Chapter Eight:

Big Ben Chase

As dark storm clouds gathered over London with streaking lightning and distant thunder, Professor Owen DeCassle's blimp was sailing through the threatening sky, with Wrenchfield once again pedaling. As Owen was steering, his captive Clyde Bunnersham spoke out…

"Just wait!" Clyde angrily said. "Dorlock says he's smarter than you! He's going to put you in jail." Then he grabbed the back of Owen's cape and started tugging, adding, "He's not afraid of a big old ugly MONSTER like you!"

But Owen took back his cape and threatened, "Would you kindly sit down and SHUT UP?!" That sent Clyde flying to the back of the blimp's gondola, shaped like a ship vessel.

But when Owen turned back, he was startled to see the huge pattern of the Union Jack right in front of the airship! Even Wrenchfield was startled. It was Dorlock Homes's makeshift aircraft made out of the Queen's Union Jack flag, the helium balloons from Buckingham Palace and some wooden planks. Dorlock, Dr. Watkins and Bugs Bunnersham were all controlling the aircraft, much to Clyde's delight. But Owen was less than impressed, and he quickly steered his blimp away as Wrenchfield picked up the pedaling speed.

"Atta go, chaps!" Dorlock ordered Watkins and Bugs, whom both released more air from two open balloons, making their aircraft also catch up in speed until it was close behind Owen DeCassle's blimp once again. Owen tried to lose them by steering the blimp around some building roofs and chimneys, and they circled around a statue of Lord Nelson a bit before heading straight for the Tower Bridge. Owen was able to steer his airship right under the bridge as Wrenchfield pedaled as fast as he could. As Dorlock steered his balloon towards the Tower Bridge with a determined grin on his face, Dr. Watkins gasped in horror and braced for a possible crash, but Dorlock was able to steer the craft downward at the last second and miss the bridge.

Up ahead on Owen DeCassle's blimp, Wrenchfield stopped pedaling and began panting heavily, feeling tired and out of breath. Owen noticed the blimp slowing down and turned to glare at Wrenchfield, now in the gondola gesturing to Clyde and saying, "We have to lighten the load!" He wanted to throw the young bunny out of the blimp to his doom.

"Ohhhh, you want to lighten the load?" Owen sardonically asked. Then he laughingly agreed, "Excellent idea!" just as Wrenchfield was snickering at Clyde and heaved the hunchback right out of the airship!

This wasn't what Wrenchfield had in mind. "No, not me!" he cried out as he desperately flapped his arms trying to stay afloat in the air. "I can't fly, I can't FLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Wrenchfield yelled as he looked down and then shot down through the sky right into the Thames River!

Then Owen leaped into the propellor seat of his blimp and took over the job pedaling, speeding up the ship once again. Even so, Dorlock's balloon had caught up again. "Steady…" the duck detective ordered Watkins and Bugs right before he leaped into Owen's blimp, grabbing right onto the tail. He was now on board!

Clyde was happy at first, but when he turned forward, he screamed. Owen looked forward, and he too also screamed, as they were speeding directly at Big Ben, and no one was steering the airship! Sure enough, with a big smash, the blimp collided with one of the four faces of Big Ben and splintered apart, the remaining ruins hanging onto the hole in the clock face Owen, Dorlock and Clyde had all fallen through. Thunder cracked in the distance with flickering lightning as Dr. Watkins and Bugs Bunnersham gave an aghast look from their aircraft, silently praying that Dorlock and Clyde were all right…

…

Dorlock Homes came to, after temporarily being unconscious from the crash. But the deep noisy ticking jumpstarted his awareness, and among getting up, the duck detective realized he was right inside the clockworks of Big Ben! Dorlock looked around in shock, seeing large gears and other mechanical clock parts surrounding him.

But as he continued staring in awe at the surroundings, Owen DeCassle was slowly sneaking up behind Dorlock, with one arm forming a fist to attack him, and the other arm holding Clyde Bunnersham, muffling his mouth. But Clyde was able to squeeze up just enough for him to clearly cry out, "Dorlock! Look out!"

