Fusion and Iron

12. The Birthday Boy

In the heart of a cozy white kitchen, the air was filled with the fresh smell of sizzling meat and toasted buns. Resting enticingly on the countertop on a silver tray lay a pair of thick burgers. Its golden-brown exterior glistened with grease, perfectly melted cheese slowly trailing between ingredients like a velvet blanket. Crisp lettuce and ripe tomato slices easily peeked out from in between the buns, heightening the stack itself.
Beside the burgers sat a gleaming silver desk bell, its polished surface radiating under the glow of the kitchen lights.

Ding! Ding!

A light-blue skinned hand smacked on the bell, tucking itself inside a white chef's coat. A tall, skinny figure had his back turned, catering to a handful of more burgers on a steaming stove getting grilled. A slight shrill voice spoke up as he yelled through the sharp hissing, "Chowder! Come get these burgers before they get cold! We got lots of hungry soldiers today and I do not want to disappoint!"

Dashing from the other side of the kitchen on stubby legs came a small, violet cat-like boy. A hand held on tightly to his purple hat while the other had an empty tray in hand; due to his chubby shape, he breathed heavily while he legged it and scooped up the two burgers. "Sorry Mung! It's a storm out there!"

While he took advantage of the opportunity, the older man turned his head over to reveal his large white mustache and smiled. He patted the boy on the head a little bit and gestured with a spatula, "It's alright, I'm not mad. Now get out there and show me how to serve!"

With the burgers in hand, Chowder did a salute and stuck out his tongue before racing back to the other side of the kitchen.

Standing in between two freezers, a larger beige rock monster was bent over. His large rump stuck out, slightly shaking left and right as a muffled grumble left him. Currently, his hands held onto a large ice cream scooper, fighting through some really tough thrice cream cramped in large, frozen tubs.

Bump!

Chowder accidentally smacked into his butt, causing him to stumble and fall in over a little bit. He tripped on himself, throwing the burgers forward only to catch them and let out a gasp in shock.

The monster peaked his long head up and waved a fist, "Radda! Radda Radda!"

"Sorry Schnitzel!" the boy replied hastily and made his way forward.

He grumbled to himself, "Radda.."

"Schnitzel!" Mung shouted from the other side of the kitchen. "How long until the birthday cake is ready?!"

He peered his head over, holding up a scoop of thrice cream, and reached over for a silver bowl on the table. "Radda.. Radda? Radda."

Mung turned his head back, squinting at the man, and gestured with a spatula. "I want to make sure that cake is in pristine shape!"

Back over at the front counter, Chowder jumped up on a stool and reached over through a windowsill. From the other side, a pair of agents dressed in all black with sunglasses stood and eagerly waited in line. Both of them had empty trays in hand, eagerly waiting to see what they had in store until they noticed the boy come climbing up.

"Here are your burgers! Feel free to treat yourself to as many curly fries as you'd like in that little booth over there. They restock every few minutes!" Chowder panted, slapping both patties straight onto their trays.

From the other side of the windowsill, a large cafeteria housing nearly several hundred soldiers was currently occupied. All sorts of agents from all over Sector V were currently waiting for a grant event to occur; balloons and decorations had been set up all over in a hue of red. Some of the windows in this large, rectangular building were open, a soft breeze blowing through to ease the heat.

Many long tables with dozens of seats created a labyrinth within the building, taken by all sorts of units. Even at one table towards the corner, some of the freshest academy recruits sat together. Identifiable by their chromatic armor, the lot of them sat together with their bright orange rifles lying flat out on the table with nowhere else to put them. There was no food for any of them, at least not yet. Considering they were nearly children and the fresh batch to this war, they got the food last before anyone else.