Alwin looked at Commander Cooper. The fire in his eyes had been extinguished by a cold blanket of dread that clung to him. His beak trembled, and his once full cheeks looked like they had been hollowed out.

How could a turtle make the uber macho musclehead chicken into, well... a chicken?

"Who's that?" Alwin asked.

"That is both my sweetest dream and worst nightmare." Commander Cooper gulped. "That's my wife."

"Mrs. Cooper? We'd better say hello. It's only polite," Alwin said.

Before Commander Cooper could protest, Alwin was already rolling toward the huge turtle. The giant bird had his wings stretched out, but it was no use. As he watched Alwin roll across the ground without a care in the world, he bit his wings in a nervous panic.

The huge turtle pulled the tent's flap to the side and peered into it. A puzzled grumble emanated from her as she cocked her head.

Alwin skidded to a halt and got a good look at her. She was similar to one of his classmates, Tess, the Lotus Turtle. Although the 'turtle' aspect was where the similarities ended. Tess walked around on all fours while the turtle in front of him stood tall on two legs. And while both their shells were green, Tess' was simply a large lotus leaf. The one in front of him was a hard, green mossy shell with large, bone-white spikes protruding out of it.

Long fiery red hair, that reminded him of the flames that rampaged through Gary Stew's kitchen, flowed down her back. It extended past her shoulder, draping over the multiple spikes. Her scales were bright yellow with thick muscles, though not as large as Commander Cooper's, not at all hidden beneath them.

As she turned around, annoyed that whatever she was searching for wasn't in the tent, Alwin got a good look at her front. Most people would've focused on her ab-laden torso that poked through her green and brown camo singlet, but Alwin wasn't most people. Instead, he honed in on her hands, more specifically, the large claws at the end of her fingertips. They were like the spikes on her shell, except curved and infinitely more glossy.

Despite her hardened and muscular appearance, Mrs. Cooper still took the time to embrace her feminine side. Strong maternal instincts bore their fruit within her nails. Being separated from her child must've been too much to bear. Each claw portrayed the image of a whole egg, smooth against a glossy green backdrop. It was Cooper Trooper. This way, he'd always be right with her.

She took a step forward and stopped just before her foot collided with Alwin. He knew that he was black, white, and round like a football, but that didn't mean it was a free invitation to kick him.

"Sorry. I didn't see you down there. If you'll excuse me," Mrs. Cooper said.

"That's alright. It just means my sneaking skills are improving," Alwin chirped. "Also, what are you looking for, Mrs. Cooper?"

"Who are you? How do you know who I am? In fact, you don't look like a troop of Tentative Camp." She brandished her claws at Alwin, aiming those lovely egg-covered nails at his face.

"That's because I'm not."

Mrs. Cooper brought her claws even closer. The tiny Cooper Troopers pressed against his jelly cheeks.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? And why are you sneaking around?" she snarled, baring her sharp teeth now.

"I'm Alwin. I'm here for my final exam. And I am not sneaking around. Also, you should be careful with your nails. I don't want Cooper Trooper to be hurt, even if it's just the ones painted on your claws."

"You know my child? Where is he? And what have you done with him?"

"I was looking after him. He's right there."

Alwin turned around. He expected to find Commander Cooper cradling Cooper Trooper in his arms, standing right behind him.

The moment Mr. and Mrs. Cooper locked eyes with each other, they'd run toward each other in slo-mo while the background would suddenly morph into a sunset even though it was high noon and they were stuck inside of a giant tent with a painted sky. They'd hug each other in a loving embrace and spin in a circle, with Cooper Trooper right in the middle.

Instead, the only thing directly behind him was empty space.

Where did Commander Cooper go? Had he been hallucinating everything this whole time? He did have voices in his head, each one with a distinct personality. Was he finally admitting that he may have more than a single screw loose?

Nope.

Alwin angled his body thirty degrees to the left. There, tip-toeing, in a completely non-discrete manner, was Commander Cooper. Their eyes met, and the large chicken's instantly shot up to Mrs. Cooper.

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Commander Cooper started running, and so did Mrs. Cooper. Except that Commander Cooper was running in the complete opposite direction.

He sprinted away from his wife. She sprinted toward his husband.

"Come back here, Cooper!" she yelled.

Her feet pounded against the ground, causing mini tremors in a small radius around her. Despite her heft and being a turtle, she moved with surprising speed. Though nowhere close to Commander Cooper's speed. Even so, he needed to reduce his weight. To do that, he got rid of unnecessary burdens.

He threw Gus and Uchronia in the air.

Now, it was Alwin's turn to run, roll in his case. He rolled toward his still-unconscious friends. As he neared them, he summoned out his Spirit Hands. They floated up, ready to catch their limp bodies.

"Inverse Shell!" Mrs. Cooper shouted.

