A beautiful morning arrived in Manila. In a crowded city, the sun shined the building, and the light could pass through windows.

In the Marcovaldos' room, the sun's light pointed at Giulia's closed eyes, since she slept on the top bunk bed, before it pointed at Albert's eyes, who was sleeping at the bottom. Both kids of the bunkbeds woke up at the same time, and noticed their father wasn't on his bed anymore. They figured he was probably downstairs, cooking breakfast.

In the Paguros' room, Luca was alone in the bedroom as the sun shined before his eyes, causing him to wake up. He yawned while stretching his arms wide. He almost forgot that they were no longer in Portorosso or Genova anymore. They were now outside of Italy, and stayed in a country called the Philippines for the entire Winter vacation. Even if they were in a different country, Luca noticed the morning sun never changed like in Portorosso.

All three children came out of their bedrooms, and raced down the stairs.

Downstairs, Massimo preheated the Biscotti on a wood-fired oven, and Daniela and Lorenzo helped him serve on the table with Grandma Paguro already sitting down.

"Buongiorno!" Giulia greeted happily.

"Morning, mom, dad," Luca hugged both his parents before kissing his grandmother on the cheek, "Grandma."

"You kids have plans today?" Grandma Paguro asked.

"Well, we don't want to sit around for the whole vacation. We decided to go out, see what the Philippines have," Alberto answered.

"But we just got here. We don't know what was out there! We don't know much about this place!" Daniela shrieked worryingly.

"It might be dangerous out there!" Lorenzo added with concern.

"Mom, Dad, Alberto and I went to Portorosso for the first time, and yeah, we had a few bumps along the way. It wasn't easy. But we were fine then," Luca explained.

"Yeah, we just have to lay low, act human-y, like these people out there," Alberto pointed to the people outside by the streets, who were talking happily with each other, buying breakfast, and driving vehicles who were stuck in a traffic jam, "Yeah, they act casually."

While Daniela and Lorenzo glanced at each other with concerned eyes, Massimo was also concerned for the children. They were new to the place, and they might get lost or get exposed as sea monsters for Luca and Alberto.

Giulia saw the worried eyes of her father as she pleaded, "Per favore, Papa. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Ha! You're not our babysitter!" Alberto laughed.

"But I'm the only human in the team. When we first met, you were almost exposed. Glad I was there before you got yourselves wet," Giulia pointed, "I'll keep you from getting wet, and dry you two off when something happens."

Massimo sighed proudly, seeing how responsible and independent his daughter is to keep two of her best friends safe. He then told a worried Daniela, "They are full-grown independent children now, Signora. I think they know how to keep themselves safe from the outside world if they learn."

Daniela exhaled. She was a caring and protective mother towards Luca all her life, and she wanted to keep him safe. But, she also wanted her son to grow up, but she can't let him grow up if he can't go on his own, especially in a new place, not in Portorosso or Genova, "Alright. But just be careful."

The trio cheered in excitement.

"Won't you join us for breakfast first?" Lorenzo showed them a plate of Biscotti, but the three instead took a few of them.

"We'll take them to go," Alberto said before they headed out of the door.

"Remember, don't get wet!" Daniela instructed.

"Yes, mom!" Luca replied.

"Bring an extra towel, Giulietta!" Massimo reminded

"On it, Papa!" Giulia took out a white towel.

"Stay out of trouble, Alberto!"

"I won't get in trouble this time!" Alberto responded to his adoptive father.

Despite the fact that they decided to let their children go to see what Manila contained, the three parents were still concerned.

Grandma Paguro chuckled as she took a bite from her Biscotti, "Kids, they want to grow up so fast."

