"Surprise", Betrayus said again.

Pac just stood there, his eyes wide in disbelief. Cyli just continued to struggle to no avail. Once her eyes caught sight of Pac, she just glared daggers at him. "I just KNOW you have something to do with this", she hissed.

"Uhhh", Pac said.

"My son is quite taken with you", said Betrayus, "so congratulations! You have received the honor of spending the day with him!"

"WHAT", Cyli shrieked.

Pac was speechless, then he found it in him to voice his concerns. "DAD WHAT THE HECK?!"

Betrayus' smile disappeared at once. "Excuse me? I thought you liked this girl and would want to see her again!"

"Daaaad!"

"What?"

"DAD!"

"I should REALLY be in class right now", Cyli groaned.

"Oh and one more thing-", Betrayus began, "you see that thing around your ankle? If you try to leave the building it will explode and only I can take it off. Now drop her, you two."

The soldiers obeyed, and Cyli was let go. "Have fun kids", Betrayus said as he got up from his desk and left the office, the soldiers following behind.

"Uh, hi?" said Pac.

"I hate you", Cyli snapped.

Yes while it WAS true that he would have liked to see her again, this WASN'T what he had in mind at all. The teens just stared at each other, both of them not knowing what to do at this point.

"Um… wanna go to the kitchen and get something to eat?"

"No."

"Then what do you wanna do?"

"Well I would very much like to leave but thanks to you both of us know that ain't happening."

"Uh… I can show you around the building! There's LOTS of cool stuff in here."

Cyli was about to bluntly decline once more, then a thought crossed her mind. It was her recalling Radia's plan. The one about a member of the Neo Resistance infiltrating and acting as a spy. Perhaps she could make this work out in her favor…

"Sure", she forced herself to say.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"All right!"

Pac had decided to show his new, er, "friend" around the entrance area first. "This is the entrance… pretty big in here…"

"Yeah I know. I got a good look as I was hauled in here against my will."

"Did they… hurt you?"

"Just a few bruises from where they grabbed me, but what do you care?"

"Well", came Blinky's voice from behind them, "look at this! Ol Packy's got a girlfriend!"

"Put a sock in it", Pac growled.

"I AM NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND", Cyli shouted.

"Oh stop it Blinky", said Inky.

"It's mean", said Clyde.

"That's why it's funny", Pinky chimed in.

Pac responded by performing a certain obscene hand gesture towards the gang. Cyli gasped. "That is so inappropriate!"

"And? They had it coming."

"Can we just continue the tour or something?"

"...sure."

The place sure was big, they had been walking for a good half hour and had barely covered a third of the building. "Down here's the dungeon", Pac said as they descended down the stairs. Cyli couldn't describe it, but the basement did have sort of a 'dungeon-y' smell to it- dank and musty.

The majority of the cells were empty much to her surprise. If there was anything in them, it was storage containers and some rats. "Not much goes on down here", Pac continued, "except for the old coot who builds stuff sometimes."

"Old coot?"

"Yeah. I think his name is Mr. Circumcision or something like that."

"I'm sorry… Mr. what?"

"I dunno, I always forget their name. Oh hey, there he is!"

They approached a cell at the end of the hall, and the inside was a mess to put it lightly. Papers were strewn about haphazardly, and there were two tables inside as well- one was a desk, and the other was decked out with lab equipment. "Yoooo", Pac called out.

"What", said the person inside. Their tone was harsh yet bored sounding, they had clearly been dealing with this for a very long time.

"Dijda make anything new yet", Pac chirped.

"No."

"Will you?"

"If that butthead wills it."

"What if I will it?"

"What's the point? You'll break it in less than a week anyway."

"HEY!"

Pac was angry now, but the person in the cell didn't seem to care.

"What are you even doing down here? Shouldn't you be upstairs eating something or throwing another tantrum?"

"I… brought a friend." Cyli was about to say otherwise, but decided it would be best to stay on the heir's good side.

"Don't make me laugh. You have no friends."

"Just turn around, will you?!"

"If you insist. You're really giving me a workout, kid."

He turned, and Cyli was shocked and saddened at what she saw. They looked tired, disheveled even. They had deep bags under their eyes, as if they hadn't slept in days. Their hair was in disarray, and their posture was slouched. Then, it hit her. She finally realized who she was looking at. It took a while, due to their current state making them difficult to recognize.

