[Trigger Warning: Deadnaming.]

Corey stared at her, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to process the information he had just been given. He looked to his father, who looked constipated after listening to it, but not surprised.

“This is a joke, right? This has to be.” 

Babaylan Maria shook her head. “Trust me child, it is not. We have no reason to lie to you, after all.”

Corey was silent for a few minutes, still in the middle of processing. 

“So...let me get this straight,” he finally said, sitting forward and rubbing his hands. “You’re telling me I’m somehow the holder of this, like, power that’s been passed down?”

“You are the Keeper of Rage, yes.” Maria simply kept her posture, holding herself up in a respectable demeanor.

“And I’m supposed to believe that I’m destined to fight some great evil or whatever?”

“The power materializes in times of great crisis, this is correct.”

“Well I don’t want it.”

The babaylan’s façade cracked a little, and she looked at Corey with an expression of surprise, concern, and worry. “What do you mean, you don’t want it?”

Corey huffed, sitting back on his chair and crossing his legs. “Simple. I don’t want anything to do with this. This sounds like too much trouble and I have enough shit to worry about already.”

Babaylan Maria readjusted herself, keeping her head up as she looked across to Corey. “Young man...I understand how overwhelming all this must be.”

“You tell me, lady.”

“But you need to understand as well, we have been given a responsibility, and we cannot simply ignore what that responsibility entails.”

“I’m sorry, we? You haven’t even told me who the hell you all are.”

Babaylan Maria gave a short sigh, folding her hands in front of her as she prepared what she needed to say. “We are...what you would call a secret society, in essence. We’re an order of mages with a simple job: to protect our lands from invaders. Whether those are colonizers or those are...creatures from different realms.”

Corey’s expression softened, looking at Maria with curiosity more than skepticism. “Are you...talking about monsters? From fairy tales?”

Babaylan Maria nodded. “Demons, rogue engkanto, sometimes mangkukulam. If there exists a danger present within the area we watch over that is supernatural in nature, then it is our job to keep the people of the mortal world safe.”

Corey nodded as he listened, puckering his lips as he kept his arms crossed. “Fine then. I’ll only do this...Keeper job, but only if you help me with something.”

Babaylan Maria smiled warmly at him. As she did, Corey felt himself blush and looked away. “That is good, Keeper Corey. You may avail one of the rooms in the compound for yourself, if you’d wish. We can speak about it later; for now, take some rest”

“Wait a moment,” interjected Enrico. He put an arm up and looked at both of them. They looked back at him, Corey with contempt and Babaylan Maria with curiosity.

“Can’t she just go home? I mean, I thank you all for what you’ve done with her but--”

“I don’t need to go home with you,” Corey cut in. “I’m already 19 and can choose for myself.”

“Tere, you can’t be serious-”

Corey spun around to face his father. “How many times do I need to tell you that I’m not Tere anymore! I’m staying here, whether you like it or not.” He looked over his shoulder and stood up. “Ian, show me around more would you? I need to get acquainted with the compound since I’ll be staying.” Ian looked around sheepishly, trying to figure out how to navigate the familial drama. His eyes landed on Babaylan Maria who answered with a small nod.

“A-Alright, Keeper Corey…” Ian opened the door, letting him walk out first and then closed the door behind them.

Enrico looked on, his clenched fist his knee. “You might dig out your palm like that, you know,” Babaylan Maria commented softly. Surely enough, as Enrico broke his gaze from the door to look at his hand, four small lines of blood were on the fleshier part of his palm. He heaved a sigh as fished out a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing the small cuts. “I still don’t get that girl, you know…”

“Well, there’s your first mistake, Enrico,” Babaylan Maria curtly replied.

Enrico looked up, and chuckled a little once he understood what she said. Babaylan Maria propped her arm on the desk and rubbed her temple. 

“What’s making it so hard for you to just accept your child is trans, Enrico? Do you hate him that much?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t have anything against her or people like her.”

“See? There it is again. You’re not even acknowledging he’s your son.”

“Because she’s not a son.” 

An uneasy silence fell on them, to which Babaylan Maria stood up. “Corey has made his decision, Enrico. You’re welcome to stay, but I urge you don’t disturb him any further. You’re free to visit him at any time. You know how to reach us.” She made her way to one of the file cabinets behind her, and pulled out what looked like a segment of bamboo. “Now, please excuse me, I have some matters to attend to.”

