Sorry for the wait, I had unexpected company spending the night (girls ages 7 and 9, and their 3 and 12 year old brothers). This chapter is really short, but to make up for it I will have the next posted this weekend.

So, uh, yeah. This is Chapter 6: Cutting Loose.

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Danny and Dash glanced several times between each other and the image of their parents. Then they both realized at the same time that Despair hadn't told them where in the maze their parents were located.

In unison they took off down the hall, turning right at the next fork. After a period of time that seemed like an eternity, they found the Baxters. The hungry piranhas were jumping up from their tank and snapping at their feet already.

Dash rushed to free them, and once Danny knew that he had everything under control here, he took off down the hall. The instant he rounded a corner and was out of sight, he changed into his ghost half and went racing, invisible and intangible, through the walls at top speed.

Panting from exertion even as he wondered how he was still able to breathe as a ghost, he zipped past what seemed like a million empty hallways before finally reaching the room with his parents in it.

Danny zipped around the nearest corner to change back to human before running into the room as fast as his legs could carry him.

They were now only six inches from the lava, and getting closer with every passing moment.

Glancing frantically around the room, Danny's eyes fell upon a short knife lying on the floor off to one side. It was small, only about two inches long, but it would work.

He grabbed it and sprinted toward the pit. At the last possible second, Danny jumped, seeming to hang in the air forever before he hit his parents. For a moment it looked as though he might slip off, but his hand managed to grab the rope above his parents.

When they all started swinging like a pendulum, Danny cut through the rope in one smooth stroke. Jack and Maddie fell in a heap on the edge of the pit with their son sprawled on top of them.

Within a few seconds he was left lying on top of dirt and cold stone as his parents were teleported back to the correct dimension.

Dash arrived at this point and saw Danny lying flat on his back on the floor panting. The jock himself was even breathing heavily from that adrenaline rush and the race through the maze.

The same eerie laughter from before filled the room as Despair announced, speaking mostly to Danny, "You may have saved your parents, boy, but let's see how you do when some of the only people who accept who you are are in danger."

Danny paled at this, already having a bad idea of who this would be.

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(hands out kittens) Ok, in addition to the five I already told you about, which are all black and white like their mother, the other cat gave birth a couple days ago. Two are orange, one is light gray, another is dark gray tabby, and another is black. They haven't been named, though the gray tabby is gonna be Lightning and the light gray will be Eeyore. And I found out that we have another cat that is pregnant in addition to that. She should have them sometime in the next week, and we already have 19 cats!

Ok, hit that cute little button down there and let me know what you think. The more reviews I get, the faster I write, and the sooner you get an update! Oh, and if you can think of any good kitten names... we have an orange tabby, a light orange with white spots, and an all black that need good names, and I'm open for suggestions!