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On their way, the Underdogs walked down the street while eating their breakfast. Genova tended to have a lot more open roads for cars and other vehicles to drive on. The buildings were the same in being very big and tall, but were a little smaller compared to the ones in Manila, though the buildings that were hotels or apartments were vaguely larger than the other buildings. Despite the difference in building sizes, the sidewalks are filled with many people coming and going. So, in a way, it was like experiencing a human town or city again, but in a new town. The vehicles looked very different from the ones in Genova, they appeared to be smaller and had a lot of pale colors, like pale yellow, green, etc. They were also puffing smoke out through the gas pipe, which was hazardous for their health. The area around them was riddled with many shops and market tents that were placed up and selling items for people to buy, which they could easily see with the multiple people carrying bags of food home and/or someplace else. The marketplace was so big, many sellers who weren't inside the stores were outside using paper fans to scare off the flies. If you looked up by the building complexes, you'd also see dozens of clotheslines where people hung up their laundry to dry after washing them. And in the town square, there was a humongous, beautiful fountain spewing water high into the air, like it was putting on a little water show for them. Aside from the usual shops and houses, they saw a lot of beautifully designed structures that rivaled the buildings in Manila, like the giant archway near a church, and a tall spiritual school where people were seen going Inside to pray. "In tune with the holiday season, there was a light dusting of snow that decorated the streets, and at every lamp post and street signs, you could see parols hanging on streetlights and above the streets. There were also many small Christmas trees that were all decorated with lots of tinsel, and small star and sun shaped ornaments. Some of the shops and markets have little ceramic reindeer, snowman, and penguin figurines by the shop desks and windows. The streetlights were decorated with garland and small traces of tinsel, making it sparkle. By the water fountain, the water was lit up with the festive red and green colors to represent the colors of Christmas, putting on quite the show for the locals who stood around to watch. In other houses and apartment buildings, some parols were made of recyclable material, like empty plastic bottles, and plastic glasses.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Giulia asked.

"Well, as long as we know the street of our apartment, we know our way home," Alberto said.

When Luca was about to cross the street, Giulia pulled him back on the sidewalk, "Oh, be careful!" a line of cars passed by the street where Luca was about to cross. If Giulia didn't stop him, he would be running over by it, "Streets here are not so empty like in Portorosso."

"And no Vespas either," Alberto had been looking for Vespas around, but there wasn't any, though he pointed another vehicle that looked like one, "But that one look like it!" he pointed a fast vehicle that resembled a bike with no paddles, and only has engine showed at the bottom.

"I think that's different from Vespa. That's a motorcycle. I think that's faster than a Vespa," Giulia corrected.

When Giulia looked both ways to see if there were more vehicles coming, she waved a hand to make an upcoming car stop as she guided her two friends to cross the street.

When they made it to the other side, a horse carriage caught Luca's attention as he watched it going down the street with 3 or 4 people inside, "A carriage pulled by a horse. Classy."

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The Underdogs then reached the part of the city where there was a fountain in the middle, and small shops, cafes, and houses around them. The children close to their age or younger than them were in front of their homes, playing games. There were games the trio weren't familiar with, like throwing slippers at a can inside a circle, two kids using their feet and hands for another kid to jump over them, and a group of kids kicking a tiny object with their foot upwards repeatedly.

Just then, one of the kids accidentally kicked the tiny object called a washer up in the air before almost losing his balance, and landed in front of Luca's feet.

"Hi po!" A young boy called.

"Do you wanna play?" another boy asked.

Neither of the three knew how to respond since they were new here, but Luca didn't like to say no as he picked up a metal washer about the size of a bottle cap with colorful threads attached to it. He dropped the objects and kicked it like a ball, but it dropped back down on the ground.

The other kids stared at them before one of the young teenage boys demonstrated how to play the game by picking up the washer, and kicked it upwards with one foot and never let it touch the ground.

Luca then understood as he picked the washer again, and kicked it up with his foot while his other leg kept him standing. He continued to kick the small object as if there was no ending.

Giulia gasped surprisingly to see Luca had learned fast of this game while Alberto chuckled proudly.

"Whoa!" Luca couldn't believe it either. He was just learning and playing a game he never heard of, "I... I'm getting it!"

But then, Luca realized he almost let the washer fall on the ground as he tried to keep it up in the air, until he lost his balance and fell down, causing his foot to kick the washer hard.

The Filipino kids watched a washer flying and bouncing from the fountain, to a street light, to another building apartment, and hit a boy on the head, who was sitting on the table at a café and almost taking a sip from a cup of coffee along with his other two friends.

The boy winced in pain when a washer hit his forehead, and massaged that spot before standing, and shouted angrily, "Hey! Who did that?"

