(Van Helsing: Brothers Re-United)
(Chapter 1: Shadow over the Vatican)
"Wh-why are you here!?" Cardinal Jinette cried as he moved backward on his ass, his heart hammering within his chest as he looked up in terror of who he was seeing.
The man that stood before the fallen Cardinal wore a beige long-sleeve shirt with crimson buttons running down the center of it, draped over his shoulders and nearly dragging across the polished flooring was a black cape. His dark brown hair flowed down over his shoulders, and his piercing grey eyes cast an intense glare down to his faithful enemy. On his legs were brown pants and black boots made loud clicking noises every time they struck the floor.
"Look into my eyes and you will see who I want…" The strange man demanded, his eyes turning a blood-red coloring, and shining like lanterns in the blackest nights. His voice has a strong Romanian accent to it.
For a split second, a strange sensation took over Cardinal Jinette, it was that of an electric throbbing that snagged a paralyzing grip over his limbs. For a second, the old man felt that he couldn't stop himself from staring into the eyes of this new enemy, but he quickly realized what was going on, and adrenaline shot through his veins and caused him to slam his fist onto a lever that shut a gate on his foe to prevent him from advancing.
Digging into the pocket of his red robe, he would pull out a crucifix while he still felt safe behind the gate and extend his arm to show it to his enemy now that he knew what he was dealing with due to the hypnotic properties of the shimmering red eyes of the vampire that had broken his legs at the knees.
"Back! Spawn of Satan!" Cardinal Jinette screamed, his face trembling with desperation and fear as he howled his command. His intent, combined with the crucifix, appeared to halt the vampire who was tempered with apprehension at the sight of the cross, but soon that look of shock turned into a smug grin. That smug grin would reveal his glimmering fangs before he reared his head back and laughed.
"You have to have faith in order for that to work on me!" The strange but powerful vampire boasted before grabbing the spaces in the gate, and curling his fingers around the steel.
"I do have faith!" Cardinal Jinette screamed as he backed towards the entryway into the lower archive of the Vatican where every weapon and invention was kept a secret and away from the public eye. "That's why I am who I am!"
"Not when your Vatican crumbles from the inside!" The vampire laughed before lashing out his long cow-like tongue towards him to mess with his mind, his hands tightened around the gate before his thick arms tugged back and jerked to the side to remove it from the wall with a loud groaning shriek of ancient steel grinding against ancient steel.
"The Vatican will never fall…" Cardinal Jinette growled in defiance before kicking his boot against the floor and taking a nasty tumble down the stone stairs. Several monks and mullahs, as well as other scientists and members of the Holy See, rushed towards the fallen Cardinal who groaned with agony, his eyes scrunched shut, his teeth gnashed together as he growled with anguish.
"Cardinal Jinette, what's going on?" Asked Father Gabrielle Valentino, who knelt next to his superior and held him in a gentle embrace.
"Ahhh, the case of the blind leading the blind. A sheep leading sheep!" The vampire taunted again, his voice booming like thunder from up the stairs. All of those in the room who stood over their fallen Cardinal could see the shadow of the enemy descending the stairs.
"Get ready, he's coming." The Cardinal warned as his heart continued to pound within his chest, the toll the stress was taking on his body had begun to destroy him from the inside as he now found it difficult to catch his breath.
"Cardinal Jinette, are you alright?" Father Valentino asked, a loud groan was the form of response given by the superior whose breathing resembled rattling at this point as he clutched his chest with his broken legs flopping around aimlessly.
"Go-God h-help m-m-me!" The Cardinal howled as the monstrous, unforgiving pressure in his chest was unyielding and only grew worse as the seconds ticked by.
"Take Cardinal Jinette to get some help! I'll hold whatever demon this is off!" Valentino commanded, and several monks hurried towards the body of the squirming man to haul him away to take care of him immediately.
When Valentino looked back up, the vampire was standing in the doorway with a sinister toothy grin as he sized up his challengers.
"So this is who the Church sends to defend me…?" He asked as Father Valentino dug into the pocket of his Cossack robe to pull out a cross, but his eyes widened with terror as he discovered that it had no effect on their new enemy.
"News has been going around, and I thought that I would be met with a more interesting fight…" The bloodsucker continued.
