บท 11: 11. History Maketh Grimm
"Mmph! Mmph!" said Ventura in a muffled voice with a sack over his head in the trunk of the car.
"Ricardo, I don't think that kidnapping my best friend and putting a sack over his head is such a good idea..." said Arthur.
Ricardo ignored him.
The car stopped in the middle of the woods in the mountains at night, and the two brought Ventura out, taking off the sack and the handkerchief in his mouth.
"Please, don't kill me desu!" shouted Ventura. "Wait, Arthur?! I should've known... Is this some kind of sick prank?! Isn't this your Dad?! Beginning to know where you get this from."
"My Dad's going to show us something, so be quiet, Vennie!" whispered Arthur, though with a loud voice.
"Even while whispering, you sound like a nuclear attack siren, JoJo!" shouted Ventura.
"It's called voice charm, you ass!" shouted JoJo back.
"If you really want to be quiet, BE QUIET!!! YOU'RE PRACTICALLY CALLING THE COPS!!!"
"YOU'RE CALLING THE COPS!!!"
"You two, shut up!" shouted Ricardo. "You two should know that Grimms shouldn't fight each other."
The pair look at each other, confused.
"What the heck's a Gring?" asked Ventura. "Did you mispronounce, 'Grinch?'"
"Would you be quiet!?" asked Arthur. "He said 'Grimm!'"
"Screw you! You're annoying!"
Ricardo sighs.
Ricardo is revealed standing next to an old cabin in the woods and opens it up.
"When Simoun JoJo and Elias Zeppeli, your ancestors, died a hundred years ago, Maria JoJo, his wife, traveled away from the city and into these woods in San Diego. She had this cabin built for her and her son. There, she studied with Elias Zeppeli's brother about the nature of the Grimms."
"Simoun JoJo?" asked Arthur. "The American-Filipino character from the Noli Me Tangere Duology?"
"Are you crazy? Grimms and Aswangs are just a myth!" explained Ventura.
"Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because you two are one of the last Grimms," he explained pridefully.
"What the hell is a Grimm supposed to be, Ricardo?" asked Ventura.
"That creature that attacked me earlier..." said Arthur. "He called me that: A Grimm. But he said I have the blood of their kind."
"Your ancestors were a Grimm and you are one of them," explained Ricardo. "But she was one of the good ones."
"Hold up, there are good ones of those evil monsters in that book?" asked Ventura. "They eat children for a living, Ricardo! And most of all, don't you have any proof of that-?!"
Arthur brings out his purple vines.
Ventura gives a surprised expression.
"That's supposed to be a Stand?" asked Ventura. "But, I don't have a Stand... How can I-?"
"You didn't think that your names being similar to the names of the characters in that book hold any significance to your current lives and friendship?" asked Ricardo. "It was fate that brought your ancestors together, and it was fate that brought you together as well."
"My older brother would have a huge kick in this," laughed Ventura. "I'm not... special... Ricardo. I'm just not that kinda guy..."
Ricardo sighed.
"Look, kid..." said Ricardo. "You're so much more than just some kid disowned by a wealthy family. And you, Arthur... you're so much more than a cowardly trickster."
"Tch-..." muttered Arthur.
Ricardo then took out a key and opened the hardwood cabin. He turned on a lamp and walked in with the other two.
"Welcome to the Cabin of the San Diego Grimms," he said. The lights turned on and revealed a cozy fireplace with a few chairs around. "This is Burnham... Kinda cold here compared to the lowlands, so the flames burn large here."
Then, Ricardo removed the carpet, revealing a metal trap door. He then takes out a key and opened it up by turning it in the lock. A soft click could be heard, as the trap door was flipped open by Ricardo. The three went down the ladder and saw the room. Here, they can see desks everywhere. A tall and wide cabinet stuck to the wall with weapons hung inside looms the room. A small shelf of vials with potions in them can be found in the corner. There is also a desk with 10 chairs at the center of the room. And finally, three large bookshelves facing the weapon's cabinet are shown to be filled with several large, thick, old books.
Ricardo points to the left bookshelf. "Grimm Diaries and Hamon," he said.
Ricardo points to the middle bookshelf. "Cryptids and the Supernatural," he said.
Ricardo points to the right bookshelf. "Stands," he said.
"So the Legend of Simoun JoJo and Elias Zeppeli was all real?" asked Ventura.
"Well. you've been asking that hundreds of times already, Ventura, and he had been confirming it for over twelve minutes repeatedly. I dunno, man, but something tells me that he's telling the truth," replied Arthur.