When he glared at a group of kids, they pointed at Luca, Alberto, and Giulia. Alberto was helping Luca get back up on his feet.

The Filipino boy noticed the trio as he never recognized them before. He walked casually towards them as his two friends followed him from behind, "Hmm... I've never seen you around here before."

"I am so sorry about my friend. You see, we came from Italy, and..." Giulia explained, but she was cut off short.

"Oh, you're foreigners, then? I guess that explains why you don't know how to play a game of Sipa."

"Is that what you call that game?" Luca asked.

"Allow me to welcome you," the boy greeted them with a short bow, "Maligayang pagdating sa Maynila, Pilipinas. I am so please to meet you."

Luca then replied with a smile, "Oh, then it's nice to meet you to—"

"I was being sarcastic," the boy admitted, "I have never seen Italians like you before. What was it like in Italy? Full of pastas and ketchup that can't make a different meal?"

"Hey, don't make fun of our Trenette al pesto!" Alberto shouted as he wanted to charge, but Giulia stopped his way.

"Alberto, let's not make any trouble on the first day!" She reminded

"Aaaww, what's the matter? Are you three chickens?" The Filipino boy teased as his friends laughed with him,

Now Giulia got mad for calling her and her friends chicken as she twirled with a deadly glare, "Look, signor, I..."

"Ugh! How can I be famous if everyone doesn't know my name?! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Paolo Valencia. 4th defending champion of Pilipinas Singing Competition, and I deserve a little more respect."

"You're not the boss of us!" Alberto shouted.

"We can't just follow you already, even if you're a champion of a certain competition!" Luca added while gritting his teeth.

"Guess the little one got teeth," Paolo laughed mockingly as he saw Luca as the weakest of the three because of his height. He was able to smell both Luca and Alberto as he responded in disgust, "And you two smell weird. Parang isda!"

"Hey, my brother and my friend smell fine! We lived near the ocean every summer," Giulia barked at Paolo, defending her friends that she treated as her own brothers.

"Oh, talaga? I'm so sorry. Let me make it up to the three of you... by giving you three a quick bath," Paolo smirked.

"What?" Luca, Alberto, and Giulia exclaimed as Paolo and his friends walked forward, causing the underdogs to move backward towards the fountain. The three knew they're in trouble now. If Luca and Alberto got wet with everyone around watching, Giulia has no time to make them dry quickly, and it would be too late to keep themselves safe in a new country they were living in.

"Oh, this is Ercole all over again!" Giulia spoke.

"I don't know who this Ercole person is, but I think he got into you first, and failed. I guess I have to finish his business then," Paolo chuckled evilly as the Underdogs could feel the back of their legs touch the edge of the fountain. Paolo then spoke to his two henchmen, "Crispin, Mateo, let's push them in!"

The three boys laughed as they were ready to push the Underdogs into the fountain. There was no way to escape, even if they tried to run, they would be caught for sure.

Before the boys' hands could touch them, they heard a loud female voice charging towards them.

"Hoy! Paolo! Tama na! Leave them alone!"

A Filipino girl has fair brown skin with short black hair that reaches the shoulders. She wore a blue hoodie with a pink butterfly at the lower left, and a pink plaid skirt. She also wore black sandals that were tied with old-fashioned metal roller skates. She pushed a wooden wagon full of three musical instruments: two acoustic guitars, and a drum set, onto Paolo, Crispin, and Yolando, shoving them away from the Underdogs.

"Are you okay?" Mariposa asked them as Luca nodded quietly.

"Oh, look who's here. Mariposa. Are you supposed to be practicing for the competition?" Paolo chuckled as he got up from the ground.

"I was, until I saw you bothering these kids!" Mariposa pointed, "I swear, I'm going to take you down!"

"Ha! You mean like a year ago? When you quit in the middle of your song? Because you couldn't stop 'boo-hoo'?" Paolo imitated crying with his hands moving in a crying fashion, "Because of your stage fright?"

"I didn't quit. They made me stop."

"I think that is worse for the same reason. Now, go away. I'm having fun with my new friends."

