It had only been two hours and they were already driving each other crazy. But after half an hour of solid arguing they finally came to a conclusion.
"Ok Skipper I don't like you, and you don't like me." Classified started.
"'Don't like' is an understatement, wolfie." Skipper teased.
"Anyway, it doesn't look like we are getting out of here until we get along, which isn't going to happen anytime soon. So I propose a solution." Classified continued
"And what solution is that?" Skipper questioned.
Classified searched under his bed for a few minutes and got out some duck tape. He set it aside and headed for the chest of drawers on the other side of the room. He took all the pictures and other items off it and lied it down against the wall. After he took the draws out of it and set them in the far corner of the room. Then he place one of two spare blanket in the base of the chest of drawers, placed a spare pillow on one side and place the other blanket on top.
"Ok what's that?" Skipper said confused.
"Your bed." Classified said bluntly, placing a long stripe of duck tape along the middle of his room.
Skipper looked at it confused. He hopped in it and look around. It was surprisingly comfy. He started to watch the wolf as he finished place the long stripe of tape.
"Ok, genius what's that for?" Skipper said giving the wolf a strange look.
"A divider. You stay on your side and I'll stay on mine. That way I don't have to worry about you breaking my stuff." Classified said as he approached his bed.
"Breaking your stuff? Oh this your room isn't it?" Skipper said as he became to walk over to the bunch of pictures the wolf set aside, when he lied the chest of drawers on the floor.
"Yes this my room and I..."
"Who is this nerd." Skipper said picking up a photo of a wolf in graduation uniform with a pair of thick black glasses with three other wolves with them.
"HEY! THAT'S PRIVATE! GIVE IT BACK!" Classified yelled and he tried to snatch the photo back from Skipper.
"Tell me who this is and I'll give it back to you." Skipper clarified.
"Fine." Classified sighed. "It's me, my parents and my sister at my spy college graduation."
Skipper looked back at the photo then back at Classified and smirked.
"You were a nerd." Skipper laughed. "You were such a nerd. What happened?!"
"I wear contacts but I still have to wear my glasses occasionally." Classified pouted
"You wear contacts?" Skipper asked.
"Yes my parents couldn't afford eye surgery." Classified explained.
Skipper put the photo down and went to his bed.
"Did I say something wrong?" Classified asked.
"No, just leave me alone." Skipper pouted.
Classified said nothing and just went to his bed.
Two days after that their teams were starting to worry.
"Kowalski, I thought you said they would be in stage three by now." Private said in concern.
"Yes, I thought they would be by now, but at least they're out of stage one." Kowalski thought.
"Rell rhat's ra rtart ri ruess." Rico said, looking on the bright side of the situation.
"Perhaps we should speed up the process." Kowalski suggested.
"How?" Short Fuse asked.
Kowalski went to Rico and pulled out a Frank Sinatra record.
"How did you get that from Classified's room." Eva asked
"We didn't, this is Skipper copy, and it's how we are going them up to stage three." Kowalski said walking over to the exit.
Back in Classified's room, Skipper was going through the wolf stuff.
"What with all the scenic artwork?" Skipper asked flipping through a large notebook filled with very detailed drawings.
Classified sighed "everyone has a secret talent, mine's art."
"Huh."
"So you're telling me, you don't have a secret talent." Classified raise an eyebrow.
Skipper wasn't sure if he trusted the wolf with his secrets yet, so he decided to lie.
"NO! No I don't. Don't be stupid of course I don't." Skipper lied, crossing his flippers and avoiding the wolf's glance.
"Come on you know mine. Can I know yours?" The wolf asked.
Skipper still wasn't sure. But it might be the only way to get out of this room. Since they have been in the room for three days, he thought it was time for him to talk.
"Fine! I can sorta, kinda...sing." Skipper said through his beak.
"What was that I couldn't hear you." Classified teased.
"I said I can sing." Skipper repeated.
"Really? I never expected you to have a singing voice." Classified said in surprise.
