Chapter 51: PAC-MAN (Bane of Ghosts)
PAC Maze- Inside the Great Fox
The area was black and blue with small and big pellet balls. Some parts of the maze had a few cherries that were randomly placed there. When our ships appeared into this world, we swore we could've heard a sound that started the game ahead of us. "So this is where his Trophy is, huh?" said Sonic. "Yep. This is the place." Rock replied. "At least it's better than PAC World. We would've had a hard time figuring out where he could be in there." Sonic replied. "Yeah. I agree with you there." Rock replied. The two heroes looked down at the Maze from the windows and studied how to get through it; hoping to find a couple hidden entrances there. "Geez... do we really have to eat those pellets?" Rock asked. "I don't think so? I guess you can use them as energy for your Mega Buster to take down the Ghosts." Sonic replied. "Really? Okay. That's a relief." Rock replied; breathing a sigh of relief. "Enjoying the sight, you two?" said a voice.
The two blue heroes turned around and saw a familiar face walk upto them. "Mario? What are you doing here? I thought you're controlling your ship?" Rock asked him. "I was. But I-a asked Peach and Luigi to take care of the ship for this rescue." he replied. "Really? I hope they can handle it well with DK and Yoshi." Sonic replied. "They will be fine. I trust them. Hey? Where's Spirit?" he replied. "She's on a call with her family. Man... I wonder what her adoptive parents think about this?" Rock replied. "Yeah... or maybe... what if her adoptive parents never existed..." Sonic replied; making Mario and Rock confused. "Huh? What do you mean by-a that?" Mario replied. "Think about for a second. When she escaped her Kingdom's destruction and got to her "house" in the city 15 years ago... what if she used her powers to create a realistic illusion of a family in the home to keep her company from going insane? You know, like the Scarlet Witch did in her show that we all watched?" Sonic replied. The heroes thought about for a moment, and then turned around to the entrance of the room; seeing me walk inside. "If she did do that... then Dharkon only wants to take her powers because she doesn't deserve them?" Rock told them as they looked back at each other. "Maybe..." Mario replied. "Maybe what?" a voice replied curiously.
The three heroes lightly jumped in shock and surprise, turned around, and saw me looking at them. "H-hey Spirit." said Sonic. "Sup? What were you guys talking about?" I replied. "Nothing..." Sonic replied nervously. "We were talking about..." Rock replied nervously. "About how-a we are going to stop False PAC-MAN!" Mario replied in a slight stutter. I blinked my eyes and raised my right eyebrow curiously at them; wondering what's gotten to them all of a sudden. "Uh... okay? What's the plan you got in mind?" I asked as I crossed my arms curiously. "See all those pellet balls and cherries in the Maze?" Mario replied. "Yeah?" I replied. "I-a need you, Sonic, and Rock to distract the Ghosts and-a False PAC-MAN with them and take them down. While I go in the big middle part here and get PAC-MAN's Trophy, revive him, and then we join in the fight if they are too tough for you." he replied. "Sounds good. Alright, guys... let's get moving." I replied. "Yeah! Let's give 'em a taste of PAC-MAN fever!" Sonic replied. "Right!" we replied. We gave each other fist bumps and then we made our way to the teleporter. "Are you guys sure on the plan?" Fox asked us. "We're sure." Rock replied. "Okay. Give us a call if things go south." Samus replied. "Got it." Rock and Sonic replied. After that, the four of us were teleported to the Maze.
PAC Maze
We stood on the floor of the Maze, saw the Power Pellets, Cherries, False PAC-MAN, and the four Ghosts beginning to float around. "That's them?" Sonic asked us. "Yep." Rock replied. "Okie-dokie. Let's get-" Mario replied. "Waka waka waka waka waka!" I yelled to the Ghosts; shocking the trio. The Ghosts quickly turned to us with glowing yellow eyes and began to move towards us. "Spirit!? What have you done!?" said Mario. "...Watch." I replied. I used my powers to blend in with my shadow; became intangible, and phased through the floor; dodging the Ghosts attack. Mario, Rock, and Sonic dodged the Ghosts a couple seconds later and watched my shadow move from the ground, to the wall, jump off the wall, make myself reappear, and knock out one Ghost with a Shadow Punch. "It's Super Effective!" I said. I landed back on the ground and turned to False PAC-MAN; seeing his soulless eyes staring at me. I took off my hooded cape and made it disappear as I began to walk towards him. "Come on, Ghost Muncher. Show me what you got." I said to him. "Spirit!" Mario, Rock, and Sonic yelled in fear.
