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December 31st, 2004
2359 hours.
Just one minute and it takes just a second for Sucy to blow out her candles. She makes a simple wish, which is to have a chance to go on a mission with her Mama.
January 1st, 2005
0000 hours.
Her wish comes true when a sudden call from Tito Tapia informs Mama about something really important. According to Mama's mutterings, it's got something to do with Humans making deals with Awsang going horribly wrong and the Aswang informing the police about it, which wasn't normal. Normally, it was the other way around, but Sucy was never told the difference, as Mama's role of Enforcer of the Accords was always being challenged. By both the Terra Mundo and the Underworld.
Always waning at a time when magic was going back into its waxing phase.
January 1st, 2005
0123 hours.
Sucy had to beg for Mama to bring her with them. With reluctance, and some nudging from Tito Crispin and Tito Basilio, Mama allowed it but only as a privilege that Sucy would need to earn if she wanted to go on more. Now, Sucy was hardly able to sit still, much to Mama's mild frustration as she struggled to get the girl buckled up.
"Tito Tapia!" Sucy shouted as she ran up to him and gave him a hug, which he was kind enough to return, along with wishing her a happy birthday and New Year's.
After the conversations between Tito Tapia and Mama, which were taking too long and Sucy later found herself in her car seat and the sunrise and AC blasting her face. She fell asleep, didn't she? Was the mission over already?
"Mama, are we still doing the mission?" She asked her mother as she tugged at the sleeve of the Cloak of Twilight. Despite the Cloak's leathery exterior, the internal texture of the artifact was always soft, making Sucy wearing it as a blanket nothing unusual. Maybe it was why Mama loved wearing it so much.
"Yes, my mystery. We're still in the middle of this mission." Mama answered as she was clearly trying to get some semblance of sleep.
Why did Mama so often call her a mystery?
Going off of the fact that Tito Crispin was asleep and Tito Basilio was currently driving, Sucy asked him about if she was normal.
"Tito Basilio, am I normal?"
A quick pause later he answered her.
"Define what normal is first, Su."
"Being like the rest of the world is."
He laughed at the response, but he didn't say anything that could go against it, perhaps of how purely innocent Sucy's worldview was until further notice.
"Su, sweetheart, you have no idea how wrong you are about what normal means." He replied as he quickly went back to being angry at the traffic and cussing out other angry drivers, disrupting Tito Crispin and Mama's sleep.
"Alright, anak, do you remember what to say when we've passed a termite nest or find ourselves at a crossroad?" Mama asked as she gripped Sucy's hand while they walked towards the crossroad.
"Tabi tabi po." She answered.
"Very good. Now we wait for the Nuno to come up and speak with us."
Instead of the Nuno sa Punso being in the earth, as would be expected in the old times, the Nuno popped up from the manhole of the crossroad intersection. Mama's grip suddenly became tighter than usual, but she didn't say anything about what was making her do so. Sucy watched as the Nuno greeted Mama and vice versa, hearing them talk about Santa Maria and politics for a while, and Mama being surprised by the Nuno being alive after somehow blowing him up. The Nuno informed Mama that he had used his Laman Lupas as a shield and went back underground during the explosion, but didn't have any time to rise up again because of the chaos going on at the time.
He also was nice enough to say that some Duwende elite from the Red Earth Tribe had used the same thing to survive the Diabolical getting blown up. Must've been a decently well known tactic for the idea to be so common for Earth Elementals to use it as a survival strategy. Why would someone explosion the Diabolical?
"...so I've decided to leave the political scene for good." Nuno finally concluded just before taking a good look at Sucy.
"Well, I'll be damned. The rumors are true. Congratulations, little Trese for you to have gained your own to raise."
Mama blushed as she tried to process what she just heard. Once she did she simply said thank you and returned to business.
"Since you're not going back into politics, I have a deal to offer for you. In exchange, I simply request one thing on your end." Mama stated once she regained her composure.
"Name whatever price you need from me."
"If you are going to regain my trust and return to being my informant, I will need a babysitter for Sucy that can protect her until she is able to defend herself. You are the closest person I've got to anyone who can be considered qualified for the job. Is that understood, Nuno?"
"Babysitter?! Do you really think that I'm worthy of such a complex responsibility?"
"I'm thinking of reconsidering choosing you, and once I'm done, I'll just kill you twice." Mama threatened in cold tone. Sucy had never heard Mama sound so relentless and ruthless before.
"Mama, why are the Awsang staring at me?" Sucy asked as she stayed close to her mother and held on to the Cloak of Twilight as tightly as her little hands could grab. She was quick to take notice of how the Awsang kept looking at her. As if they were nearby a poisonous mushroom and knew something about it that nobody else did.
"Just don't give them what they want and keep your head down if you feel unsafe around them."
It was because of her blood being unnatural, wasn't it? Sucy learned that her blood was different than others, as she didn't bleed red. Her blood was a dark shade of blue, and when she needed a transfusion, her body was never able to reject any type. Why wouldn't the Awsang not be scared of what she'd taste like or, at least, find a source of unique curiosity.
Mr. Ibwa was relatively peaceful with Mama as they talked about the Awsang going to the police regarding the Humans that they reported as not acting normal. They spoke about the rising of some kind of Sixth Child cult movement going about among the streets of Metro Manila and the concerns of the consequences. Sucy knew that there were some whispers going around about Judgment Day, but she didn't consider Talagbusao to take possession of Humans and create cults around the End Times.
Was Mama just delaying the inevitable by rejecting her destiny to become the Harbinger and Ruler of the Apocalypse? If so, how much longer would she remain able to? If Mama was willing to fulfill the Prophecy of the Sixth Child of the Sixth Child, did that entail that she'd have to take the place of Tita Sinag in the role of the Fifth Child in addition to passing forth her judgement?