Winal looked around the burning kitchen. The tired and angry faces of Commander Cooper and his troops stared back at him. He didn't know what to do. And he didn't know what they were going to do to him.

Best case scenario, he ends up in a detention barracks or jail. Worst case, immediate execution.

Commander Cooper marched up to Winal, gore and bits of Huang Jian and Hong Jian dripping down his wing.

"Who are you, and what were you doing to my baby?"

That's right. Commander Cooper didn't know who he was in this form. Lying about who he was would only make things worse, case in point, Uchronia's disappointment. Why did she still have to be unconscious? She'd be able to explain her way out of this situation.

Winal's mandibles trembled. He had to say something. Anything. But he didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry, other me. Let me handle it," Mind Alwin said.

"What are you saying? I should do the talking. We all know what'll happen when Alwin's in charge," Mind Niwla said.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means."

Winal would gladly let one of them take control. The only question was who.

Niwla might be able to talk his way out of this problem using facts and logic, but those tend to be absent in the world of emotions. And Commander Cooper was deeply immersed in that.

Alwin, on the other hand, lacked logic himself. His unique way of thinking might just be what they needed to get out of here alive, and preferably with a passing grade.

The Crimson Gold King Ant shed his exoskeleton in favor of gooey Yin-Yang Slime jelly.

Alwin was back in control.

Even better, all of the damage done to his body was gone. Earlier, he had been reduced to just a Yin Slime. Now he was back in all of his Yin-Yang glory. This deserved a victory dance.

A jiggle to the left. A jiggle to the right. A jiggle here and a jiggle there. A jiggle everywhere.

"Alwin?" Commander Cooper gasped. "You were here this whole time? And you were an ant?"

Oh, right. He had to defuse the situation. Dancing probably didn't help. Or maybe it alleviated the tension. Who doesn't love a good dance?

Alwin observed Commander Cooper. Wings tensed up, and muscles burst at the seams of his clothes. His clawed feet dug into the tiled floor, dividing the tiles even further—not uniformly, Alwin might add.

The Alpha Wolves, Battle Rams, and Caesar Salads simply looked at him, confused. Their weapons were lowered at the peculiar sight, only to be instantly raised when they remembered the situation they were in.

The dancing might've made everything worse. Whoops.

"It's a long story," Alwin said.

"Talk. We have plenty of time."

"We actually don't." Alwin looked at the burning fire that crept closer. "Plus, I have some valuable information."

"More valuable than my baby?"

Alwin grinned internally. He knew exactly what to say to charm Commander Cooper. Charm in a get-on-his-good-side kind of way and definitely not the romantic type. He was a minor for Cor's sake. Just like how this was a minor interruption to his very excellent explanation.

"Nope. Your baby is the most important thing in the whole wide world. My information is actually the third most valuable thing I have."

"And what's the second?"

"The tale of how Cooper Trooper fought those Cultivators and ended up here. All before he was even one day old, I might add."

The slightest smirk flashed across Commander Cooper's beak before he steeled himself, the smile disappearing in a blink.

"Speak."

"You see, back in the tent, Cooper Trooper whispered to us about how he wanted to help his daddy. To do that, he came up with a plan. It was a genius plan. One that the three of us fervently decided to go against the moment we were told the details."

"Which is?"

"Cooper Trooper wanted to use himself as bait."

"What!"

Commander Cooper stomped on the ground, creating a small crater. Tremors rippled throughout the area. Debris from the half-broken ceiling came tumbling down, while members of Tentative Camp were knocked down to their feet. What a pathetic show by them. Something as trivial as a mini-quake would never bring him down.

Reason being, Alwin was always at floor level. Therefore, he could never be brought down. Instead, the quake travelled up his body, causing his jelly to jiggle. Commander Cooper was helping him perform his victory dance. It was a sign that he was going in the right direction.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"That was our reaction, too!" Alwin exclaimed. "We told him no, but Cooper Trooper was too strong and too fast. Clearly, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. It plonked straight down. Cooper Trooper leapt into the enemy's arms when they snuck into the camp. We had no choice but to follow his lead."

"They what?" Commander Cooper roared once more.

"The Cultivators snuck into the camp and Cooper Trooper allowed himself to be egg-napped. Please try to keep up."

"How did those disgusting humans infiltrate the camp? How?"

This time, Commander Cooper's rage was directed at his troops. Murmurs spread throughout the crowd as their bodies sank. Leaves drooped, ears flopped, and horns tooted out a blue tune.

"They dug a secret tunnel." Alwin suddenly blurted out a musical, "Secret tunnel!"

"Now, where was I? Oh, right. We caught up with Cooper Trooper and protected him to the best of our ability. Why else do you think my friends got knocked out? We took all of the hits for him."

Commander Cooper was fuming, trembling with restrained fury.

"Then why did your friend bring my baby all the way here? What sort of protection is that?"

"She didn't. What she was carrying was a body double, or an egg double in this case. It was the only way to bring you here so that we could wipe out the sect in one fell swoop. This whole time, the real Cooper Trooper was here, and I was protecting him. See for yourself. There's not even a scratch on his shell."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that you took my baby deep into enemy territory."