A shimmering aura blanketed Tentative Camp. Above them, against the backdrop of the painted sky, was the faintest image of a giant shell. It didn't seem to be coming down to crush them, so Alwin paid it no mind.

But for some reason, the Spirit Hands did. They slowed down, still moving toward his friends, but at a much slower pace. Uchronia and Gus slowed down, too, as if gravity wasn't feeling it today. That was weird, but nothing major.

When Alwin tried to turn, he found himself moving at a glacial pace. No matter how much he willed his body to move, it refused to go any faster, as if he were wallowing in extremely thick pudding. After what felt like an eternity, though it was just ten seconds, he finally managed to face the source of the slowness.

If Mrs. Cooper had already been slow before activating her skill, now she must've been moving at a speed that made molasses look like the fastest thing alive. What a waste of Mana.

Alwin was wrong.

Mrs. Cooper was faster than ever. Commander Cooper was slower than ever.

The distance between them shrank in an instant, and she had finally caught up with him. Only once her claws had gripped his tail feathers did she dismiss the skill. The giant translucent shell above them disappeared.

His Spirit Hands and his friends started moving at a normal pace. They were safely caught and brought back to the ground.

Alwin, however, had overcompensated on his last twist. When the skill's effects vanished, he found himself spinning like a disco ball. He willed his body to rotate in the other direction. Finally, he stopped, and his whole world was no longer a smear of colors.

Through the motion sickness, he could hear Mrs. Cooper's voice, loud and shrill.

"Where do you think you're going, you big fat coward! Come back here, you sorry excuse for a father!"

"Wait. Wait. Wait. I can explain," Commander Cooper squealed.

"Explain? Oh, you better have an explanation, alright. There better be a damn good reason why I received a report that our baby was kidnapped! I left my outpost and rushed all the way down here."

"K-k-kinda. He wasn't actually kidnapped. It was all part of a plan."

"A plan, huh? Well, you better hope this plan was worth endangering our child before he's even hatched."

"Yes! That kid over there can explain it better than I can." Commander Cooper pointed at Alwin.

On cue, Alwin started rolling his way over to the lovely couple. The Spirit Hands trailed behind as they carried Gus and Uchronia. As he made his way over, they continued a discussion that only a married couple could have.

"Him? He's barely a year old. Why is he even here in the first place?"

"I was ordered to supervise them for an exam. As for his age, I don't know the reason."

"Then what do you know!"

Mrs. Cooper was losing what little patience she had left. She opened up her mouth, ready to blast her husband with a barrage of verbal assaults.

There was a crack.

Both Coopers froze. Their eyes snapped down to the egg.

Small lines formed along its smooth surface. More appeared, and cracks started joining other cracks until half of the egg was covered in these miniature fractures. Then, the top half of the egg exploded open. Shards of the cracked shell scattered in every direction.

A tiny head popped out. Wide eyes blinked. Cooper Trooper gazed upon his parents for the first time. Upon seeing their faces, he smiled widely and let out a happy cry.

"Mama. Papa."

"Oh, Trooper…" Mrs. Cooper cried.

"My sweet son…" Commander Cooper sobbed.

Tears cascaded down both their cheeks as they hugged their youngling, properly, for the very first time.

Cooper Trooper took mostly from his mother's side. He was a turtle with a red shell instead of green, like his mom. Small nubs jutted out of them, which would definitely grow into the fierce spikes his mother had. Commander Cooper's genes weren't going to be left out either. Two tiny feathered wings sprouted out from his shell as well. They were barely strong enough to flutter, but unmistakably a chicken's.

Alwin finally arrived at the scene. His eyes grew wide, and his grin stretched from his black half to his white half.

"Aww, he looks just like both of you."

Commander Cooper stroked his son's feathers with a proud grin. Tears kept dripping down from his beak onto the ground.

"I bet the reason why he chose to hatch now was because his parents were finally together," Alwin said.

Mrs. Cooper smiled and looked at her husband with love in her still-dripping eyes.

"Was that the reason? You didn't want me to miss our son's special day?"

"Y-yes," Commander Cooper stammered. "Told you it was all part of the plan."

"Oh, thank you."

Mrs. Cooper leaned in for a hug. The family embraced each other under the warm summer sky. Now, if only they spun in a circle.

During the hug, Commander Cooper flashed Alwin a sneaky thumbs-up. He ignored it, utterly captivated by how precious and cute Cooper Trooper was.

Their moment was cut short as an Alpha Wolf guard came bolting in.

"Excuse me, sir."

Commander Cooper broke free from the hug and wiped away his tears. His face steeled, the softness drained away in an instant, replaced by the sharp resolve of a commanding officer snapping back into duty.

"What is it?"

"We have a situation."

Commander Cooper's eye twitched. He already knew what it was.

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