Chapter 2
"I..have a sister…." Pac-Man said to himself, letting the revelation sink-in, "Wow! That's….. that's awesome!"
Pac-Ella was caught off-guard when Pac suddenly picked her up and spinned her around joyously.
"I spent all my life trying to figure out where Mom and Dad are," Pac-Man said "But I never thought in million years I'd be a big brother as well, this is the happiest moment in my life!"
After putting Pac-Ella back down, Pac went down on his knees so that he'd on the same eye level.
"But before I forget, I should ask you something," Pac said with hopeful eyes, "Do you know where our parents are?"
Pac-Ella scratched the back of her head somewhat nervously and said sadly, "Sorry, Pac, but I don't know where they are, I haven't seen them since I turned 3. We got separated when the Pointy Heads attacked us and captured me while we were hiding out on an uncharted planet. I've got no clue to where they are now."
Pac-Man was a little disappointed, but brushed it off and kept up a warm smile for his newfound sister's sake.
"Ah, don't fret about it," Pac-Man said, "The important thing now is that we found each other."
"If it helps," Pac-Ella said, "I remember that they did talk about you quite a bit, they felt bad you had to grow up without them, and they're also hoping we'll eventually all be together as a family someday."
Pac-Man placed his hands on Pac-Ella's shoulders, "I hope so too, but in the meantime, at least the two of us are together."
Pac-Ella smiled, she seemed both pleased and relieved that his long-lost big brother was being so understanding.
"But how'd you wind up alone in this ship?" Pac-Man asked.
"It's a long story," Pac-Ella replied, then motioned Pac to join her by the fire, she picked up an extra metal crate and placed it near the bonfire so that she and Pac could both sit down by the fire, which they did.
"Remember when I brought up a few seconds ago that the Pointy Heads captured me when I was three?" Pac-Ella asked, "Well, ever since then, they took over raising me, as their prisoner."
"They put you in prison?" Pac asked worryingly.
"Well, they called it more of an indoor zoo," Pac-Ella replied, "my cage was a small room with a cold plasma barrier, hundreds of Pointy Head guards, and some of the most advanced security systems in the known galaxy standing between me and freedom. I was locked up here with several people from dozens of different planets that the Pointy Heads have conquered. As far as the Pointy Heads were concerned, we were animals and whenever visitors come to see us, we're expected to act like animals."
Pac gave a look of stunned silence, he was horrified to hear that his sister had to go through all that.
"How long have you been through this?" Pac asked.
"Well, I'm six years old now, and I've been locked up by those squids since I was 3, so that means I've been a zoo animal for 3 years," Pac-Ella answered, "But that's not even the worst part."
Pac braced himself, he knew he wasn't gonna like what he was about to hear.
"Aside from being tourist attractions, I and my fellow zoo-inmates were sometimes put through some crazy experiments, daily DNA harvesting, getting injected with experimental stuff, that kind of thing. And we'd get shocked into submission whenever we resisted even the slightest, though I guess I was lucky that I actually rarely had to go through any of that up until a month ago."
"A month ago?" Pac-Man asked, "That's funny, the last time the Pointy Heads tried to invade Pac-World was a month ago, but luckily my friends and I drove them out, and they've been trying to invade us for quite a while."
"Yeah, I heard about how you've managed to defeat the Pointy Heads several times," Pac-Ella said, "I figured that had to be why I got more attention from my squidy wardens. They tried to experiment on me in hopes of finding a weakness they could use on you. But since I was their only Yellow Orb guinea pig, they had to be careful enough that they avoided anything that could immediately kill me."
"So what made the Pointy Heads put you in this ship?" Pac-Man asked.
"I don't know all the details," Pac-Ella replied, "But while I was escorted out of my cell and into that ship, I overheard some passing guards talking with Apex about sending me to another planet to be trained. For what? I don't know, but I wasn't big on finding out, so once the ship flew off into space, I planned a takeover."
"You mean you're the reason the ship's crew is gone?" Pac asked, surprised and amazed, "How'd you pull that off?"
Pac-Ella grinned proudly and pointed her right thumb at herself before saying, "You're looking at a girl who spent 3 years trying to escape an alien zoo. It was hard at first, but eventually I figured out the ins and outs of Pointy Head security and have gotten pretty good at breaking out of my jail cell. Granted, I always eventually got caught, and guards always bombard me with shock batons for one or two minutes before they throw me back into my cell, and while I kept getting closer to being home-free with every escape attempt, I never made it as far as to escape that zoo entirely. But once I got on this ship, all I needed to do was break out of the space jail cell they put me in and then hotwire the ship's circuitry to open all the ship's airlocks. Heh, those squids didn't know what hit 'em, or more specifically, what sucked them into space."
"Wow!" Pac exclaimed with amazement, "Taking over an alien ship, I'm impressed! I bet my friends in Pac-World are gonna love to meet you."
"And after some trial and error, I even figured out how to fly the ship," Pac-Ella said "But it ran out of fuel after a few lightyears, which is why I got stranded here for about a week, scrounging up whatever I could find. Speaking of which, I think it's my turn to ask you something; how'd you find this ship?"
"Oh, my friend Sir Cumference detected patrols of Pointy Heads flying around our solar system," Pac-Man said, but then realized something, "which is exactly where you are, which means…"
"Sweet mother of Galaga!" Pac-Ella exclaimed in shock as she stood up, "they've tracked me here!"
She quickly ran up to Pac and went down on her knees in a begging stance.
"Please tell me you have a way outta here!" Pac-Ella begged in a panicking state, "I don't know what they'll do to me if I'm caught again, I don't want to know! I can't stand the thought of being their prisoner again! I-"
Pac-Ella was surprised when Pac-Man suddenly pulled her into a tight hug to comfort her.
"It's okay, it's okay," Pac-Man whispered to his sister, "they're not here, but I'm here, and I promise I won't let them take you. You won't have to be afraid of them again, okay?"
Pac-Ella took a long, deep breath, then eventually hugged Pac back. After a few seconds of sibling affection, they finally released each other."
"Good, now don't worry, I got the Lemon Rocket outside," Pac-Man said, "It's more than ready to take us both back to Pac-World, and I'm willing to bet we'll be long gone by the time the Pointy Heads find this ship. So how 'bout it, sis? Wanna see your home planet?"
Pac-Ella gave a joyous smile, "Seeing the big brother I've never known and finding out he's everything I've hoped and dreamed he'd be like? That's already awesome. And now I get to be with you to Pac-World? I've got only two words for that; HECK. YEAH!"
"That's the spirit!" Pac-Man exclaimed, then took his sister's hand, "let's go home."