We charged at each other, clashed our energies, and then I pushed him away; knocking him through a wall. "You guys go. Handle and distract the Ghosts for me. I can take on their Boss from here." I told the trio. They looked at me surprised for a moment, turned to each other, nodded their heads, and then turned back to me. "...Okay. Just be careful." Rock replied. "I will. I promise." I replied. After that, we went our separate ways; taking on our enemies. As they fought and chased the Ghosts around, Sonic thought of an idea. "Mario! You and Rock go and grab the Power Pellets! Make him absorb their energy while I distract them!" he said. "You got it!" Mario replied. After that, Rock and Mario went to one side of the Maze and began grabbing Power Pellets. "Come on, Ghosts. I've dealt with ghouls like you before. And I'm not afraid to do that again!" Sonic said to himself. The Ghosts turned to him and began to Shadow Dash to him. Two of them hit him, sent him back, and it made him Spin Dash them back. "Now you're copying me!? That's it! I'm done playing this game!" he said angrily.
He Spin Dashed them again and made them crash into one of the walls nearby; knocking one out cold and the others dizzy. "You four are very lucky that I don't have the Chaos Emeralds with me right now... 'cause if you try to copy me again... I will scorch you and your corrupted hearts with my energy... just like what Spirit's going to do with your Leader." he said as he clutched his fists. Their eyes widened in anger and they began to retaliate against him. Once they got close, one Ghost was destroyed by a blast of energy. "What the hell!?" said Sonic surprised. "Sonic! Over here!" yelled a voice. He turned around, looked up, and saw Rock and Mario on top of the Maze with Power Pellets. "Mario! Rock!" said Sonic happily. "Jump up here! Quick!" Mario replied. Sonic jumped up to them and looked down at the Ghosts with them. "How many of these did you grab?" he asked them. "Just enough." Rock replied as he aimed his Mega Buster at them. "Ready?" Mario asked him. "I was made ready." he replied. Rock picked up one Pellet, absorbed its energy into the Buster, and fired it at the Ghosts; destroying them. The trio high-fived each other in celebration and then jumped down to the Maze floor. "Come on. We got a Trophy to find." said Mario. "Right." Sonic and Rock replied.
They went searching around the Maze for about ten minutes; trying to find PAC-MAN's Trophy. When they found broken areas caused by me and False PAC-MAN, they went to search there for it... but found nothing. "Anything?" Sonic asked them. "Nope." Rock replied. "Nothing." Mario replied. "Geez... you ever think PAC-MAN would have a secret door or something to hide his stuff?" Sonic replied as he scratched his head. "Yeah... come to think of it... there should be something in that area where the Ghosts come out of, right?" Rock replied curiously. "Maybe... come on, let's-a go see if his Trophy is-a hiding there." Mario replied. After that, they went to the area where the Ghosts came. They took one step into the room, and Rock gently grabbed their shoulders; making them stop and turn to him. "What's up?" Sonic asked him. "Look at the floor." he replied. They looked down at the floor and saw a giant hole in the middle of the room. "You think Spirit's fighting him down there?" Sonic asked. "I think so." Rock replied.
