priest responds, "Not to bring a well- noted elder along with you on a dangerous quest??"

"He insisted!" Van Helsing replied.

"All the same you do not do such a thing!" the priest snapped angrily.

Tired of the whole thing, Van Helsing gets up to leave, but the priest turns a stone dial causing a metal, barred door to drop down in front of Van Helsing blocking the way out. "You need to start learning some reverence and gratitude for the Church." The priest sternly remarks as he then pulls a lever causing the backs of the booths to open up revealing a connecting passage that leads to a stairwell. The priest continues with frustration in his voice as they descend down a coiling staircase leading to a huge dungeon full of all manners of Catholic priests and things, "First you leave that madman Erik de Chagny hanging by his neck from the opera chandelier for all of those of London who thought of him as a poor madman to see, then you let Dr. Jekyll fall from the top of Notre Dame before the eyes of the people there and ah you leave all signs of evidence that it was you who slaughtered the warlock Jabez Faustus, Duke of Brezmarn! You are the only man of this secret order that nearly all of Europe knows about because of your messiness!"

The priest glares at Van Helsing with all of the angry frustration in his eyes. Van Helsing just stands there trying to hide the fact that he truly doesn't care for the empty, hypocritical ways of the Church especially for the disorder that surfaces as 'dealings with the Devil' among the order at times. The priest just shakes his head with some kind of disappointment in Van Helsing he's gotten used to over time and concludes, "Reverence Abraham! It is a virtue you could merit from. Now if you would follow me."

Van Helsing follows the priest into a smaller dungeon dressed up in fine Church decorations and laid with red carpet. Off-center of the room is a desk with two chairs in front of it and between the chairs is something that looks like the medieval times' attempt at creating a projector. The priest asks Van Helsing to have a seat in one of the chairs and he begins as he walks to the desk to sit down, "Unfortunately for my sanity, we do have another assignment for you. Father Jethro."

Another priest that must have been waiting in a corner of the room behind Van Helsing walks up to the projector, pulls a lever causing it to spark a little and a half-hazy projection of a map appears on a white sheet on the wall across from Van Helsing. The priest continues, "This is a map of a region in Eastern Europe deep within Romania. The name of the region is Transylvania and almost all of it is under the satanic oppression of a man who was said to have been killed in battle in 1476."

The projection changes to a colorless painting of a man in the garb of a Hungarian king with long coiling hair, Romani eyes, an aquiline nose and a thick moustache. The priest continues, "His name is Prince Vladimir Dracula the Impaler. From 1456 to 1461 and for a short time in 1475 he became the King of Wallachia, which included Transylvania. He was a diabolical and ruthless ruler who was the last of the corrupt Order of the White Worm, a familial clan of sorcerer-knights who dealt with the Devil under his guise as the White Worm and as a result each one arose as a vampire after death. It was believed that each one was hunted down and slain including the Impaler, the rumors that he still haunts the land have been affirmed by the Belmonts."

The projection changes once again to a colorless painting of a powerful, stern-faced man clad in both the armor and traveling garb of the time. The priest continues, "The Belmonts are another familial line descended from Joshua Belmont, an English knight of the Church who had sworn to the destruction of the rogue knights of the Order of the White Worm. The only remaining descendants of this time are Simon and Sonia Belmont. They have resumed the quest to destroy Dracula after learning of his existence while slaying other monstrosities."

Here Father Jethro turns off the projector and the priest leans on to the desk concluding, "The Bishops have chosen you to go to Transylvania to assist the remaining Belmonts in the slaying of Dracula. Now I have made your failures unknown to them for long enough Van Helsing. If you fail in carrying this assignment out with a bit of stealth or grace, I will make them known and you will suffer the consequences. Now go see Carl."

Back in the main dungeon, Friar Carl leads Van Helsing to his station talking, "I think you'll be very happy with me Van Helsing. I have created some excellent, new weapons to use against vampires."

