Oye, official first chapter is up, and I hope you all read and enjoy. (first fanfic, cut me some slack!)

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Van Helsing and all the characters in it, which is why I am here writing a fanfic instead of playing tennis with Dracula and checkers with Carl...YES, Carl LOVES checkers! He's really good at it, I havn't beaten him yet, but I know he's cheating. I mean, come on, he HAS to be! THe guy's got GOD on his side for pete's sake!...sighs...No, I do not own Van Helsing or anybody else. It all belongs to some other guy...

Cat Problems

As they walked down the staircase, Cardinal Jeanette explained to him that a certain town was having problems and needed the church's help. Van Helsing gave a small nod. "So, what kind of problems are they having?"

"Cat Problems." Cardinal Jeanette replied briskly.

Van Helsing stopped in his tracks, whereas the Cardinal continued onwards. What did he say? They had already reached the bottom of the staircase, and were now among the others that also sought to fight against evil. Van Helsing stared at the Cardinal's shrinking figure stupidly before his brain decided to suddenly start up again, and was therefore able to walk after him. Van Helsing caught up to him and stood in front of him.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? Cat problems?" Gabriel stared at the Cardinal, wondering if he had heard wrong.

"I know it sounds strange Gabriel, but-"

"Strange?" Van Helsing's eyes grew wide as he interrupted Cardinal Jeanette. "What is it; you want me to go to another country…to kill a cat?" Van Helsing chuckled at the last part.

"This is serious Van Helsing." His answer was stern, but the Cardinal understood Van Helsing's reaction to this kind of problem.

"What is there to be serious about?" Even while asking this, Van Helsing became more solemn.

Cardinal Jeanette paused. "Follow me Van Helsing." He said gruffly. He walked over to a table covered with papers and picked up a small stack of them. Van Helsing glanced at him curiously. Cardinal Jeanette flipped through some of the papers and handed Van Helsing a few. "These are newspapers." He spoke as if Van Helsing had never seen one before.

Funny, he thought dryly. Van Helsing took the papers and scanned through them "These newspapers are from all over the world." He noticed as he flipped through them, amazed at the variety. Why so many? "Each one is from a different state or country." He paused and did a double take, eyebrows raised. "Is this one from New York?"

"Yes. After the Knights of the Holy Order heard about this new creature, we thought it sounded familiar. So, we did some research, and this is what we came up with." He gestured at the stacks of newspapers. Helsing listened as he examined the headlines. There headlines were impressive:

Woman dragged into alley; Murdered" from New York, 1637
"Monster sightings in Paris?" from France, 1745
"Two killed in Monster Hunt" from Berlin, 1805
andfinally "Four children missing; monster suspected" from England, 1887

That was only the first few pages. As he searched through them, he could have sworn that one had been written in Japanese. Or maybe Chinese?

"Do you still think this is a joke?" Asked the Cardinal solemnly.

Van Helsing absently rolled up the papers and put them inside his trench coat pocket. "When do I leave?" Van Helsing said. Jeanette heard his determination now. He knew that once Gabriel had seen this proof, he would get back to work. Where he was needed.

"Soon enough." The Cardinal stated. "But first you must learn more about this creature."

"Such as what it is and how I can kill it."

"Well, that is something we are not sure of."

Van Helsing looked startled. "You mean you don't knowwhat it is? Or how to kill it?"

"No."

Van Helsing gave the Cardinal an odd look. "I I don't know what it is, Then how am I supposed to kill it? I don't even know what it looks like!" He rolled his eyes. "Except that it's a cat of course."

"Now Gabrial." He ignored that last comment."We know what it looks like, but we do not know what it is exactly. One thing is for certain, though, and that is that this creature is deadly."

The Cardinal walked over to the projector on the far side of the room. "Let me show you something." He flipped the switch and the freak show began. Van Helsing furrowed his brows as he looked at the picture before him. "This is…"

Cardinal Jeanette nodded. "Yes, it is the monster."

Van Helsing stepped forward to evaluate the picture. It wasn't a photograph, but actually a detailed charcoal drawing of an extremely large feline. Van Helsing lifted an eyebrow. Wow, it really is a cat problem. The artist had been brutally realistic in his sketch. The cats' body resembled that of a cheetah. Its yellow fur, black spots, and skinny build could not be mistaken for any other big cat. Its long tail even had a black tip. The creatures' muscles were fairly massive, and it appeared to be big. Real big. Van Helsing was next drawn to the creatures face. Its ears were erect, like a horse; they were fairly large, but still looked small compared to its head. The creature even had the cheetahs black lines drawn from the corner of its eyes to its muzzle. And what a muzzle; the artist had been sure to draw the cat with its moth opened wide, whether in a growl or merely for show, Van Helsing couldn't tell. He paid special attention to the cats' teeth, especially how sharp they were. But what really made Van Helsings blood boil were its eyes. They were not the usual slit eyes that most cats possessed; they didn't have pupils or even irises. They were just one color.

Red. This creature has blood red eyes.Perfect. "It sure looks evil." Van Helsing commented, looking serious for the first time in a long time.

Jeanette nodded. "The artist was a witness to one of the creatures' attacks. He says that while he and his wife were traveling on a dirt road, the creature came out of nowhere and dragged his wife away." Van Helsing glanced at Cardinal Jeanette.

He continued. "The man was so deeply affected by this encounter that he ran to the nearest town, locked himself in a jail cell, and he has refused to leave to this day. This attack occurred six months ago."

"In jail?" Helsing raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Apparently he feels safe there. He then drew this picture of the creature. It is the first actual picture of its kind." Van Helsing noted this, remembering that none of the newspapers had had pictures of the creature. Van Helsing turned to the Cardinal. "Yes, about those newspapers. Some of them were printed over a hundred years ago. Has this thing been around that long?"

Cardinal Jeanette wiped his brow. "Unfortunately, we do not know. We cannot tell if this cat" he pointed to the drawing, "is the same as any of those in the newspapers." He pointed to the papers hidden inside Van Helsings trench coat.

"Are you saying that this might be a new race of monsters?" Helsing questioned, looking intensely at Cardinal Jeanette. Cardinal Jeanette took a step towards Van Helsing. "If it is…then we must catch it, study it, and find out what it is that we are dealing with; if these creatures have been around for this long and the Knights of the Holy Order have not heard of them, then something must be done."

Van Helsing looked skeptical. "You want me to capture the beast? How am I supposed to bring that thing back here?"

"Alive. But do not worry; I have already provided Carl with the equipment that I think you will need. We must try everything to find out its weakness."

Van Helsing gave a nod of understanding. "So, where am I going?"

"Did you see that newspaper from England?"

Van Helsing paused for a moment. "You mean the one where four children went missing?"

"Yes, the town is Liverpool, England. That is where the creature was two days ago. Hopefully, it is still there. You must move quickly Van Helsing; more lives may be at risk."

Helsing gave a small nod, than looked at the picture one more time. He stared into those red eyes. What are you? Not wanting to wait to find out the answerhe turned to leave.

"Oh, Van Helsing, one more thing." Cardinal Jeanette called. Van Helsing looked back.

"Take Carl with you."

And that is the second chapter...ooooo...Please review if you can. Don't be afraid to criticize, I want to get better. Please give any advice on anything, including gramatics (ESPECIALLY gramatics!) Just don't be TOO mean. Pwease?