They took a few more steps into the room, and then they heard a noise coming from the hole. They got to their battle stances and then heard and saw a gush of water appear. "Woo-hoo!" said a voice as a figure rode the water and jumped off it. The figure landed on the ground, turned around, and saw the trio for the first time; staring at him in shock. "Hey, guys. Did you miss me?" he said. "PAC-MAN!" the trio replied. PAC-MAN smiled, did his signature wink, and then reunited with the trio. "Would you look at this? The four of us? The four Gaming Legends, back together again?" he said. "Yeah. Just like the-a old days." Mario replied as he shook PAC-MAN's hand. They smiled at each other happily and then turned to Sonic and Rock. "Hey, PAC-MAN? Did you see Spirit down there?" Sonic asked him as he pointed down to the hole. "Nope. I didn't see her. All I saw when I woke up was a quick flash of light." he replied. "A quick flash of light? Yep. That's Spirit alright." Rock replied. "Wait... you mean to tell me that Spirit can control Light energy?" PAC-MAN asked them. "Yep." they replied.
After they said that, they heard an explosion nearby. "What was that?" said PAC-MAN. "Let's go find out." Rock replied. They left the room and saw False PAC-MAN slowly stand up from the floor; looking at something. The four heroes turned to his direction and saw me walk out of the smoke with glowing multi-colored eyes; staring down our foe. "No way... that's her..?" said PAC-MAN surprised. "Yep. That's her. We'll tell you everything when we get back to the Ship." Sonic replied. They turned back to our foe and saw him begin to attack me. I stopped in my tracks, raised my right fist, punched the ground, and made a line of giant Light crystal stones; hitting and defeating him. The stones disappeared and I stood up slowly; watching the Shadow Bugs disintegrate. I walked upto where he fell and stood there silently; making the four heroes worried. "...Is she okay?" PAC-MAN asked the trio. "I... I think so?" Rock replied. Mario and Sonic looked at me silently, saw me put my hood down, and then walked over to me. "Spirit? You okay?" Sonic asked me. I turned to them and saw the worried looks on their faces. "...Yeah. I'm okay. I'm just-" I replied. "Stressed out?" Mario replied.
I blinked my eyes and nodded my head yes to his response. "We can tell that you are stressed. Ever since you got your memories back, you have been-a taking the battles against the Shadow Bugs very personally. We understand that 100%... but we don't want to see you break down and fall into darkness. A darkness that is so pure and evil that you-a never come back from if you let them get in your head." he replied. I was surprised by his response for a moment, and then I lowered my head; realizing that he was right. Ever since I got my memories back and reunited with my family... I've been taking these battles more seriously than I used too. I guess it's because of my grudge against Dharkon after what he did to Neos, and the high expectations from my people in my Kingdom to become the Champion that Galeem was. But now I see with the worried looks in my teammates' eyes that I have put too much weight and expectations on my shoulders.
I lifted my head up slowly and the four heroes saw the sad look in my eyes; realizing that Mario was right about what he said. "Spirit... I..." said Mario. "No... it's okay. You were right about what you said. Ever since I got my memories back... I've put the expectations of my family and my people on my shoulders. I wanted to show them how much I've grown and have become. God... how foolish am I? I should've known not to put people's expectations of me to the highest standards in order to please them and make me feel accepted. Man... I can't believe that I let my emotions and those thoughts take over me. I feel like an idiot for all that." I replied. "You're not an idiot, Spirit. You are a Lucrean with very strong emotions. You just need to control them and never let anyone set expectations for you. You choose on how to live, act, and everything else in your life. Don't let anyone choose the life and person you have to be. Only you can make that choice. If they can't be happy about you being yourself, then why try to please them?" Sonic replied.
Mario, Rock, and PAC-MAN nodded in agreement to Sonic's response. I took his words to heart for a moment, closed my eyes for a few seconds, opened them, and nodded my head to them with a light smile. "Ha ha! There's the Spirit I know!" said Sonic. We gave each other a fist bump and then we all went back to the Great Fox.
