I do not like this chapter. It has been sitting in my draft folder for over a year and I occasionally toyed with it, but it never felt right. Seeing as I meant to finish this over a year ago, I have decided to take a risk and just post it. I will most likely write an epilogue after this chapter.
I am so sorry.
"Let's have at it, then!"
No sooner than did William give the word did all the little drooling monsters rush forth. Sam and Tucker immediately began shooting at the creatures with their wrist rays, effectively knocking back or even causing a few to immediately disappear. Trixie and Spud had produced some strange sort of magic from their bag, as they were now shrouded in green magic. They charged through them like a herd of elephants, consistently defeating multiples of them. Lao Shi was fighting as only a dragon could: fire breath, kicking, and even scratching with powerful claws.
Howard was new to combat. However, when the first imp charged at him, he panicked and punched it as hard as he could. With the strength he had, it resulted in an audible cracking noise, and the enemy immediately faded away. As that one had attacked, another came up and tried to bite Howard's arm to no avail.
With new confidence, Howard clenched his fist and hit the biter on top of the head. It faded, and he had not even a bite mark left. Grinning proudly, he charged in like a rhino, headbutting countless enemies and punching and kicking the ones that tried to bite him or fly on top of him.
That left Jake, Danny, and Randy to focus on William. They chose to ignore his minions and rushed forth in an all-out attack. William smirked and and instantly faded from view. None of the trio could slow down fast enough, and they all screamed and crashed against the hard stone wall, falling down upon each other in a heap.
They lifted their heads up and all gave low moans, gripping their heads in pain. William appeared behind them, merely wagging his index finger forward, inviting another attack. Enraged and embarrassed, the boys foolishly charged at him again. William vanished again, leading the boys to crash in a heap again at the opposite wall. In their tumbling and falling, they knocked through a few minions and managed to trip Howard, who was thrown back by the speed of their impact. He howled in alarm as he flattened an imp behind him. The imp squeaked helplessly under his weight and faded.
The irrational superheroes, growing weary of slamming into walls, moaned and groaned again as they untangled themselves. William became visible a few feet away and he howled with laughter. "Please, boys, keep at it. This is nothing but fun for me."
"It's all fun and games until someone gets knocked off his high horse." Danny retorted lamely. Randy and Jake gave Danny a very unimpressed stare. Randy hauled himself to his feet and pulled a sickle attached to a chain from his suit. He twirled it and threw it.
"Ninja Chain Sickle!"
The sickle wrapped around William. The enemy hardly even reacted. He merely phased it off effortlessly. Randy weakly pulled the sickle back. Jake spat a ball of fire at the adversary, who stayed intangible and crossed his arms, feigning a yawn. Danny's eyes flashed brightly, and he narrowed them with a deepening scowl. "You two. Hold onto me."
Although not sure what he was doing, neither of the two argued. They grabbed his arms and Danny turned himself invisible, turning them invisible as well. Within seconds, the allies fighting the imps began to disappear from the battlefield with wide eyes of bafflement. Soon enough none of them were left, and consequently all the imps stopped. They glanced around the room, looking for them. William finally stopped smiling, all the joy of mocking gone. He glowered at his creatures.
"Don't let your guard down. They haven't left the room at all. When they reappear, I want all of you to-" He was halted by a tremendous weight crashing down on him. All of the heroes became visible and fell on top of him, nailing him to the floor. William coughed and grimaced.
"Clever..." He flew through them and floated above them. "You'll never-"
The group faded from view again and seconds later attempted to drop on him. William darted away, leaving Danny with only seconds to spare to slow their descent to the hard ground below. Sam and Tucker hopped off of him, landing on their feet, weapons already poised and ready to shoot. Lao flew off and charged through the army. Trixie and Spud floated off with the magic they were given and continued the battle. Danny turned everyone visible, finally stopping inches from the ground. Howard, who had been clinging to his arm, let go. He fell on his rump and grunted, picking himself up.
He stopped short in midair and turned intangible. Within seconds the sound of thudding and yelling came as for the third time that day they ran into a wall. Following further thumping and screaming, they became visible on the ground. William did not allow them to regain their senses this time. He shot a vile green blast towards them from his palms. Danny reacted and created an ectoshield.
The other two glanced up at the green shield fearfully. It dawned on them that he was done playing games; William wanted them dead immediately. Danny strained as the ectoblast did not stop. William concentrated his power on it, hoping to break the shield.
"You need to power it up, yo; he's gonna break the shield!" Jake shouted. Danny glared at him, sweating profusely.
"I'm trying, Jake!" He gasped for a breath of air and stared through the shield at their adversary for a few seconds. Time seemed to slow down. His eyes widened a little with realization. Either he would beat them within the next couple of moments or they would. There was only one way to possibly stop him, and it was extremely risky.
