"LET ME GO YOU OVERGROWN ORANGE!" Pac hollered as he was hoisted in the air by his wrist.
"Speak for yourself, Lemonhead", said Inky.
"Sorry little fella, no can do", said Clyde who was the one holding Pac.
"Just quit squirming", Blinky grumbled.
"Give it up, you ain't getting in there", said Pinky.
It had happened again- Pac had tried to sneak in to see the Tree Of Life for the third time this month. It was the one place he wasn't allowed entry, and with good reason… Everyone knew that if Pac got ahold of the Power Berries, it would more than likely lead to en masse destruction of everything everywhere. In fact, there was an incident involving that when he was merely five years old. He had somehow gotten past security, and gobbled down the berries like there was no tomorrow. In less than an hour the interior of the building was barely recognizable as it was trashed so badly.
On the upside, it gave Betrayus an opportunity to rebuild the building in his own image (whether or not this was actually an upside, I'll let the reader decide.) Next thing anyone knew, the halls and exterior of the building were decked out in various shades of blacks and reds; banners hung from the walls, and there was a marble statue of Betrayus himself placed out in the garden. But still, it was possibly the only time little Pac was ever shown any sort of discipline, and as such was barred from the Tree of Life's room, at least until he took the throne.
Pac continued to yell and scream, kicking his legs wildly as if it would make Clyde put him down. He spewed insults at the hefty orange Pac Worlder, saying things that made a sailor's words look tame. His harsh words caused Clyde to flinch a bit, but it was something he was used to all the same.
"Come on little guy", said Clyde, "it's for your own good!"
"SHUT UP AND PUT ME DOWN!"
Pac went into outright hysterics as Clyde began to walk down the hall while carrying the still outraged heir, hauling him to his bedroom. Blinky opened the door once they got there, and Clyde gently set Pac down and shut the door and locked it as per routine whenever this happened. Pac just continued yelling, and the gang could hear him throwing things in his anger.
It was times like this when they REALLY wished Pac wasn't such a brat, as well as wishing that "ol Betty" would do something about it. It was no use complaining either, that would just make Betrayus angry. So they were stuck having to pretty much babysit young Pac. They just walked away from the young heir's room, leaving the boy to have his tantrum in peace.
"What was Betrayus thinking, adopting him let alone letting him turn out this way", Blinky said with a sigh.
"Beats me", Pinky replied with an eye roll, "he's such a… a…"
"Lemon Menace", said Inky.
"Yeah that. Do you think he'll do it again?"
"Do what", said Clyde.
"You know, the thing."
"Ohhh! Yeah probably. If he does, we'll just bring him back."
The gang just walked down the hall, chatting amongst themselves…
Nightfall. He had been let out of his room several hours ago, but now he was back as per bedtime. But not that he always went to sleep- nope. Tonight he was gonna try it again… he was going to sneak out.
So he did the usual first step- he put a pillow underneath his blanket to make it look as if he were in the bed. Then, he opened his window and climbed out, shutting it behind him.
The cool night air washed over him, and he could faintly hear the sounds of crickets. He had done this many times before, yet each time still seemed to fill him with a rush of adrenaline.
He walked away from the building, being careful to avoid being seen. Once he was far away enough, he broke into a run. Time to have some fun.
He walked down the city's sidewalk, humming a bit to himself. The sidewalk and streets were empty, save for a few bugs whom he gladly stepped on.
He had already gotten into some shenanigans: spray painting inappropriate words and pictures on buildings, smashing mailboxes, and even at one point doing something as petty as switching people's mail around. He continued to walk, having a cheerful gait. Little did he know, this was the night that would kickstart the chain of events that would change his life like a set of dominoes tipping over…
Pacopolis was no longer the lively, cheerful city it once was. It was instead quite dull, a sense of dread seeming to constantly hang in the air. The same could be said for the rest of Pac World as well, but Pacopolis had it the worst. Not that she knew what it was once like personally, as she was only a baby when he had taken over.
The pink Pac Worlder was sitting at a table in her dorm, attempting to finish her assigned homework. Not that she truly cared, as she had other things on her mind. Most of what they taught in schools was a bunch of indoctrination crap anyway.
She just sighed and set her pencil down, checking the clock. It was almost 9 PM, meaning it was almost time for the weekly meeting. She stood, and went over to the dorm window. She opened it, pulled out a rope, and lowered it down to the ground below. She climbed down, and made sure there was no one around. Now, to make her way toward the designated area…
She was hurrying down the sidewalk, on her way to the safe house- the HQ of the Neo Resistance. One could say she was a bit young to be a freedom fighter, but due to far too many people being too afraid to take a stand, she was accepted alongside another teen.
She was so absorbed in these thoughts, that she neglected to watch where she was going… BUMP!
"Sorry I-"
"WATCH IT!"
"Pardon?" She looked up at who she had run into, and felt her heart stop for a moment and her blood turn cold. It was HIM. There was no mistaking it… those thick soled boots, the red cape, the yellow color… uh oh. But what was HE doing out HERE?
"Puh… puh…" she stuttered.
"Puh puh puh Pac", Pac said with a smirk. Cyli nodded meekly.
"Whatcha doin' out so late eh? Shouldn't you be in a dorm or something?"
What was she supposed to say? It was obvious she wasn't supposed to be out here, then again likely neither was he. This was a real problem. What if he found out where she was going?! They'd all be executed for sure!
"I was… just on my way back to the dorms." She mentally facepalmed at such a stupid, transparent lie. She always was a terrible liar.
"Riiiight", Pac said, "and I'm on my way to the Nether Realm. Where are you really headed?"
Cyli's heart was beginning to pound. Everyone knew that the young heir was just as dangerous as the father, if not moreso.
So lying clearly wasn't gonna work, and neither would telling the truth. So decided to do something very brave or very stupid- she clenched her fists and stomped her foot. "It's none of your business where I'm headed. You shouldn't be out here either! Now leave me alone or I'll tell on you!"
Pac stopped for a moment. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh yes!"
Pac looked as if he were about to retaliate, then backed off with a groan. "Whatever." He walked past her, shoving her out of the way as he did so.
Pac was furious- who did she think she was, talking to HIM like that?! He just stomped away back in the direction of his home, grumbling under his breath.
"She was kinda cute though", came a sudden thought in his mind. He stopped for just a moment, shocked that he had just thought that. Also, while it was true that no one had ever spoken to him that way, he kind of… liked it? He really hated to admit it, but he did for reasons he couldn't figure out.
Now was his turn to bump into someone-
"Well well well", rang out Blinky's voice, "lookie we got here. You lost, little guy?"
"Just take me home."
All four of their mouths fell open in unison. Was he serious? Usually they had to wrestle with him to get him to come home. They all looked at each other for a moment, then guided him back to the building that served as Betrayus' headquarters.
As they walked, Pac was still fuming a bit. Did he just get talked down by a GIRL? A cute one to boot…
"Stop thinking about that", he mentally told himself.
It took them around ten minutes to reach the building, and Pac was ushered through the double doors. "You're lucky if we don't tell your dad this time", Inky said.
"Now go to bed before we change our minds", said Pinky.
Shockingly enough, Pac complied. He went back to his room, and plopped down on his bed. He turned over onto his side, shut his eyes, and began to sleep…