Ricardo takes out several books.
"Read," he simply spoke.
"Sounds like my History Teacher," laughed Arthur.
Ricardo's eyes squint at Arthur's.
Arthur sneers at his adoptive Father.
"I feel as terrified as I am awkward," said Ventura.
The two find a book that they need.
"Hey, Ricardo!" spoke Arthur. "I've found the creature that tried to kill me! In the English Language, the creature is called a Vampire. It is called a Vampir by the Europeans. They're called Aswangs in the Philippines. This sketch looks exactly like the creature I fought from earlier... 'They're known to drink blood, thus they like eating the heart and liver the best.'"
"So Vampires are supposed to be..." Ventura was stopped by Ricardo.
"Aswangs," said Ricardo. "Honor your nation by calling them what they are in accordance to our culture."
"Aswangs," he said. "-... are supposed to be these evil warlords from the past?"
"Not all Aswangs are bad," said Ricardo. "Aswangs, however, are compelled to be controlled by their leader, the Aswang King. Currently, he stands on top of everyone, and he came in the form of Padre Damaso a hundred years ago. Right now, I don't know who is the villain who puppeteers our nation. This villain is the Aswang King."
"Was he once a good guy or something?" asked Arthur.
"Save your pity. There is no version of any world where the Aswang King or any royal of the Aswang family to be any good," said Ricardo.
"What's his story?" asked Ventura.
"Read the books," replied Ricardo, sipping his tea.
Later...
"Found it," said Ventura.
"'Thousands of years ago, the Vampires were known to be a peaceful kind that lived for thousands of years. However, around the time of Moses' death, God appointed twelve Judges. These Judges led the Israelites, but secretly, unwritten in the Bible of the Humans, but written in the Vatican Records, that the Abrahamic God offered our Earth a kind of people known as the Grimms. Gifted with the power to see the unknown, Grimms were meant to become the bridge between the Supernatural and the Natural. But, the Grimms were forced to hunt their kind. This is simply because of the treacherous humankind. The humans forced the Grimms, out of fear and in secret, to hunt down their kind. Mostly, the Church was the one that had these creatures hunted.
So, the Vampire King during the time of the Crusaders had a plan. That plan was to become the Church. They ruled Italy, and thus, the entirety of Europe for hundreds of years. But, the Crusaders ended their reign in the year 1208, and the Aswangs were forced to go into multiple nations for the next three hundred years until in 1492, the Spanish Empire began to expand. Thus, the Vampires decided to control the Spanish Empire in secret. This is through threatening to eat their bloodline.'"
Ventura then sees that the next paragraph is written in newer ink, and unlike the other two, which were fainter, this one is rather bright-colored.
"'Vampires, after the fall of the Spanish Empire in 1898, went to another country, which was one of the Empire's colonies, the Philippines. Here, they found this nation to be perfect. A land of corruption and crab mentality, the nation truly is perfect to manipulate. Thus, the last of the Filipino Grimms spend time hunting their kind. Though, generation after generation, the cruel Vampires have caused the politicians to become corrupt.'"
"The rebellion failed because Crisostomo Ibarra, your ancestor, wasn't doing it for his country. He was doing it for himself," said Ricardo. "Thus, his people did not trust him. Thus, his people became divided. But, it was his books that were something he, for once, did for his country. So, it began another rebellion. Betrayals could be found everywhere in the war, and when the Americans bought our country, a Filipino betrayed his fellow Filipino once again and the nation became divided. Other nations are just better at this than us. We're a third-world country because of our inferiority complex and our foolish nature of the lacking of trust and our inability to honor others."
"Welp!" yelled Arthur. "I'm going to make us some Adobo Fried Rice! You guys want any?"
The two nod as Arthur walked into the kitchen.
"Why exactly is he acting like this isn't much of a big deal?! This is big news, Mr. Ricardo!" shouted Ventura. "Vampires are real! And so are Stands and Grimms! The Legend is all true!"
Ricardo simply bowed his head, tipped his hat, and sighed.
"Arthur had never been very surprised of what comes his way," said Ricardo. "When he meets something unusual, he usually just ignores it."
"Is he not afraid?"
"Far from that, actually. He's just about scared of everything. He just doesn't show it. When he gets emotional, he often laughs it off and makes a joke about it."
"Honestly," softly laughed Ventura. "What now, Mr. Ricardo?"
"So begins the hunts, Ventura Zeppeli. The hunts for the man who puppeteers the cancer of our society as a whole."
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