"They're coming with me. I'll take it from here," Mariposa pushed her instruments at the side of the wagon for more space as he told the trio, "Hop on," she then rolled away pushing her wagon while blowing a raspberry at the bully.

"Fine. Go start a club. For freaks!" Paolo laughed as Crispin and Mateo chuckled in agreement, "That girl won't survive without friends."

While the three bullies walked back to their table at the café, the four still watched them angrily.

"That guy definitely reminded me of Ercole," Alberto whispered.

"He's a jerk," Giulia said quietly.

Mariposa heard their conversation as she turned to them while continuing to push the wagon, "I'm terribly sorry about Paolo. He's always been like this to young people who were out of town."

"It's fine. We got used to kids like him," Luca said, "But why are you helping us?"

"Because... I don't want to let him hurt you, you know. I can't just sit around, and you suffer from his wrath," Mariposa confessed.

"Yeah, Luca, just like back home, we Underdogs have to stick together, right?" Giulia said.

"Under-huh?" Mariposa didn't get the word.

Alberto snickered as he told Giulia quietly, "I guess we're not the only ones who didn't know about that word for the first time we ever heard of it."

Giulia rolled her eyes before telling the Filipino girl, "Underdogs. You know, kids who are different, dressed weird, or a little sweatier than average," Mariposa suddenly stopped, and felt like shrinking into her jacket. Giulia then thought she was offending her, "Too much? Too much."

"So, are you here in Manila for the holidays?" Mariposa asked.

"Um, yes, we're here for winter vacation," Luca answered.

"That's good! Perfect place for Christmas vacations anyway," Mariposa then offered a hand to the trio, "Hi, I'm Mariposa Paruparo."

"I'm Luca. Luca Paguro," Luca accepted a handshake.

"I'm Giulia Marcovaldo," Giulia then shook hand with Mariposa's hand before tilting her head to point at Alberto, "This is Alberto Scorfano. He's my new adoptive brother."

"Oh," Mariposa understood as she offered a hand to Alberto, "Hi!"

"Piacere, Girolamo Trombetta," Alberto made the same handshake that he shared with Luca, "It's my thing to greet."

Mariposa was confused by the words he just said, "What does that mean?"

"Does that matter?"

"You're right, you're right! Well, good talk. Nice meeting you three. I gotta go practice for the competition."

When the trio hopped off the wagon, Mariposa started pushing her wagon. When the Underdogs were heading in the opposite direction, Mariposa stopped by the bench leaning against a wall of an apartment building and parked the wagon beside it.

Though she was supposed to be positive while practicing her music, she felt very sad because of how Paolo insulted her, especially of her past competitions that she lost every time she competed. Last year was the worst. She didn't finish her song yet, she cried in front of the judges because of her stage fright. She was then disqualified and brought off the stage.

Mariposa wasn't in a mood to sing, but she had to practice for the contest. She then strummed her guitar softly, slowly, and sadly,

Mariposa: Tayo'y mga Pinoy
Tayo'y hindi Kano

Just then, the sound Mariposa made caught Luca's attention as he stopped and turned to her. He saw her sitting on a bench, and played a song sadly. He wondered why Mariposa was so sad while playing music, and he thought music was supposed to make a person comfortable, but as what Luca saw on Mariposa, she didn't seem to be singing at all.

Luca started running towards Mariposa as Alberto and Giulia noticed him go.

Mariposa: Wag kang mahihiya
Kung ang ilong ay...

Mariposa sighed as she put her guitar down, and stared blankly. She didn't want to continue singing anymore.

Just then, Luca came by her, and asked, "Hi, uh... What is this competition you're talking about? Or what was that other guy talking about?"

Mariposa snapped out of her blank thoughts, and turned to see Luca again, "Oh, a singing competition? Oh, it's just a regular singing contest where people have to sing on stage, and if they get high points from the judges that follows the critiques, performance, clean voice, stage-presence, and if there were duet or band, that includes participation for each member and teamwork, they're the winners."

Alberto and Giulia then appeared to retrieve Luca, just in case he might get lost.

"Good. Great information. See ya!" Alberto said before turning away.

But Giulia started to get interested in what Mariposa told Luca as she questioned more, "So, what do you get when you win the competition?"