Dorlock turned as he heard Clyde's voice, just to see Owen smack him on the side. Dorlock nearly tumbled off the gear they were standing on, but he was able to grab onto the teeth and use his strength to climb back on. Clyde, seeing Owen was about to hit Dorlock again, bit his arm really hard with his buck teeth, making him scream! This gave Dorlock time to grab Owen's cape and toss it between two gears. The ensuing jam made Owen drop Clyde and suddenly kick him off the gear! With a scream, Clyde fell and landed onto the tooth of another gear, much bigger than the one he was just one. He looked up and saw to his horror that it was connected to another gear, and that in a matter of seconds he would be crushed between the gears! Dorlock saw this as well, leaped away from Owen's gear and caught onto a lever that caused one of the weight chains to begin rising. Grabbing onto the chain. Dorlock rode towards Clyde, and at the last second, reached out and snatched Clyde from the gears right before that last tooth could squish him. They smiled at each other a bit as they continued riding the chain to the top of the belfry.

But back in the clockworks, Owen DeCassle was noticeably angrier than before. As he could see Dorlock and Clyde escaping as a flash of lightning revealed their shadows, something snapped inside Owen as his eyes changed color, the sclerae becoming yellow and the irises turning a threatening red. With a quick burst of newfound strength, Owen freed himself from the gears and ran off, tearing his cape in the process.

Up in the steeple, Dorlock and Clyde stopped when they saw that it was such a long way down and that there was nowhere else to go. Back in the clockworks, Owen DeCassle had undergone a terrifying transformation. Gone was his egoistical genius gentleman form; in addition to his eyes, his skin was now a more greenish hue, his teeth now fangs, his gray hair now longer and wilder, and he was overall bigger and muscular; a demented beast! He leaped from gear to gear as more thunder boomed, completely transformed by his anger and hatred!

At the steeple, Clyde tugged on Dorlock's coat and pointed out that Dr. Watkins and Bugs's aircraft had flown up to them and they were now closing into save them. Meanwhile down below, Owen DeCassle ran on all fours like a wild horse amongst the gears and the flashing lightning, with the intention to kill Dorlock himself.

Unaware of this, Dorlock held Clyde up towards the direction of the aircraft as Bugs tried to reach out and grab his son. "Closer, Watkins…" Dorlock strained to his partner steering the aircraft with the ends of the helium balloons. "Closer!" Rain was now beginning to drip, as the storm was gaining power.

Leaping over the Great Bell of Big Ben, the monstrous Owen DeCassle had reached the belfry where Dorlock and Clyde were and began running at them.

"Daddy, I can't reach!" Clyde cried out as he strained to grab Bugs's hand. "I can't reach!"

As Clyde said that, Dorlock heard Owen approaching behind him and turned to see the madman lunging right at the duck! He pounced, sending Dorlock's deerstalker cap flying off and Clyde sailing in the air, fortunately close enough for Bugs to catch and pull him to safety. They hugged, reunited once again.

But down below, Dorlock and Owen were toppling downward the steeple. The duck detective tried to grasp onto the tower, but between the slick rain and Owen's weight, he was unable to get a good grip. They went right over the edge of the roof, separating in the process, falling onto the face of the clock that the blimp had crashed into. They landed right on the large hour hand, with Dorlock laying right over the edge, his coat noticeably damaged. Among opening his eyes, Dorlock gasped and moved back, terrified by how high up he still was. But then he heard Watkins call out, "D-D-D-Dorlock! Over here!" That was enough to relieve Dorlock, knowing that he would be rescued.

"What happened to Owen DeCassle?" Clyde asked.

That was when Wile E. Coyote flew in on some kind of flying bicycle contraption and explained to Clyde and the readers…

"Owen had stolen some of Dr. Jekyll's formula, but altered it somewhat so it only transforms him when he's really furious. But despite not having drunken any of the potion recently, the effects of it remained."

He flew off again.

