Alwin froze. His body refused to move.

Not like it mattered.

The two Elders were too fast. They were already right in his face, swinging their Crimson Inferno Blade and Golden Lightning Sword at him.

Alwin didn't even have time to shut his eyes.

Which, strangely, turned out to be a good thing. It allowed him to witness a massive clam erupt from beneath him. It consumed him and snapped shut.

There was only darkness around him. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear the moment the blades landed.

The clam shuddered with a deafening quake. Shockwaves sent his body jiggling back and forth as the elemental blades crashed against the shell. Lightning crackled in furious pulses, while flames roared. Each slash caused heat to build up, threatening to roast him alive.

Tiny cracks appeared along the inner wall. Small beams of light penetrated his dark abode. Sooner or later, they'd crack open the shell and retrieve the shining pearl otherwise known as Alwin.

And by the looks of things, it was going to be sooner rather than later.

The cracks grew larger and wider until the shell shattered, revealing the two Elders and their pulsing blades of energy. Alwin scrambled back in a panic, only to roll into something hard. It was the other half of the clam. Its protection had become his downfall.

They raised their blades one last time and swung.

"Fowl Entry!"

Commander Cooper swooped in at the last second. His clawed feet crashed into Chi Ren's side, sending him flying. Momentum slammed him into Jin Ren as Commander Cooper pinned them both to the ground under his feet.

The clam behind Alwin disappeared into dust, allowing him to see Mrs. Cooper rush in. She plucked him from the ground and ran in the opposite direction. Another shell, this time smooth and grey, appeared above him, Shellmet. It engulfed his body. His panicked pants echoed within the chamber. Each step by Mrs. Cooper caused him to bounce, adding to the reverberations.

Alwin nudged the Shellmet upwards, just enough for a glimpse of the outside world. Beside him, on the other hand, was another Shellmet, bouncing up and down with him. The muffled giggles of Cooper Trooper interspersed with his tiny claps..

Behind him, Commander Cooper was engaged in combat with the two Elders. They had pushed the large bird off of them. But the tides had shifted.

It was now in the Elders' favor.

Earlier, Commander Cooper was on the offensive, pushing them back with a series of punches. Now it was the other way round. He was on the defensive. Dipping, dodging, and ducking under their slashes. These weren't random, haphazard swings either. Each and every one was targeted at his neck.

He couldn't even fight back either. If he so much as raised an arm, it'd be cut off. He resorted to using his talons to deflect what he could, sacrificing claws to keep his head attached. Occasionally, he'd use his feet to deflect a fatal blow, sacrificing one of his claws in the process.

Alwin watched on helplessly. This was bad.

And it was all his fault.

If only he hadn't gotten in the way. Mrs. Cooper could have focused her efforts on helping her husband. Instead, she was hauling him to safety.

He was just too weak. A burden.

"Mrs. Cooper," Alwin said in a meek manner unbefitting of him.

"What is it, boy?" Mrs. Cooper panted out, tears streaming down her face.

"Go help, Mr. Cooper. I'll look after Trooper for you."

"Are you insane? I'm getting you two as far away from here."

Alwin threw off the Shellmet and stared into her eyes. "Mrs. Cooper. We both know what will happen if you do that."

She turned instinctively toward her husband.

Commander Cooper was being pushed back further and further. His muscles bunched and strained, pushing against the limits of his biology. Beads of sweat rolled down his beak, not from fatigue, but from heat. The raging fires of Tentative Camp were at his back now, licking higher with each step he lost.

"It's just the two Elders. There's no one else around who can hurt us. Or anyone else to help, for that matter."

Through the curtain of smoke and flame, they could see the remains of Tentative Camp's troops. Burnt vegetables, roasted mutton, and fried wolf, all blackened beyond recognition. Their bodies had been reduced to nothing more than fuel for the fire.

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It was horrible. A massacre.

Somewhere along the way, Alwin had forgotten that he was being raised for one very specific reason.

War.

That realization finally dawned on him. Even though he had been at the forefront of this conflict, stepping over corpses, wading through horrid screams, and breathing in the acrid stench of burnt flesh.

He never really comprehended it, or maybe he chose to ignore that reality. But now...

Looking at Cooper Trooper, things had become clearer. The miracle of life gave birth to the tragedy of death. Like how shadows could only exist when there was light. For every Yin, there must be a Yang.

Too many lives had been extinguished today. If he could help save a single life...

Things would still be the same. It wouldn't really fix anything. Not really.

Alwin wasn't doing this out of some noble gesture. It was just for him and his typical self-centered ego. To help soothe his screaming conscience. That was it. A band-aid fix.

Once this was all over, the wound would heal. He'd either forget all about it. Or the scars would change him. Which would happen? Alwin didn't know.

He just knew that something had to be done. Not for the Coopers, but for himself.

Alwin stared into Mrs. Cooper's eyes. "I promise to keep him safe and stay far away from the battle. Please. Not for me. But for a world where Trooper grows up with a father."