"Prize money, of course. I might help my pamilya pay the taxes and debt. That's the only thing I can help them with," the Filipino girl answered.

"Great, so you'll just win the competition," Luca smiled.

"The problem is I have to beat Paolo."

"That jerk? Okay, so you'll beat Paolo," Alberto said as he thought it was that easy to convince her.

"Huh. Really? Thinks I'll beat Paolo easily, this guy. First of all, JOIN THE CLUB! Ever since we're in kindergarten, that jerk makes my life miserable. In school, in summer, and even in winter. So, you got that right! No one's taking him down unless it's me!" Mariposa shouted, making the trio yank backwards in fear, "Second, this isn't any old singing competition. Not to me, at least. The whole Paruparo was known to be lovers of music, but I'm the only one in my nuclear family who was brave enough to go out there and share passion for music. I love to sing, and I want to share to the world what I can do. Winning this competition is the only way I can help my family, but I lose every year, especially when I get mocked by Paolo. And if I win, I'm able to make my and my family's dream come true."

Out of all the three, Giulia was so touched by Mariposa's story. It was somewhat related to her own goal when winning something challenging, except that Giulia's purpose of winning the Portorosso Cup race was to fit in with the other kids in Portorosso and no one will think that she didn't belong with them, but for Mariposa's case, she joined the singing contest to help her family, and carry her family legacy of loving music. Just like Giulia, Mariposa was humiliated by a bully when she didn't succeed in her goal. Giulia didn't want Mariposa to have the same suffering as she had.

"Will you excuse us for a second?" Giulia said as she gathered Luca and Alberto to huddle and talk privately.

Their heads were closed together as Alberto complained, "What?"

"I think we should help her," Giulia said.

"Help her what?" Luca asked.

"Winning the singing competition, of course."

"Are you crazy? We don't know anything about this girl or this singing competition!" Alberto yelled quietly.

"I know a little bit about music. I think I know how this goes," the red-haired girl replied.

"But how can we help her?" the short boy asked.

"We can join her team... or a band for that matter."

"Okay, I don't wanna argue, but I have never sang a song in my life," the tall one admitted.

"Let's just tell her that we're interested in singing with her."

"Well, I'm not! I feel bad for her, but that's not our problem. I mean, why do we have to?"

"Alberto, I think she's an underdog, like us. We underdogs have to look out for each other, remember? Besides, she was looking out for us when that Paolo guy picked us up. We're almost doomed if it weren't for her."

When Giulia explained, Alberto looked down as he realized she was right. He knew how it felt to be bullied when he and Luca came to Portorosso for the first time. Seeing Mariposa back there being insulted reminded him of himself, Luca, and Giulia when they were picked on by Ercole. And Mariposa did save them from almost getting exposed earlier. He guessed this is the way to repay here, "You made a pretty good point. And we don't know much about this place, so... you're right. Maybe she can help us spend our winter vacation while it lasts."

Both Luca and Giulia nodded as the three came into an agreement before separating themselves from the huddle with Mariposa waiting confusingly for them, and didn't hear much of their conversation.

"So... what are you guys talking about?" She asked.

"Congratulations, you're joining our team... band," Giulia declared.

Mariposa scoffed while holding her acoustic guitar, "Ha! I will perform solo."

"But, we're underdogs. We have to stick together," Luca reminded, making Mariposa roll her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay, Luca. She'd rather sing alone again. Maybe this time she won't cry as much," Alberto smirked, remembering Paolo's reminder of Mariposa disqualification last year.

Mariposa opened her mouth to protest, but she realized he was right. She was still afraid to perform on-stage alone, "You wanna be in my band, huh? Let's see what you got. What musical instruments do you play?"

"I played an acoustic guitar, but I left mine with my mom back home."

"Don't worry, you can borrow mine," Mariposa handed the guitar to Giulia before asking Luca and Alberto "What about you two? What do you play?"

"Um, uh...," Alberto was going to speak, but he didn't know how to answer that question since he never played a musical instrument before. The only musical instrument he thought he had was the phonograph.

But his adoptive sister covered for him by saying, "Alberto here, he-he plays the same guitar, too!"