Enrico nodded, and made his way out of the office.

“So, where would you like to go?”

Ian and Corey were going through the hallway, passing by other onlookers that started to not bother Corey as much. Corey asked “Well, is there a room I can stay in? That lady said there was.” He didn’t want to show it, but he still felt immensely tired.

Ian tapped his chin, puckering his lips a bit. “Well, the rooms are on the east side of the compound; I can take you there if you’d like? It’s a bit of a walk, though.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Corey said, feeling more and more tired with each step but trying his best to keep walking.

The two continued down the hallway for a little while until they came into a larger, open space with a high, domed ceiling. As Corey looked up, his mouth went slightly agape as he soaked in what he saw: a sprawling mural decorating the inside of the dome, depicting, as far as Corey knew, depicted Philippine history and then some. 

He could see tribal warriors battling against each other, Katipuneros fighting Spanish soldiers, Phillippine soldiers keeping Americans at bay, and HUKBALAHAP fighting Japanese soldiers. Curiously, though, he didn’t see any of the heroes associated with them. No Bonifacio, Rizal, Aguinaldo, Luna, Del Pilar or anyone. Stranger still was that there were other figures, not quite human, that were fighting alongside them.

 In the center of the dome, was what looked like a convex skylight, bleeding bright light onto the painting and into the room. “Hey Ian,” Corey said after he’d stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. “Yeah? What is it, Keeper Corey?” Ian turned around, seeming to have gone a bit ahead and not realizing Corey lagged a bit behind. 

“We’re underground, right, Ian?”

“Yeah?”

“Then why’s there a big ass skylight with actual light coming through?”

Ian looked up and said a small ah as he chuckled. “Right, you’re not acquainted with the compound that much yet. I’ll explain it to you on the way to your room.”

Corey nodded, turning away from the fresco and following Ian again, who this time slowed his pace as he started explaining the painting.

“Well, as the Tala Babaylan mentioned, we’re an order of magic users set to protect these lands from invaders.”

“Yeah I got that much, but, like, shouldn’t there be like, national heroes on the painting? Didn’t you guys fight alongside them?”

Ian scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking away. “Not exactly. We were part of the revolutions, that’s true, but we rarely ever opened them to the heroes or leaders themselves.”

“I don’t understand…? What’s the worst that could happen if a lot more people knew about you?”

The two came into a lobby-like room, where others were generally lounging around. There were tables around, with people seated and having some drinks. The two of them took a seat at one, with Ian telling Corey he’ll get some water. When he returned with a cup of coffee and a glass of water, Ian gave him a short sigh. “Well, you see...people like us were hunted down when the Spanish got to our shores. We had to hide. We had to keep safe.”

“Aren’t you underneath a church right now?”

Ian shrugged and took a sip of his own drink. “Well, history can be weird like that. Things evolve, things change, ya know? Like, think of it this way: the way people worship saints and figurines of them here. That’s not, like, a normal thing outside of the Philippines. But we do that here because that’s how our pre-colonial practices bled through.”

Corey took a sip of his water, not really understanding but deciding it was more polite to listen.

“So, uh, where’s the room you told me about? I assume you didn’t just take me here to make me drink some water?”

Ian smiled back in reply. “Well, we’ve been walking for a bit, I thought you’d need some rest.”

Corey rolled his eyes. “I’m not an old man, you little shit. I’m barely older than you.”

Ian chuckled. “Let’s get you to your room, grandpa.”

The two made their way to yet another hall, to which Ian showed him into one of the rooms. “Here you are, Keeper.”

The room was quaint. There were the bare necessities: a desk, a closet, a bed. There was a small indentation in the wall, housing a sink with a mirror above it. “Make yourself comfortable, alright? Just call when you need anything.” Ian closed the door behind Corey, who then looked into the empty space. He slowly made his way to the bed and collapsed into it, satisfied he could finally stop that façade.

His consciousness slowly slipped as he felt himself start to sleep. Fleeting thoughts were running by at the back of his head. What happened to his gang? What were its members doing? Were they looking for him? He didn’t pay them any mind; he was too tired to.