"Can you assure me of that Carl?" Van Helsing asks with a smirk.

"Of course!" Carl replies.

"Well," Van Helsing continues, "I hope they're at least better than the one you gave me to slay the vampire Cruxt with. Thanks to that one he's probably dining with this Dracula fellow by now."

"The garlic-swing was perfect!" Carl complained, "You just weren't using it right! You see have to use it just like sling-sh . . . . "

"Carl!" Van Helsing interrupted, "Garlic doesn't work on vampires! It's been proved that the idea is a myth!"

Carl replies surprised, "Really??"

Rolling his eyes, Van Helsing states exasperated, "Carl!"

"Alright! Alright." Carl continues, "Firstly, I have invented this." Carl pulls out what looks a long, triangular, narrow blade attached on the top of a crude 'half-gauntlet' with leather straps for forearm attachment. As Carl straps it on he explains, "I call this the gauntlet of decapitation. As you see, like all other gauntlets, you strap it on to your arm and once you get the chance you jerk your arm forward hard," – Here Carl does just that causing the blade to slide down within a second and stop at the edge of the gauntlet with a 'ching'. – "and swing it at the bloodsucker's throat!"

Carl then takes it off, places it in a bag Van Helsing is holding open and then picks up what looks like a Heavy Croosbow asking, "Now, what do you think this looks like?"

After eyeing Carl as if he's a silly fool, Van Helsing glances at the crossbow and replies, "It looks like a modified crossbow of the heavy sort."

Carl adds enthusiastically, "This is a crossbow that will actually shoot five arrows per second as long as you keep your finger pressed against the trigger! Now if there is anything I can assure you of Van Helsing it's that this will soon be used by the entire order against vampires! Then we'll see who the genius in this laboratory is!"

"Yes we most certainly will Carl." Van Helsing remarks with mock sympathy and then adds after spotting a strange, metallic sphere sitting on the table nearby, "What's this contraption?"

Carl looks and then explains as he holds it in his hands, "Ah! Well, I'm not quite sure what it's for really."

"Oh," Van Helsing states, "So you don't know what it does?"

"Oh I know what it does," Carl explains, "But I don't know what it's for."

"Ah." Van Helsing responds confused, "Well then what's it . . . . "

"Van Helsing." The priest calls approaching from behind.

Van Helsing turns and answers, "Yes?"

The priest explains, "I'm afraid that your assignment has grown more dangerous as of late. Apparently Dracula is engaged in a dire battle with another evil that rivals his power and on top of that something called the 'monster' is killing the peasants of Transylvania. It may be a wise decision if you bring Carl with you."

Van Helsing begins averse to the idea, "Whoa, Father Abbas, I don't think . . . . "

"Oh finally!" Carl exclaims swinging over to his station to begin packing things, "I get to be apart of an assignment! I have waited so long for such an opportunity!"

Stuttering Van Helsing continues, "Father Abbas, Carl is simply a friar of the order! There is no way I could bare the burden of bringing along a half- wit that would get killed the first second I start swinging a sword!"

"Reverence Van Helsing!" Father Abbas quietly exclaims, "Doing as I tell you is the beginning of it!"

Father Abbas walks away as Van Helsing stands there fretting about this new misfortune. Carl then walks by at a quick rate stating, "Don't worry Van Helsing, I will not fail you! I can cut a vampire's head as well as I can fashion a sword."

Following up from behind, Van Helsing remarks frustrated, "You may know about the staking and decapitation of a vampire Carl, but I don't think you know anything about how they think and act."

"I know enough!" Carl exclaims.

"Really?" Van Helsing scoffs, "How?"

Carl replies, "Reading books all the time! So to Hell with you!"

Van Helsing remarks, "I don't think a man of the Church should swear Carl."

"I'm a friar," Carl explains, "Not a monk. I can swear all I want! Damn."

Carl makes his way up the stairs with Van Helsing behind him shaking his head with an amused grin on his face.