Mrs. Cooper bit her lip. She turned to look back at her husband. Commander Cooper's back was against the flames. There was nowhere else to go other than heaven.

"Fine!"

She placed both of them on the ground and activated a series of protections.

Brand new Shellmets appeared above them and plonked down over their bodies. A circle of Selfish Shellfish emerged, surrounding them. The self-centered bunch of crabs, lobsters, oysters, and more only cared about themselves. And the way to avoid total annihilation was to protect what was in their center. Finally, a huge clamshell swallowed them whole. Only the smallest of peepholes allowed them to observe the outside world.

Mrs. Cooper activated Inverse Shell. A faint image of a giant shell rippled in the skies as everyone's speed was inverted. The swift clicking and clacking of the crustaceans' pincers slowed to a crawl, while the normally slow-moving mollusks danced around at a rapid pace.

Outside, Mrs. Cooper sprinted toward her husband at breakneck speed.

The two Elders had their Crimson Inferno Blade and Golden Lightning Sword raised for an earth-shattering chop. Commander Cooper had his wings up, hoping to deflect the blow. They all moved in slow motion.

The Elders were perplexed by the sudden slowness, but continued to swing when they saw that Commander Cooper had been subjected to the same treatment.

Mrs. Cooper, despite her ludicrous speed, was still a distance away. Even with their arms moving at the pace of molasses, she wouldn't reach there in time.

Moments before the two Elders made fried chicken wings, a mass of shellfish sprouted from Commander Cooper's wings. Though she was still five seconds away, she had apparently reached casting range.

The Selfish Shellfish Shell-Hands covered Commander Cooper's wings and absorbed the blow. Clams and oysters dominated the mass as they surged forward to put an end to the painful elemental blades.

When Mrs. Cooper finally arrived, she touched Commander Cooper's shoulder. A grave of bones emerged from his feathered body. They covered him from beak to clawed feet, not like a suit of armor, but like a muscular bird-sized rib cage.

"Shellington Skellington."

They exchanged nods, and she undid Inverse Shell.

Why didn't she take the opportunity to knock Chi Ren and Jin Ren away? Alwin didn't know. His best guess was that her offensive capabilities wouldn't have been enough.

When everyone began moving at normal speed, Commander Cooper grabbed the pair of swords. They burned away at the squirming layer of shellfish, but not fast enough, as new ones continued to replace those that had turned to ash. He cocked his head back and headbutted the red-robed Chi Ren.

"Super Cooper Peck!"

His beak jabbed the Elder's cheek, causing blood to spill. Then a jab at Jin Ren. Then back. Again and again. Commander Cooper still gripped their weapons, limiting their movement. They couldn't fully evade his blows. Each strike only grazed them as they moved their heads around.

While that was going on, Mrs. Cooper lumbered her way behind them. She turned her shell toward them as she crouched low and began to strain herself, preparing for an attack of her own.

The two Elders exchanged the briefest of looks as their heads bucked and weaved through the assault of pecks. Their swords vanished, along with Commander Cooper's hold of them. They were about to run when the large bird regained his grasp on them, this time by the back of their robes. The swarm of Selfish Shellfish on his wings travelled up their clothes and ate away at them. Or at least tried to. The robes were too tough for them.

Mrs. Cooper had finally finished preparing her move.

"Shellf Preservation!"

The spikes on her shell extended violently in every direction. Dones of sharp pillars penetrated the Elders' backs. Blood splattered from their mouths. This should be the end of the line for them.

"Brother," Jin Ren coughed. "Forget trying to grab information out of them."

"Finally, you've come to your senses," Chi Ren coughed back. "Shall we?"

"Yes, brother."

Flames and lightning consumed the Elders' bodies.

The Selfish Shellfish were turned to dust in an instant. Commander Cooper leapt to the side and released his hold on them just in time. Mrs. Cooper's spikes were burnt to ashes, the surge of flames and lightning raced up each white pillar until she forcibly ended the skill, ejecting the burnt spikes from her shell. Small, stubby nubs took their place as they were in the gradual process of regrowing.

As the fire and electricity grew fiercer, Commander Cooper grabbed his wife, carrying her out of harm's way.

Both elements began to intertwine with each other. Fire scorched lightning while electricity zapped flames. They ate away at each other, dominating one another till they achieved equilibrium. When they finally stabilized, the flames formed into the shape of a large tree with bolts of lightning arcing off its leaves.

The fire and lightning vanished. In its place was Chi Ren and Jin Ren, literally.

They had fused together, similar to what happened to Huang Jian and Hong Jian after their bodies were blown in half. Except that this fusion was more stable.

Gone were the wrinkles and aged bodies of old men. Replaced by the visage of youth and vigor. A man in the prime of his life with half of his hair a fiery crimson and the other a brilliant gold.

A crimson pupil and golden pupil locked onto the couple before they exploded forward, leaving a trail of fire and lightning behind.

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