But before Dorlock Homes could take a step forward, the monstrous form of Owen DeCassle attacked him from behind, grabbing his neck in one arm. Dorlock wriggled out of Owen's grip and started climbing up the hour hand to get away, but with his newfound speed and agility, Owen blocked his path and snarled, "There's no escape this time, Dorlock!" And as the duck detective tried to distance himself from the villain, Owen had leaped back to where he was before, and as lighting flashed, Owen revealed he had grown razor-sharp claws in his transformation and hit Dorlock twice, the strong force sending him backward.

Dr. Watkins, Bugs and Clyde Bunnersham tried speeding their aircraft towards the clock hands to save Dorlock, but each time before the duck could stand up, Owen would hit him. Three times this happened, and then finally with one strong swipe, Owen's claws sliced right into Dorlock's back, sending black feathers and pieces of cloth flying. Dorlock cried out in pain and fell to his knees, and another strong blow sent him flying to the very top of the clock hand. Dorlock was able to stagger up, holding his bleeding arm in pain, but Owen DeCassle was too blind with rage to notice the duck was on the verge of collapsing and hit him once again.

Dorlock flew over the edge of the clock hand but was able to grab on. He looked so small now compared to the beastly Owen DeCassle. As Owen snarled with savage frustration and breathed noisily through his fangs, Dorlock looked down and saw that he was still seventy feet high in the air and that deliberately letting go was out of the question. But then he heard the Westminster Chimes beginning to sound and looked up to see that it was now less than a minute to 10:00 PM, and that Big Ben would be tolling the hour very shortly.

With another crack of lightning and thunder, Owen DeCassle reared back, ready to hit again. Dorlock braced himself, and with one more smack, he went tumbling down, and his friends were unable to grab him from their aircraft as he fell. As they stared in disbelief, Owen was pleased as a cruel smile spread across his face. "I WON!" he cried out and laughed maniacally as lightning dramatically flashed and thunder boomed.

But a voice calling out interrupted his triumphant cackle… "On the contrary…" Dorlock said, revealed to be hanging on to the propellor from Owen's wrecked blimp and holding onto the little bell Owen used to call the Tasmanian Devil. "The game's not over yet!" Dorlock pointed out and he rang the little bell. This prompted Owen to check his empty pocket and realize his bell was missing.

But then the clock's minute hand moved right onto "XII", as it was now 10:00 PM. The Great Bell of Big Ben began loudly tolling the hour, the vibrations causing Owen to stumble and fall over the edge of the hour hand. As he passed Dorlock, he made one final lunge, catching on what was left of his jacket. But the propellor motor snapped free from the rest of the blimp ruins under the extra weight, and so both Owen and Dorlock fell screaming, disappearing into the clouds and fog below.

Dr. Watkins, Clyde and Bugs Bunnersham watched helplessly as the two fell, and after the screams faded, all that was heard was the wind blowing and Big Ben still chiming the hour. The rain had finally stopped. The three continued watching for a bit, but it seemed hopeless. Clyde began sobbing in his father's arms, sure that the duck that saved his life was long gone.

But a little squeaking noise could now be heard amidst Big Ben chiming and the wind. Clyde immediately stopped crying and leaned back to look down as Dorlock and Bugs did the same. Sure enough, the squeaking got a little louder as they could see a rising propellor blade. It was Dorlock Homes, levitating himself with the pedal-powered motor from the blimp! As he continued pedaling as strong as he could and was still physically hurt, he looked up and smiled at his friends, knowing that he was now actually safe, and that Owen DeCassle was really defeated.

Seeing Dorlock all right prompted Dr. Watkins, Clyde and Bugs to all jump and cheer! "Hooray!" Watkins cried out as he hugged Clyde. "G-g-g-g-good fellow! Jolly good!"

"Hooray, it's Dorlock!" Clyde happily said.

"Ahh!" Bugs let out a satisfied sound seeing that everything was all right. The four were safe and together at last, and the storm clouds were now parting to reveal a nice full moon.