"I wish Van Helsing was around…" Friar Carl whimpered from the back of all the brave fighters who aligned next to each other, staring down this new vampire threat.
The vampire's head turned towards Carl with a jerk, his now normal brown eyes being lit up by the sound of the monster hunter's name. A gasp was heard from the menace as his face then shifted into a grin.
"That's precisely who I was expecting to be here…" The vampire announced as his eyes scanned around the archive, trying to see if Van Helsing was hiding in the shadows, using his dark clothing to blend in.
"Well, you can turn around and leave, you've already been disappointed." Father Valentino said with a scowl of disdain on his face as he stared daggers toward the vampire.
"Oh, I won't be leaving anytime soon priest—" The vampire threat began before his eyes started to scan every weapon and invention in the archive. "I'm looking for something much more special than that pathetic monster-killer."
"Whatever it is you're seeking isn't here, back off or we won't hesitate to attack." Father Valentino threatened as he gripped his crucifix tighter than before.
"Oh, you didn't think I would come prepared?" The vampire asked, as soon as he finished speaking, growls were heard from the back of the archive, and half of the men that were confronting the vampire turned around to see a small troop of werewolves marching into view.
"Who are you…?" Father Valentino asked sternly.
"I'm everything that the Church and the Vatican City despise, I am the sin you should have never left behind and forgotten."
After the vampire spoke again, a towering figure entered the archive behind him and stood next to him. He was as tall as he was bulky, this monster of a man stood at a height of 6'10 and probably weighed 385 pounds. He wore a massive coat, but his chest was bare, with a star appearing to be molded on his sternum, on the top of his head sat some sort of helmet that protected the top, back and sides of the head. A belt had been banded around his coat to hold it to his body. His feet were massive and blocky as if his boots and legs were one gigantic piece. His skin appeared to be dry and cracked, and the color of it was a dark brown, but so was the coloring of his helmet and clothes, even the star was brown. The only other bit of color on his body was that of his eyes, which were a glowing Emerald green.
"What the hell is that thing?" Friar Carl gasped.
"Language, Carl." A priest scolded him quietly before turning back around to face the vampire and his massive soldier.
"THIS is Birsha, I created him myself." The vampire revealed.
"So, you need a golem and werewolves to help you out, because you know you can't stand against all of us." Father Valentino taunted with a smug grin crossing his lips.
"Oh I can, it's all about sending a message, Valentino."
"S-sending a m-message?" Friar Carl stammered as he started to back away.
With a snap of his fingers, the werewolves flung themselves upon the men, tearing into them with their teeth and claws without mercy. A massive brawl ensued as men scrambled for weaponry, Friar Carl, as per usual, tried to scurry away just to run into Birsha and was knocked on his ass.
"Do not make peace with evil, destroy it!" Father Valentino called out as the sound of a Gatling gun was heard firing up, bullets ripping through the air towards the werewolves, The beast-men were driven back with several men having already been butchered, but they weren't destroyed due to the lack of silver bullets in the Gatling gun.
Father Valentino pulled out a magnum, aiming it toward Birsha before the monstrous golem stepped forth and smacked him with a ruthless backhand strike, launching the priest across the room and knocking a piece of machinery over with a loud crash.
"God help us…" Father Valentino groaned as he used the wall next to him as a means of support to help himself back to his feet.
A monk let out a battle cry as he rushed upon the golem with a silver stake just to be grabbed by the head and killed in an instant with a loud cracking sound coming from his neck as his entire head was turned all the way around by the living statue.
The vampire turned his head towards the Gatling gun and bared his fangs with a cruel hiss, his body vanishing into thin air before reappearing behind the mullah that was captaining the turret, sinking his large fangs into the carotid artery of the enemy, sealing his fate. His tongue lapped up some of the blood that was smeared around his lips and lower face.
A priest took out a crucifix and rushed up to Birsha, forcing it into the star on his chest, to no effect. The priest gasped with terror in his eyes as the golem grabbed his arm by the wrist and with one foul tug, the arm was severed from the body with the sound of tearing flesh, joints popping, and bones breaking all at once. Phantom pain ravaged the priest who collapsed to the ground, clutching the bloody lump of flesh that his arm was once connected to.
A monk took a gun and charged the golem, opening fire, putting round after round into the monster but again it was of no use as Birsha took the severed arm and smashed it into the monk's face, knocking him out in one blow.