"I do?" Alberto asked before realizing he had to play along, hoping the girl bought it "I mean, I do... play a guitar!"

"Really then?" Mariposa raised a brow before turning to Luca, "What about you?"

"Uh..." Luca stammered, but Giulia answered for him

"Luca..., well, since Alberto and I play guitars, he plays the drums!"

"Ah, bass drums, one of the most important instruments in the band. Let's see how you all play," Mariposa rubbed her hands, ready to watch and listen to them playing their instruments.

First, Giulia played the acoustic guitar. She played a few notes before turning them into real music. She knew how to play a guitar when she was younger in Genova, but she didn't play music that often.

"Not bad, not bad," Mariposa smiled before giving her plugged guitar to Alberto, "Alberto, your turn."

Alberto took the guitar. Honestly, he didn't know how to play a guitar. It wasn't part of his human collection back on the island. He was only copying how Giulia played the guitar as he only fretted the strings on the neck, and strummed about halfway between the sound hole and the bridge.

The sounds of the guitar Alberto made were off-key, which made Luca, Giulia, and Mariposa listen uncomfortably.

"Okay, okay! You can stop now!" Mariposa shouted as Alberto put the guitar down. She then turned to Luca, who was behind the drum set, "Luca, let's see how you play the drums."

Luca didn't know how to play the drums either, especially with this set of drums and cymbals. He was nervous when Mariposa was surveying him. To start his demo, Luca just tap his hand on one of the drums. Luca then looked back at Mariposa, who raised an eyebrow at him. Luca continued to play by using his hands. He tapped all the drums on the set, even the cymbals. He also has no idea about the pedals in front of his feet.

"Not bad, hands are fine, but drums have to be played with drumsticks," Mariposa showed two drumsticks, and gave them to Luca.

The little boy took the sticks, and tapped them on the drums, but he didn't have the beat to make music, he just tapped them randomly. He even tapped the bass drum and the ride cymbal with the sticks instead of using the pedals.

"Ugh! Okay, okay, I've heard enough," Mariposa groaned as Luca stopped playing, "I don't have any problems with you, Giulia," she told Giulia, who smiled confidentially, then told Luca and Alberto, "Except the two of you. You barely play a guitar, you don't know how to play drums. Hindi ito mabuti! I mean, where are you even from?"

"We're not telling you our secrets!" Alberto said.

Giulia chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe, we're from Italy."

"Italy? Ooh, this is gonna be tough, even for you three. The singing competition requires just two languages: English, and our main Philippine language, Tagalog," Mariposa said.

"We can still sing in English, if that's okay for you," Giulia suggested.

"Hmm," the Filipino looked down to think of it.

"Please, just give me and Alberto one more chance to prove ourselves," Luca pleaded.

"No," Mariposa held her hand up, "You don't need to prove yourselves. You want to learn how to play musical instruments. You have the hunger for it. That's the most important thing as a musician."

"I have more room for musical skills, to be honest," Alberto confessed with his hands on his hips.

"Perpekto! You play guitars and drums, and I sing," Mariposa decided.

The trio exclaimed happily as Luca, Alberto, and Giulia put their hands together in front of them, "Underdogs?" They looked smilingly at Mariposa, insisting her to join them.

Mariposa smiled as she put her own hand on theirs, "Underdogs," When the four got their hands separated from each other, the Filipino girl then announced, "Now we just need money for the entry fee... from my parents."

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Here she is! My new OC named Mariposa Paruparo! I hope you like her and you guys liked this chapter.

As the game mentioned here, Sipa is a game of kick, using a very small objects like a washer with colorful threads, usually plastic straw, attached to it. This game is called "pambansang laro" (national game).

The song Mariposa briefly sang was called "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy" (We are Filipinos), though the new version of the song wasn't invented yet until 2013.

Translations;

Italian:
Buongiorno – Good morning
Per favore – Please

Filipino:
Po – sir/ma'am/ms.
Maligayang pagdating sa Maynila, Pilipinas - Welcome to Manila, Philippines.
Parang isda – Lika a fish
talaga – Really
Tama na – That's enough
Hindi ito mabuti - This is not good!
Perpekto - Perfect

Please comment.