Inside the Great Fox
The four heroes stood around each other and talked to Ms. PAC-MAN on a tablet; seeing how happy and relieved she was that he is alive and safe with us. "Don't you worry, sweetheart. Once this war is over, I will be back home with you and the kids, and I will make sure that we all stay together from now on. I promise." said PAC-MAN. "I know you will, honey. Just make sure that Mario, Rock, and Sonic keep you on your feet and ready for anything." Ms. PAC-MAN replied. "Will do. Okay, I gotta get going. Tell the kids I love them and I'll see them soon." PAC-MAN replied. "I will. Love you." she replied. "Love you too." he replied. After that, the call ended and they gave the tablet back to Falco. "Everything okay back at home?" Falco asked. "Yep. The family is safe and sound. They're all good." PAC-MAN replied. "That's good to hear." Falco replied. They lightly smiled at each other and then walked over to where Fox and Samus were; seeing me, Roy, Link, Marth, Chrom, and Lucina talking to them. "You guys found someone?" Sonic asked us.
We turned to them and nodded our heads to them. "Who is it?" Rock asked. "...It's Robin." I replied. "Robin!?" Chrom and Lucina replied in shock. I nodded my head yes to them. "Where is he?" Chrom asked me. "At Origin Peak." Roy replied. "Origin Peak..? That was where we..." Chrom replied. "Where we fought Grima. If he is there... that means... Grima has returned..." Lucina replied. Chrom's eyes widened in shock to his daughter's words. He then lowered his head, clutched his fist, and then punched a table; surprising us. "Father!" said Lucina in a worried tone. "It's alright, Lucina. Your father is just worried about Robin as much as you are. We need to think of a plan to take Grima down and get Robin back safely. And when we get him back... your world will be safe again. We promise." Marth replied. She looked at him, wiped off a tear, and nodded her head in understanding.
Chrom lifted his head up and looked at us; seeing the worried look in his daughter's eyes. "Marth is right, Lucina. I'm just worried about Robin. If Grima's army has Robin's Trophy in their possession... they're going to try to revive him and brainwash him. And I do not want that to happen. I don't ever want to see you, Robin, or everyone we know from our world and this tournament being controlled by Grima. We saw the damage and chaos that he can cause before... and you, Robin, and I know that we do not want to see that kind of chaos roaming our world ever again." he said. "Chrom..." Roy replied. Chrom sighed and wiped off a couple tears on his face; showing us how truly worried he was for Robin. "I... I just hope that his Trophy is safe somewhere... and that he is okay." he said. "We hope so too, Father. But now is the time to think like Robin. He wouldn't want us to worry over stuff like this. He would want us to be strong for him and take down our enemies just like we have done before. He believes in us. I can feel it." Lucina replied as she put her hand to her heart.
Chrom blinked his eyes, smiled warmly at her, and hugged her. "You're right, Lucina. You're absolutely right." he replied. We smiled warmly at them as they hugged and then looked at the Slate. "Alright... let's get going." said Samus. "Right." we replied. After that, Mario took Sonic, Rock, and PAC-MAN to his ship and then we left to Origin Peak; ready to rescue Robin.
Thank you so much for reading the Chapter. I apologize for taking so long for this one. This year for me physically and mentally hasn't been the best for me. But after a long break and clear mindset, things should get back to normal now!
Oh! Since now the last Fighter is out... what do you guys think about Sora? I have been requesting him since 2008, and to finally see him in Smash 13 years later... it was a total Dream Come True! When I saw his Keyblade, I screamed at the top of my lungs in celebration, and then began to cry once I heard the instrumental version of Simple & Clean. Just to now see him with Cloud, Sephiroth, Mario, Link, and many others... I thought that it would be impossible. But as long as you believe in something with all your heart... it can become possible and will come true.
Oh! By the way... I had written Sora's Chapter over 2 years ago! It was written during the first few months after Kingdom Hearts 3 came out! So in this story, he will in his physical appearance of Kingdom Hearts 3. And during the tournament... he lives with Spirit, Roy, Pikachu, Link, Cloud, Corrin, and Ren! Now I really want to do little stories with just this little group... just to see how they bond with each other! I think it would be a fun idea.
Anyways, thank you so much for reading and have an awesome day!
Next time, Chapter 52: Robin (The Tactician). The group arrives at Origin Peak, teams up with the allies of Chrom, Robin, and Lucina, and take on Grima, False Robin, and Grima's army. How will the team try to save Robin? Find out in Chapter 52!