"Diamitri", she croaked out, "Diamitri Cumference?"

Mr. C's eyebrows went up. "Oh, well lookie we got here. Not only has little Pac made a friend, but she also knows her history. How much did your dad pay her to hang out with you, hm?"

The more insults the poor man threw, the angrier Pac became. "Keep talking and I'll have my dad-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, you'll have him kill me. You've said it before. Many times. I ain't afraid of yer papa no more anyway. Your threats are hollow. But if you're serious, go on. Tattle on me. I'm pretty sure being dead is loads better than having to sit here and deal with the likes of you."

That was it. Pac let out a yell and lunged forward, gripping the cell bars with his gloved hands. "I CAN BUY AND SELL YOU, OLD MAN!"

"So? I ain't worth a penny and you know it."

They went back and forth for a bit, and it was obvious this had happened numerous times before. "ENOUGH", Cyli finally shouted. They both stopped arguing and looked at her. "I didn't come down here just to hear you two fight!"

Then, her stomach rumbled. "Oh… you want some food", Pac said.

"Uh…"

His face lit up. "Say no more! I'll get us down to the kitchen and get Ogle to cook us a big feast!"

"Um-"

"Wait here! Be right back!"

He dashed away, suddenly in a much better mood."

"That boy has only room for food in his brain I fear", said Mr. C.

"It's… an honor to meet you sir." Mr C just huffed.

"Hmph. At least someone around here has a sense of decency. What's your name, kid?"

"Cylindria, but everyone calls me Cyli."

"Well Cyli, what could possibly have motivated you to hang out with the Pac Brat?"

"I… really didn't have a choice."

"Ah. So that's how it is. So you knew who I was?"

"Yes, I learned all about the Freedom Fighters in school, although the lessons made you out to be the bad guys."

"And do you believe that?"

"No."

"Much appreciated."

"No problem."

A few silent moments passed. Then, Cyli decided to say something. She wasn't sure if she should say it, but felt the need to for some reason.

"I… I know your sister."

"That ain't funny, kid."

"No really! She's really big and tough- but at the same time caring."

Mr C closed his eyes. "So you've met Radia…"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Well, she's the founder and leader of the Neo Resistance and-:"

"THE WHAT", Mr C suddenly hollered.

"Huh?"

"Of course… just like her to do something like this…"

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! That's a suicide mission that's what's wrong!"

Cyli was taken aback by the old man's sudden change in mood. "Please don't tell me you're part of it."

"I am."

"Then leave them."

"What?!"

"Like I said, it's pointless. We couldn't defeat him before, what makes you think you can, especially after he's taken over?!"

"I just… know we can."

"No, you HOPE you can. You're just a kid. You need to back out of that if you know what's best for you."

"No. I just can't."

"Have fun getting yourself killed, then."

He turned back around, and got back to whatever he was working on.

"Wait…"

"What?"

"You were a part of the original Resistance right?"

"And?"

"We don't have very many members, we could use your help! I mean I hear you were brilliant-"

"Flattered though I am, convinced I am not. Letting me out of here would be a death sentence for both of us."

"What do you mean?"

"This cage is a cardboard prison- I can leave if I really want to."

"Then why don't you?"

"I have. Several times. Each time I got caught. Last time I did, they threatened to kill me if I ever tried again."

"There has to be a way! I can get you out of here if I really tried!"

"What then? Once they notice I'm gone it'll be a witch hunt."

"Not if we use your wits and inventions to take down Betrayus before that happens. Please… we need you. Your sister needs you. Pac World needs you."

"You're just trying to butter me up…"

"No I mean it! Please, I'm begging you! There's strength in numbers, right?"

Mr. C paused, as if considering her words. "I really ain't gonna talk you out of this, am I?"

"Nope."

"Alright then. I hope you know what you're doing, kid."

Cyli could feel her heart beating faster. "So you'll do it?"

"Sure- that is if we can get outta here without getting blown to pieces."

"Thank you."

"Yep."

"FOOD'S READY", came a far away voice in the direction of the stairs.

"Gotta go", said Cyli, "I'll see you later tonight."

"Good luck kid. Don't get yourself killed."

Cyli practically ran up the stairs, the conversation repeating in her mind… was this plan brave or stupid? Only time would tell.