Betrayus was seated at his desk, staring off into space. He was still shaken up at the news he had received the night prior.
He hadn't eaten or slept since then, and he of course sent out a citywide broadcast for the traitors and his son to be found at once.
His eyes quickly darted over to the wall then back down at his desk. In the wall was a dent that had been there for the past 15 years… since the day he adopted that yellow orb. The charred blackness from the blaster had long since been cleaned up, but the dent remained as a grim reminder of that day.
It would be a lie to say that day didn't haunt him. The way his own brother had pleaded for mercy only for Betrayus to silence him forever. And Spheria… oh Spheria. He originally adopted Pac as he saw the little infant as all that remained of her, but over time he found himself growing attached.
At first he felt nothing about all the deaths he caused that day (minus Spheria). But as the years went by… the more he grew to love Pac, the more the regret grew within him.
Then… the nightmares started. He would be tormented with visions of Stratos' corpse, and he would hear his older brother cursing him.
And then there was their mother. Not even 24 hours had passed after his victory did she pass on. Her poor old heart apparently couldn't take it. Upon hearing the dreadful news he had wept, and made sure Rotunda got a proper burial.
But in spite of these things… he didn't stop. He continued to knowingly rule Pac World as a cruel tyrant who took joy in the misery of others.
He made harsh laws… made taxes unreasonably high… propaganda was the norm…
Nope. He certainly wouldn't be winning any best leader awards anytime soon.
Then-
The automatic door opened and in came a few soldiers.
"Well", Betrayus hissed.
"Still no sign of any of them Sir."
"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?! DON'T COME BACK UNTIL THOSE TRAITORS ARE CAUGHT! DEAD, ALIVE, I DON'T CARE! AND FIND PAC DAMMIT!"
The soldiers left quickly.
His son. His own son had turned against him. The truth was out. He was more than aware that lying to Pac like that was awful, but in his eyes he was doing it out of love. How twisted.
Then there was the spoiling. He gave Pac everything he could ever desire, and hardly showed him any discipline. This too he saw as a good thing. In his view, Betrayus was making up for the lack of affection he received in his own youth.
Now that his own son was against him, who knew what would happen. The penalty for treason was death. Harsh, but also not surprising for Betrayus to do.
Now that Pac was against his own dad, he was in trouble. He was no stranger to the knowledge that Pac possessed great power.
He clenched his fists and his eyes found their way over to the dent once more.
"You should have killed that boy when you had the chance", came a thought.