"In my defense, Cooper Trooper brought himself into the enemy territory so that the sect could be eliminated. He wanted to help give his daddy more free time to actually be with him, instead of always being buried in work."

Commander Cooper unclenched his fist. A tear beading up in his eye.

"My baby did all this for me? Because I've been too busy working and didn't spend enough time with him? Oh Cor, I've been a terrible father." He hugged Cooper Trooper even tighter and rubbed his beak up and down against the shell.

"No, you're a great father. That's why you've got such an amazing kid. Me and my squad just did everything we could to help support Cooper Trooper on his mission. We were just following his orders."

Alwin summoned out a Spirit Hand to salute Cooper Trooper.

"My baby planned out this entire mission? Are you sure? Are you really sure?"

"So sure, my name might as well be Shirley."

Commander Cooper bent down and embraced him in a hug so tight, it nearly turned him into a stress ball. Drips of red were smudged all over Alwin's otherwise pristine body. On a separate note, could monsters contract human diseases?

"Oh, thank you. Thank you for helping my baby be the leader I always knew he could be. This whole time, I've been following his lead without even realizing it. He'll grow up to be a fine soldier."

"Yup," Alwin rasped out. "Also, too tight."

"Sorry, young recruit." Commander Cooper gently loosened his grip and placed Alwin down. "I hope you can forgive me for my earlier outburst."

"No worries. Also, do you happen to have a pen and paper with you?"

Commander Cooper dug his wing into one of the many pockets on his camo pants. From it, he pulled out a sheet of crumbled paper stained with drops of blood and a feathered pen.

"Here you go, lad. What's this for?"

"Orders from Cooper Trooper. He wanted me to relay some vital information."

The Spirit Hands grabbed the pen and paper and began drawing. On the sheet, a detailed layout of the Crimson Gold Sect's interior was being sketched out. Different symbols were etched above certain key areas: wavy lines to demarcate a body of water or crossed swords for the armory. Finally, a star was added to symbolize their current location.

"We need to thoroughly eliminate all members of the Crimson Gold Sect. This map covers most of the layout. Use it to wipe those Cultivators off the face of the planet."

Alwin handed it over to Commander Cooper, who received it with reservation. His eyes scanned the details, then lifted to his troops. Blood, sweat, and tears covered every inch of their body.

"I'm not sure, lad. We weren't prepared to raid the sect, and we're quite exhausted now as a result."

"It was Cooper Trooper's final order to me, sir. He said that this way, daddy would have fewer things to worry about and we'll have more time to spend together."

"You heard my baby!" Commander Cooper boomed and tossed the piece of paper at Sergeant Fangfang's face. The Sergeant flinched. Wraps of medical tape were wrapped around his skull, no thanks to Gary Stew's pan toss.

"The whole lot of you! Eliminate the last dregs of this lousy sect so that they may never harm another monster again!"

That was all it took to rouse the morale of the weary troops. They roared and pumped their weapons into the air, before charging off back into the hallway to destroy the Crimson Gold Sect once and for all.

Only Commander Cooper remained, still snuggling Cooper Trooper amongst the burning rubble.

"Aren't you going to help them?" Alwin asked.

"No. My troops will be able to handle it. What we really need to be worried about are their Elders. We were lucky that they weren't here when we launched our attack. If not, there would've been a lot more casualties. Right now, I need to make sure my baby is safe before they launch a revenge strike when they return."

Commander Cooper bent down and picked Alwin up, placing him on his shoulder. As he strode off, he made sure to grab Uchronia and Gus as well.

"I'm heading back to camp first. After what you've done to help Cooper Trooper on his mission, you deserve a break. I'll be issuing a passing grade as well. Thank you for your help, recruit."

"No problem, sir."

Commander Cooper started sprinting down the hallway. He disregarded the perfectly good pathways and instead chose to barrel through wall after wall after wall. Rubble and debris exploded outward, but a huge wing protected them from the shrapnel. In no time, they were out of the sect.

He picked up speed, running even faster through the forest. Trees blurred past. Wind caused his folds to jiggle. In no time at all, they were back at camp.

It was a miracle, Uchronia and Gus had managed to outrun them. No wonder, she was all out of Mana. As far as Alwin was aware, Commander Cooper did all of that only using pure muscle.

The camp was nearly empty. Only a handful of guards were left in the otherwise barren tent. Not even his classmates were there.

"Where is everyone?" Alwin asked.

"In light of what happened, I've sent your classmates back. They'll need to return at a later date to complete their final exam."

"So you're saying, we're the only squad to pass the final exam?"

"In a way, yes."

"Awesome!"

Alwin performed his signature victory dance atop Commander Cooper's shoulder. This time, it earned him a smirk instead of a scowl. That was progress.

However, that smirk was wiped out, and Commander Cooper came to a screeching halt. Alwin was too engrossed in his dance and was thrown clean off his perch.

Looks like there were things that could bring him down after all.

"What's wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?" Alwin asked.

Commander Cooper shook his head. His beak hung low. Eyes staring straight ahead, unblinking.

Alwin traced his gaze to a figure standing just outside Cooper Troopers' tent. A large turtle, hunched over, with a spiky mossy green shell..

Who was that? And why was Commander Cooper so afraid?

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