"Yeah. I'd sing Private to sleep when he first moved to Central Park Zoo." Skipper explained.
Just then the door opened and a record slid across the ground.
"It's my Frank Sinatra record." Skipper said with a smile
"You like Frank Sinatra?" Classified said in shock.
"Yeah, love him." Skipper said.
"I've got a record player if you want to listen to it." Classified suggested
"Do you mind?" Skipper asked.
"Not at all." Classified said as he pushed a button revealing a old record player.
Skipper handed the record to the wolf, who placed it on the player and lined it up with the third song. Skipper started to tap his foot which made Classified giggled a bit but was cut short when he heard the penguin sing.
"Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today. I want to be apart of it, New York, New York.
These vagabond shoes, they're longing to stray. Right through the very heart of it, New York, New York." Skipper sang without realising it.
"You weren't kidding when you said you could sing." Classified smiled.
Skipper blushed and let out a small laugh.
"You actually aren't half bad, Skipper." Classified said, heading towards his bed.
"Wow Classified. I didn't know compliments were in your vocabulary." Skipper teased.
"Don't get used to it, Skippy." Classified laughed, putting his paws behind his head.
Skipper just gave the wolf an unamused look before heading to bed himself. Classified let out a sigh, something been bothering him for a while now and since they've been getting towards a low rank friendship, he thought he'd go ahead and ask.
"Skipper can I ask you something." Classified asked the penguin.
"Umm...sure I guess." The penguin responded poking his head out of his bed.
"What's the deal with you and the other pengwings? Are guys actually family? I mean what's your story?" Classified continued.
Skipper let out a sad sigh. "Technically, we aren't really related but we are the only family we have." The penguin answered.
"Then why do you call each other brothers then if you're not related?" Classified questioned.
"Because we wandered off from our group to rescue our little Private." Skipper explained.
"But aren't your parents worried about you?" Classified got all concerned.
"No they're not." Skipper said sadly.
"How do you know?" Classified interrogated.
"I know because they don't exist." Skipper clarified.
"They have to, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Classified continued to question.
"Well course of they have to, I just don't know where." Skipper said getting a little sadder.
"What do you mean by that." Classified said curiously.
"Kowalski, Rico and I lost our parents when we were migrating and we never found them. And Private was abandoned by his when he was an egg. So it's only ideal that we united and became a family." Skipper remembered.
"That explains why your very strict on Private's activity. You just don't want him to get hurt again." Classified said, looking straight at Skipper.
"Yeah." Skipper responded.
"Listen Skipper." Classified began. "I'm sorry for calling you pathetic and useless and a bad leader." He finished.
"I guess I'm sorry too. I have pushed you to your limits a few times and destroyed more than half the base." Skipper said sincerely.
Classified and Skipper smiled at each.
"Now that I look back at it now. It's funny that we argued at all." Skipper smirked.
"Yeah, it is." Classified agreed.
"Does this mean we're friends now." Skipper asked.
"I suppose so." Classified answered.
"And does that mean my team and I can come back to North Wind." Skipper smiled.
"I think I can managed that. IF you control your team better." Classified confirmed, turning to his side, still looking at the penguin.
"I can manage that." Skipper agreed.
However in the briefing room Private, Corporal and Short Fuse were busy watching their leaders getting along.
"Finally they're in stage four." Short Fuse said in relief.
"I know. All we need to do now is confirm with the others if they're ready to come out." Private responded.
"I think they are." Kowalski said from behind them.
"Really?!" Private said excitedly, turning around to face Kowalski.
"We just have to keep an eye on them. To make sure the isolation didn't get to their heads." Kowalski explained.
"When can we let them out?" Private asked.
Kowalski thought about it for a moment and looked back on their process.
"With what they started off and what they are now, I think they could be released...tomorrow." Kowalski suggested.
They all were really excited but also worried. Would all their hard work pay off or would it go down the drain. None of them really knew.