"Number 32, you are needed immediately at Gate 309. Please hurry- it is an emergency." Robin "Puck" Goodfellow groaned, rolling on his cot. Slumping out of bed, he tromped slowly to the metal drawer on the far side of his tiny room and, upon finding a shirt and pants that were only slightly wrinkled, threw them on.
"Number 32, you are needed immediately at Gate 309. Please hurry- it is an emergency." The voice emitting from the tinny speaker repeated. Puck looked up and glared at the obtrusive box.
"Shut up." He mumbled, continuing to take his own time. Trudging over to the portable bassinet near his bed, he splashed his face a couple times and ran a hand through his mussed blonde hair.
"Number 32, you are needed immediately at Gate 309. Please hurry- it is an emergency."
Puck rolled his eyes, moving back to the side of the bed to put on his shoes.
"Number 32, yo…" An immense crackling was issued from the speaker before being replaced with a gruff, manly voice. "Puck, if your butt is not over here by the time I count to twenty, I'm going to kick you from the academy, you hear? I don't care how good you are at those recons. So if you know what's good for you, get a move on! I'm not going to tell you twice."
Puck chuckled, imagining the flustered, red faced man that was undoubtedly at the other end- General Kidsby, his commanding officer. Despite the threat, Robin knew Kidsby could never fire him; only the Dean could expel someone, and besides, he was the best of the best at what he did. There was no way Kidsby would ever seriously consider trying to kick him from the academy.
Suddenly, a loud rapping noise came from the door to his room. "Kid, get a move on! I counted to twenty almost ten minutes ago! Oh, you're going to be expelled for sure- just wait 'ntil the Dean hears this…"
Puck pushed open the door, startling the short, chubby man from his speech. "I'm ready, jeez, Commander. No need to yell." Smirking, the teen pushed past the angry general and strutted confidently down the narrow halls.
"Robin, you're going the wrong way." General Kidsby called after him, exasperated. Puck only snorted in response.
The commander sighed. "You know a short cut, don't you?" Puck remained silent, knowing Kidsby would soon follow him through the winding tunnels. When the heavy pounding of the general's footsteps reached his ears, he smiled to himself. A short cut for me, but not for you, he thought to himself mischievously.
A short five-minute walk and a key-card door later, Robin and the commander found themselves looking down at an un-jumpable vat of sewage waste. Puck was snickering silently at the officer's cross expression. Although both of them were fairies, General Kidsby did not have wings, due to a failed mission during his earlier days at the academy. He and five other men were ambushed by Amazons, tall, female warriors with a no-trespassers rule that they took very seriously. During the sabotage, one of the Amazons had cut off his wings. Unfortunately, none of the fairies on that mission had been healers, so the magic hadn't gone right and he'd ended up with only two small pink stubs protruding from between his shoulder blades in memory of the incident.
"Puck, this isn't funny," the commander said as Puck flew across. "You know I can't fly, and…" General Kidsby's eyes widened as he patted his pockets frantically. His eyes narrowed. "And you stole my key card so I can't leave until I swim across."
"Yup," Puck replied nonchalantly, popping the 'p'. "Have fun."