"If you give me what I desire, I will spare all of you and the Vatican." The vampire announced as he stood on a catwalk overlooking the carnage.
"What the bloody hell are you looking for!?" Friar Carl cried out, the vampire laughed before popping out of existence again.
"Oh Lord…" The friar said to himself before the threat reappeared at his front, slamming his boot down right between his legs, dangerously close to his crotch, causing the friar to shriek in terror, his entire body recoiled, and his face cringed from the close call.
"THE BLOOD WHISTLE, I KNOW YOU'VE GOT IT SOMEWHERE!" The vampire snapped, getting face to face with the friar and the words fell from his lips at an erratic pace.
"The Blood Whistle…no…you can't possibly be using tha—" Carl stammered, truly he had no idea what this vampire was talking about, he wanted to come across as smart and not cowardly to this new threat.
"If you don't give me it, then all your friends here will be slaughtered! You included!"
The vampire expected the friar to burst into tears from fear alone, but what he gazed upon now was the exact opposite. Friar Carl appeared to be filled with relief and perhaps excitement as his face lit up with a smile, he appeared to be looking at something, or someone, behind the vampire.
"If you kill everyone, how would you be able to find what you're looking for?" A loud, proud voice asked from the entryway of the archive. The vampire turned around and saw him.
There he stood, clad in his typical attire of all black, including a dark trench coat, dark undershirt, black pants, and black boots. As well as his signature wide-brimmed fedora-like hat. His piercing eyes glared directly at the vampire and the golem, shifting to the werewolves next before gazing back towards the vampire.
"I was wondering when you would show up…Van Helsing." The vampire spoke with a grin, his eyes narrowing upon the monster-killer.
"I can sense evil, and I felt as such when I arrived. It only grew stronger as I entered the archive." Van Helsing replied as he descended the stairs and entered the archive. "What have you done to Cardinal Jinette?"
"Cardinal Jinette is gone…" The vampire growled.
"How do I know you're speaking the truth…?" Van Helsing asked as he dug into his coat pocket, his eyes and the vampire's eyes never fraying from each other's line of sight.
"Last I saw him, he was clutching his chest and wailing like an infant child…if he's not gone now, he won't have much longer left…"
Van Helsing growled furiously as he pulled out his grappling hook gun and fired the bolt towards the vampire, who dodged out of the way and allowed the bolt to slam into the back of Birsha, who hardly felt a thing even though it created a small crack in his lower back.
The golem turned around, grabbed the wire, and gave it a powerful pull that would send Van Helsing flying towards him. The monster-killer held on to his gun with one hand while digging out one of his two Tojo blades, with a loud shriek, the blades would spin at an unfathomable speed as he rammed it right into Birsha's face, sparks flew upon impact and managed to stun the golem as the sparks flew into his sensitive eyes.
"Behind you!" Friar Carl called out as the vampire closed in on Van Helsing from behind, but it was as if the monster-killer had eyes in the back of his head as he spun around and the blades of the circular weapon slashed into the handsome face of the vampire, causing him to hiss in pain and take a few steps backward. His wounds regenerated in seconds.
"I found it!" One of the vampire's henchmen called from the back.
"Did you!?" The vampire called out, Van Helsing turned his attention towards the back of the archive to see a tall, naked man standing in a doorway.
Just then, the sound of pounding footsteps was heard from the stairway leading down into the archive, and the vampire turned to face them. Several men with various weapons such as daggers, scythes, swords, stakes, and other mysterious weaponry arrived. Each man was clad in clothing like Van Helsing, but different, some were taller and bulkier than the others.
"The knight of the Holy Order now has a target on your back, you won't get away that easily…" Van Helsing said with a smirk.
Some of the silver armor worn by a few of the knights shimmered to an almost blinding light into the eyes of the vampire, causing him to growl and take a few steps back. The knights closed in, blades pointed towards his chest.
"Retreat! We've found what we wanted!" The vampire cried out before undergoing a transformation, when his large wings spread themselves out, it was all a snappy motion that clobbered Van Helsing and Friar Carl in the process knocking them both to the stone flooring.
