Negative Feedback (Danny Phantom Fic)

Chapter 21

Above, you will see a collage done by the ever-amazing @BookPanda99, one of the first place winners of the Negative Feedback fan art contest. Thank you so much for the amazing art! You captured a lot of the story very well in this one photo :3

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Time is never seamless throughout the Ghost Zone as eras shifted between personal realms and gave the illusion of a world without order. Perhaps without Clockwork, it would have devolved into exactly that. Launched back into a world that only existed in the pages of a textbook, waiting for Camry to return from her task made Dora feel like time itself had just stopped altogether. That was why, when Pandora suddenly sat up, Dora had not been expecting it so soon. She was on her tired feet in an instant and floated into the air, where she anxiously moved to begin pacing all over again. 

"There's no need for that, Dora," the Greek ghost told her quickly as she, too, rose from her seat. "It would seem your pupil has managed to draw close to the exit of the maze."

"She has?" Dora gasped, her crimson eyes shining with happiness. "But you said it could take--"

"Yes, I did say that, but those were humans I referred to," she interrupted. "Come, let us go greet her with congratulations."

Though she didn't know the exact location of the maze's exit, Dora still managed to beat Pandora there in her haste to make sure Camry was alright. After well over a full human world day in the maze, she was unlikely to come out of this adventure unscathed. The hedge walls loomed high over Dora's head as she stood right in the middle of the exit and wrung her hands together. With a gentle smirk, Pandora put a hand on her friend's shoulder and guided her a few paces back from the maze. 

"She will find her way back to you in due time," she assured the blonde princess, who quickly nodded without taking her eyes off of the maze. 

The seconds turned into minutes, and those minutes ticked by until a full fifteen of them had passed. Dora's impatience steadily became harder to conceal, with her eyebrows furrowing while she bounced on the balls of her feet. Just as their wait began to creep toward the 20-minute mark, a huge tongue of fire blew up into the air over the hedge wall and was followed by a familiar, wordless yell of indignation. 

"Hey, hey-- I said "No, thank you" a hundred times already!" That was Camry's voice! And she didn't sound very far away at all! Dora's mouth opened to call out, but Pandora's two left hands quickly blocked her from shouting anything.

"Do not interfere with her training," she warned her sternly. "This is almost over. You can wait a little bit longer."

A small, blue-haired shape dashed by at breakneck speed at the far end of the maze's home stretch; a gaggle of taller, leaner shapes that were very clearly on fire darted after her. Whether that was their natural state or they had been set on fire by the pyro-savvy spirette remained to be seen. The sounds of a struggle followed their disappearance from sight, and more jets of flame lit up the leaves. With a hand on her chin, Pandora muttered something about "fire-proofing the maze" to herself. Branches broke, leaves flew into the air, and all too soon Camry was once again standing at the other end of the last corridor. Her chest heaved with exertion as she pivoted on her toes to look back at the creatures that had been chasing her, but her attention diverted to the two women waiting for her.

It was like the world's last ray of hope lingered in her sphalerite eyes when she took off toward them, pumping her arms and moving her short legs as fast as they could carry her toward the metaphorical finish line. Dora all but leaped into the air for joy and extended her arms out toward the younger girl, beckoning her to run faster. "You can do it, Camry! Just a little further!"