As Michael and Vivi walked inside the building, they heard the sound of something that did not belong in a war: laughter.
"Hmm? I smell…joy…so yummy…" Vivi muttered, sniffing the air inside the building. She could feel an intense emotion coming from the people inside, and immediately, she wanted to go over there and consume their emotions.
"Wait," Michael said as he held her by the wings. "No consuming emotions," he warned her.
Vivi disappointedly flew back to Michael's shoulder and pouted.
Michael then walked inside and saw that the whole place was surrounded by the Shadows of Reborn. Orcanine and Orcupine Orcs roamed around the room as they all consulted their own shadows for information.
When he designed this room, he thought of all those action movies he had seen in his previous life. He modeled this room to be like those super secret top rooms, with multiple screens that showed surveillance footage and a radar pinging every second.
He hadn't invented televisions yet, so he had to use the Shadows' skills to create a pseudo CCTV screen on the four walls.
There were also Shadow Orcs in their desks watching over these 'screens' and relaying information in real-time to other Orcs.
At the very center of the room was the 3d topographical map that he and Grieve used the other night.
The two Orc Chieftains, Narito and Sasuki were currently looking over this map, discussing their plans.
"This looks good," he complimented them. They did a great job in executing his designs.
However, they didn't seem to hear him at all. They were too busy in their screaming arguments at each other.
"BU TO TO! I think that we should attack the bandits first," Narito said, slapping his chest to assert dominance.
"That is foolish, RAH TA TA! We should let them come to our fort so that we can use our defenses to whittle down their numbers."
The two Chieftains were once again in a battle of wits to find the best course of actions. Of course, the Orcanine Chieftain would suggest an all-out attack that their group was best known for. Conversely, the Orcupine Chieftain would rather stay passive and defend the fort, which their group was most adept at doing.
This was one of the reasons why the two Orc tribes didn't get along in the first place.
"Ooooh! A rivalry! Hate and love, friendship and hostility. Those emotions are very rare!" Vivi said, flying over the two Orc Chieftains.
Upon hearing this, Narito and Sasuki both turned to Vivi.
"Love? Preposterous!"
"There is no friendship between us!"
It was only now that they noticed Michael and bowed respectfully at him. But even doing so, they couldn't help but fight against each other. Narito tried to muscle out Sasuki, and Sasuki tried to jab Narito with his quills.
"Boss! Great to see you here, but who is she?" Narito asked.
"Her name's Vivi. She's one of the Fairies."
"Great to meet you, Vivi. but you are completely wrong. There is no love lost between us two."
"That, I agree with you."
Vivi shrugged her shoulders. "It's clear as day to any Fairy that can sense emotion. You two secretly want to be buddies."
"WHAT?!"
"NO WAY!"
The two Orc Chieftains once again got into their eternal argument. At this point, even the other Orcupine and Orcanine Shadow Orcs were tired of this routine. Ever since they had become Rebornians, they had all let go of the hate they had for each other. It was only the Chieftains who remained divided between each other.
Vivi's words were like pouring gasoline on fire.
The mischievous Fairy couldn't hold out her laugh and chuckled as she turned around, proud at what she had done, only to see Michael looking at her with squinted eyes.
"Hehe old habits die hard," she said, scratching her head. "Don't worry, I didn't eat their emotions!"
Michael had to give her props. She was very good at manipulating people to show their emotions.
"Nevermind that. Where's the Dragonborns? Where's Fudge? Why do I hear laughter in this building?" he finally asked the Chieftains.
If they stayed here any longer, Vivi could influence the two in actually fighting each other.
"They're all in the next room over there," one of the Orcupine Shadow Orcs said. "They told us not to disturb them as they are currently busy preparing for the upcoming battle."
Michael looked over to the room. He heard nothing but muffled laughter.
"Uhuh, sure they are," he said, sarcastically.
He walked over to the room and immediately pushed the door open, revealing the Dragonborns.
"Hey, I told you not to disturb—oh…Master, you're here!"
"Bro Mike! Wassup!"
"Umm….they forced me to play…"
While every Rebornian was busy sharpening swords, digging trenches, these guys were all busy playing Uno!
"Master! Come play!"
Of course, Fudge would be here. He was always the mastermind in getting everybody to slack off.
Beside him was Zion, who seemed to be losing since he had almost a whole stack of Uno cards in his hands.
And surprisingly, even the shy Umisu was caught up in the two mischievous kids. She was the one winning, with only two cards left in her hand.
"Michael, nice of you to join us. If I beat you, will you finally get me ice cream?"
Even Yuna was playing. Even though he told her not to come since it was dangerous, she still came anyway.
"Why are you here?" he asked her.
"Don't worry," she shrugged his concerns. "Agnes is here too. And besides, I can protect myself just fine. Don't forget. I'm stronger than you, at least, physically anyway."
Michael wanted to retort, but she was right. She could have been a Heavenly Knight, after all.
"Fufu…overprotective already, my son?"
Michael looked over to the woman sitting next to Yuna and was stunned to see his mother here of all places.
"Mom?! Why are you here?"
She was even playing Uno with Fudge and the others!
"I'm here to introduce myself to your friends! You haven't even let me meet them before. And you haven't visited us in years! Oh the horror! If I didn't have Michael Too with me, I would simply cease to exist."
Michael felt his cheeks flush as she showed everyone the wooden statue of him. He didn't even want to think about where she stored that.
"Oh, how cute!" Yuna said.
"Master! He looks just like you!" Fudge mentioned.
"I…want to have one too…" Umisu shyly said.
"Hehe, boss. You do look cute," Jaku said, teasing him.
"Shut up."
Jaku laid on the side, looking like he had just woken up from his sleep even though he had a few Uno cards in his hands.
Michael didn't know what was happening. He was too stunned, seeing his mother appear in this place when he hadn't seen her in a while.
"How did you even get here, Mom?"
"Oh you know," Lylia said, waving her hands. "I just used one of your Reborn Taxis to Angora City. There, I met with the wonderful Yuna who told me about what you're doing here. And so, I went with her."
"What about Dad?"
"He's back at Angora City. He's fine. He's not suited to be here anyway."
Michael wanted to retort that she didn't belong here too, but then he remembered, she did.
There was a reason why her title used to be called the 'Earthen Witch of the West.'