Birsha barreled towards the entryway behind the transformed vampire, mowing down several of the knights by just running into them and knocking them over. All of the other naked men made a break for the front, only a few were able to slip by due to the sheer number of them. One of them was tackled to the ground by Father Valentino, who shoved a tiny device into the struggling man's ear before letting him go. The man rushed for the front, but the knights and Van Helsing took aim at him.
"Let him go!" Father Valentino cried out.
"Are you insane!? You'll let them get away!" Van Helsing screamed.
"I've put something in his ear that will let us track him, let him go!"
Van Helsing sighed and looked towards the knights of the Holy Order before aiming his firearm down towards the ground. "Let 'em go."
"This had better pay off…" One of the knights growled as he sheathed his sword.
"Your damn right it should." Another knight scoffed.
"Language, Ezekiel." Van Helsing scolded.
The naked man ascended the stairs and out of sight, and an eerie silence fell upon the archive. A faint murmuring was softly heard amongst those who were still alive.
"Where's Cardinal Jinette?" Van Helsing asked as a few men rushed up to him.
"Come with us! Come quick!" A monk spoke between breaths, leaning over to catch it as Van Helsing rushed past him with all the others towards a small room where an old altar held the body of Cardinal Jinette who couldn't even open his eyes.
"Cardinal Jinette…" Van Helsing said softly as he loomed over him, he noticed that the hands of the Cardinal were folded together and placed over the center of his body as his breathing was quick and rugged, sweat drenched his face and clothes, giving it a shine.
"Va-Van Helsing…" Cardinal Jinette croaked, his weary eyes peeping open for a second before closing again.
"Yes?"
"H-H-He ha-has the Bl-bl-Blood Wh-Whistle…"
"What is he talking about?" Van Helsing mouthed towards Friar Carl, the friar was just as confused as he was as he shrugged his shoulders.
"You mu-must ge-get th-th-the po-p-p-po-p…" Cardinal Jinette couldn't even get the words out before Father Valentino hushed him.
"Relax Cardinal Jinette, don't strain yourself." The priest suggested.
Cardinal Jinette took a deep breath, and then another breath. Eyes closed, mouth sucking in and exhaling air.
"We must get the Pope," Valentino said to Van Helsing, looking up to face him and then back down towards Cardinal Jinette who appeared to have stopped breathing.
"Cardinal Jinette?" Valentino asked with fear trembling in his voice, but then their superior took a shallow breath, then there was a brief pause, then a shallower breath followed by a longer pause.
Van Helsing shook his head in disbelief as he could feel the tears building up in his eyes, his vision going blurry before he blinked, and the tears gently traveled down his cheeks and dripped onto Cardinal Jinette's red cossack.
"God be with you, Cardinal Jinette…" Friar Carl whimpered as he was heard sniffling in the room. The other men that stood with him silently wept with the knights of the Holy Order softly weeping as well.
Another breath came out, even shallower than the last two, and the pause was twice as long. Father Valentino grabbed his head and pulled it into a gentle embrace as he kissed his forehead.
Another shallow breath, and another painful pause. The pause was lasting forever and finally, two weak breaths slipped through Cardinal Jinette's lips before his arms fell to his side. Valentino lowered his head, pressing his ear against the chest and there was silence behind his breasts.
With tears swelling up in his eyes, Father Valentino looked up and shook his head.
"He's gone…"
A/N: Hello everyone, I have been on a Van Helsing kick as of lately. For those of you that don't know, the 2004 Van Helsing film is my most favorite film of all my 20 years on Earth. Right next to Godzilla VS Kong. I have probably watched Van Helsing five times this year already and since I'm already working on an original series outside of FanFiction which is highly inspired by that film, I decided that I should take my creativity and craft a Van Helsing story here! For those of you who are fans of the now cult classic film, I sincerely hope you enjoy what I offer in my idea for what a sequel would be :)
Also, for my loyal readers who've been keeping track of my JungleVerse Trilogy (Jungle Book: The Story Re-Told, Tarzan: The Story Re-Told, and next is The Second Jungle Book: Legends Never Die), I would like to apologize for kinda flubbing the schedule of the third installment of the trilogy. The reason I chose to release this story first is so I can work on the Jungle Book story on the side and make sure there is no long pauses between chapters when the story inevitably comes out either some time late this year or early next year. Bear with me, I've got loads of writing to do between this story, the Jungle Book story, and my original work outside of FanFiction. I promise you all, the wait will be worth it ;)