Danny decided to throw caution to the wind. "Hold onto me. This might be the last minutes of our fight." he stated coldly. Jake and Randy obeyed, and Danny phased through the back of the tower, holding the shield as they went out. They got outside and Danny flew through the wall again, grabbing their friends again, who didn't know what he was doing, but accepted he was up to something. Each stopped their attack as Danny grasped onto them.
"What are you doing?" Randy finally yelled.
"Something stupid! Trust me!"
"Trust something stupid? Wha-"
"Shut up, Cunningham!" Howard snapped, holding onto the ghost boy's arm for dear life. Danny finally planted all of the group against the wall opposite to the window. As the villains approached, Danny spoke once more.
"Stay behind me, and cover your ears." Not looking behind to see if they did as demanded, Danny took a deep breath and unleashed an ear-splitting wail. You could even see the sound wave; a bright green like his eyes. It shook the entire foundation and shattered the window and even destroyed the stone wall. The wall collapsed and fell down far to the ground.
All except for Sam and Tucker watched the ghostly wail in utter awe, terror, and fascination. Jake, his grandfather, Trixie, and Spud observed the attack, all ears covered. None of them were able to take their eyes off of it, not even blinking. Howard and Randy were whimpering slightly, subconsciously clinging to each other in fear and shuddering. Sam and Tucker were not surprised at all; they just stood, ears covered, and watched.
The imps were blown far away, moving through the air like a plastic bag. Any little devils that tried to come out met the same fate, and eventually no more came. William had been knocked back, and was clinging for dear like onto part of the base of the wall that had not fallen off yet.
Finally, the wail stopped. Danny wobbled a bit and then fell on his hands and knees and transformed back into a human. His eyes were half-lidded and he inhaled and exhaled harshly, trying to regain his breath. Sam and Tucker knelt down next to him and helped and held him up.
William weakly hauled himself over the edge and back onto the partially destroyed flooring. He looked up at them, his eyes a silver again. "...Attack me. The three of you. Before he takes me over again."
"But-" Jake had tried to talk, and he was interrupted by William, who glared at the young dragon.
"No! Do not argue! No time to waste! There's no more hope for me; end it now!"
Randy and Jake nodded. They both looked at Danny. "Danny, I know you're tired, but just a few more moments. Please." Randy pleaded. Danny did not smile or speak to acknowledge it; he merely transformed and tiredly flew behind William. Jake and Randy positioned themselves around him. Danny charged up a green beam in his hands, and fire appeared in Jake's mouth.
"Ninja Rage!" Randy shouted. At with that, all three of them unleashed their power onto William. He was shrouded in an orb of green fire, and the boys kept at it. The orb grew larger, and finally the boys stopped and the orb exploded in a glorious green and red blast. The others did their best to protect themselves from the resulting explosion, but all ended up covered in soot.
When the smoke faded, the floor had turned completely black. In the middle of it, a smaller, completely white ghost was kneeling down, covering his head with his hands. He was cleaner than previously; his skin was clear of lacerations, and he looked more like the man portrayed in Randy's Ninja Nomicon.
He released his hands from his head. They fell to his side as he looked up at the green and black sky of the Ghost Zone, through the plumes of smoke that passed overhead. The man sighed and a small smile of relief came to his face. "Victoria, my dear, I hear you calling me...I'm coming!" With that, he disappeared for good.
Everyone was dead silent for awhile. Finally, Jake cleared his throat and coughed. "So, how's about we all go home and and discuss this tomorrow?"
"Sounds wonderful," a disembodied voice replied. A blue portal with a hand turned clockwise, and Clockwork was left in its wake among the ashes. He beamed at everyone. "You've done it. You've saved the world from the Sorcerer and freed poor William. Everyone owes all of you a a debt of gratitude."
Danny walked up to Clockwork, eyes half-lidded still, a small frown on his face. "Clockwork, you said that you would show us where this place was when we were ready."
"And I did," he answered, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder. "time took you here; something I control. Time showed you the way. You can all be rightfully angry with me for not giving much more warning, but sometimes it's best to let time itself guide you. As for now, I believe within a few days you all are to have an audience with the Dragon Council and then I shall discuss some more news with you all. As for now, you all deserve a good rest." He crossed his arms. "I shall leave the badges I gave you with you for whenever you feel the need to speak with one another. Now, go home!"
He waved his staff, and with more blue portals, everyone was sent to their respective homes and beds. Clockwork sighed in relief. Another day saved. He flew back and sized up the tower, already planning in his mind how to reuse the now vacant castle. Finally, with a last wave of his staff, he transported himself back to his tower. Within the next few days, he'd have another chat with the Secret Trio. As for now, he repeated to himself, everything deserved to just be quiet and peaceful, as the world so desperately needed to be at times.