William lunged forward, shoving his sword against his twin brother's throat. Charles rapidly blinked and struggled to draw in a breath. Charles swiftly shoved William backward and he stumbled. Their father watched from the terrace with a twisted smile on his face. Their mother covered her mouth with both hands, jumping at each advance they made.

"There can only be one heir, boys," he reminded them. "Last man standing wins."

It rained heavily in Scotland's countryside where the lush, green hills continued forever. Bleats of sheep blared as Charles nearly slipped. The sky darkened and thunder boomed across the sky.

The teenaged boys raised their swords which clanked and scraped against each other.

Their father sighed and tumbled down the stairs. Lighting illuminated the penny he raised in the air.

"Because you two cannot choose. Fate will."

The boys looked over as their father flipped the eroded penny into the air. Thunder struck the coin, tearing it neatly in half. Each corresponding side landed on an opposite side.

"It has been decided," he picked up the hot coin, amazed. "You both will inherit Racket Royale."

And so, he divided his enterprise amongst his two sons with a line right down the middle; one taking the right and the other the left. As the boys matured into men, not wanting to take after each other in appearance, Charles grew a mustache and William a goatee.

The twins conducted business very differently, leaving an uneven split in operations. Despite their differences, they shared the same goal: being the better twin. Every spring, the two sides hosted a badminton game where the winner would be crowned the best side and twin of the season.

Growing up, a badminton game became a way to resolve most disagreements they had, and it continued well into their adulthood.

It was the day before the annual game when Charles learned that all his players had come down with the flu. He paced the room, breaking into a nervous sweat, and yelled at his assistant, Teddy.

"Whatever are we going to do, assistant? This situation is hopeless. I can't play against my brother like this."

Teddy held his breath, carefully choosing his words. "Perhaps it would be best to forfeit the game this year, sir..."

Charles' head snapped toward Teddy with a dangerously raised eyebrow.

"...Is what an idiot would say!" The assistant laughed sheepishly and broke into a nervous cough.

"That's more like it," He slapped Teddy on the back heartily and grinned. "Now, what's your real plan to fix this mess?"

His eyes darted around. "What I was going to say was... We're... going to recruit local talent and... train them before tomorrow!"

Charles' eyes beamed. "Excellent!"

He believed in being able to win this year's badminton game after several years of failure. Perhaps this was the year his side would finally be revered once again.

"Have the blokes down by four."

"Yes, sir," Teddy said. Charles skipped out of the office, flailing his arms. As soon as he was out of sight, Teddy exhaled heavily. "I'm screwed."

Charles went to oversee the factory production on the new products for Racket Royale's launch tomorrow. Just then, the phone on the wall rang.

"Hello?" Charles twirled his mustache playfully.

"Greetings, my abominable half," William said.

Charles groaned in disgust. "What do you want, you horsefly?"

William snickered. "Oh, nothing. Just congratulating you in advance for losing another year. Perhaps we should have a trophy made especially for you titled: World's Biggest Disappointment."

Charles clenched his hand into a fist. "Don't be so quick to judge. My assistant is fixing up a new group of players as we speak."

"Is he? You mean your sixth assistant of the year? I wouldn't trust him as far as I can kick him or those ill players of yours!"

Charles squinted his eyes in suspicion. "Wait... How did you know about my players?"

"Oh... Um..." There was a silence over the phone then a sudden fumbling. "Quickly, the cord, Brian-"

Charles dropped his gaze to the phone before thrusting it forcefully into the wall. "That two-faced son of a father! He must've been behind this."

Charles let out a bitter laugh, staring blankly into the hole in the wall. If he wants to play in the dirt, then I'll give him mud and more.

While Teddy successfully scrambled a new team, Charles still felt defeated, but hope swirled inside him. He clasped onto Teddy's shoulder as he was leaving for the night.

"I request your assistance, one last time," Charles said, wiggling his mustache.

Covered from head to toe in black attire, Charles and Teddy crept onto William's lawn, careful not to make a sound.

"What are we doing here?" Teddy whispered.

"Looking for dirt," Charles said.

The front door abruptly flew open, and Teddy yanked Charles down behind a well-manicured bush. William stumbled out in his bathrobe with a trash bag while grumbling to himself.

"He knows," William said. "We're ruined!"

William forcefully kicked the trash can after dropping the trash inside it. Meanwhile, Charles and Teddy crawled inside the opened front door while his back was turned.

William stormed back inside to his office while his assistant, Brian, sauntered behind him with his eyes glued to his phone. Charles and Teddy crawled from a safe distance toward them to eavesdrop.

"Will, calm down," Brian looked up and then back at his phone. "This isn't the end of the world."

"How can you be so calm?" William frowned. "Our streak of victory is being threatened."

Brian slugged an arm around William's neck. "C'mon, that loser doesn't stand a chance against us. We got rid of his best players, and we have our secret weapon."

Brain picked up the box revealing a glove covered in various boogers.

Charles gasped. "That's how he got my players sick. With the booger glove."

"The booger glove?" Teddy echoed.

Charles turned around. "He sticks every booger he's ever produced onto this glove and punches people in the face with it."

William stroked his beard and chuckled. "Of course, Brian. You're right as always. My pathetic brother is, and always will be, a loser."

Brian grinned. "Exactly. You worry too much, my friend."

As Charles and Teddy listened in from the hallway, Charles nearly slipped on the marble floor, but Teddy caught him only for him to knock over a priceless vase behind him. The vase shattered and reverberated across the house.

William jumped. "What was that?"

Charles and Teddy nervously glanced at each other before William stepped out.

Charles shut his eyes and folded his hands over his lips. "Quack! Quack!"

William shrieked, jumping into Brain's arms. "Accursed waterfowl! Get me out of here!"

They dashed out of the office past Charles and Teddy crouching behind an accent chair.

"Assistant, I believe we found our secret weapon," Charles whispered. They sneaked out of the office window and off the property while William continued to wail immaturely.

The long-awaited day was finally here. The two teams stood on opposite sides, staring each other down. Charles eyed William while sporting a mischievous smile. As if he was hiding a delicious secret all to himself.

William frowned. "What's so funny, you wet sock?"

He smirked. "You'll see."

The referee blew the whistle, and the shuttlecock soared over the net. William dove in and smacked it across the other side with his rocket racquet.

Charles cursed under his breath while Teddy shouted supportively from the audience. They were soon tied with the next point deciding the winner.

The clouds darkened and it sprinkled. The other players retreated to the sidelines and left only the twins to remain. The referee shrugged, blew the whistle, and threw the shuttlecock into the air for the final time.

Lightning struck following a downpour of rain but that didn't stop them as they ferociously whacked the shuttle back and forth.

"Just give up already!" William screamed.

"Never!"

Charles bit his lower lip. William wasn't budging. It's time.

He signaled to Teddy who clicked a button. A cannon shot breadcrumbs into the air, littering the court.

William scoffed, delivering another whack with his racquet. "Hah! You thought you could distract me with bread! Wait... Bread?"

William's head whipped toward a low rumble of quacks in the near distance. "No, it can't be."

It was a flock of hungry ducks all waddling toward the court.

"No, no, no!" William screamed, falling to his knees. "They're everywhere!"

My secret weapon? William's fear of ducks.

The shuttlecock flew over his head and hit the ground. Charles beamed and dropped his racquet. The crowd roared as Charles's team lifted him into the air.

William sobbed on the other side of the court. "This can't be. My... My winning streak is over."

Charles glanced at his assistant who smiled amid the screaming crowd. Charles realized what he was missing all along. It wasn't the success of a skilled team, but a faithful assistant standing by his side.