Chapter 3: House Arrest
Pac and his friends were out protecting Pac-World from Betrayus' ghosts once again. Today, they were chasing a green ghost who stole something from one of Sir Cumference's secret labs. "You're not gonna get this tech back, Pac-Freak! It belongs to Betrayus now!" The ghost exclaimed. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but we're taking that back. And grabbing a quick snack on the way." Pac said. He lashed his tongue out at the ghost, but it quickly moved out of the way. "Hey!" Pac exclaimed. "Whoa! That is one clever ghost!" Spiral exclaimed in surprise. "Where'd he learn to move like that?" Cyli asked. "My guess is that he must be one of Betrayus' elite trained ghosts. Best ghosts in all of the Netherworld." Blinky said. "Betrayus only sends any of them out on special occasions." Pinky said.
The ghost continued to fly through the city with Pac and his team in pursuit. "But why would Betrayus want something from one of Sir C's secret labs?" Cyli asked. "Especially if Buttocks could just whip up a rip-off of said thing." Spiral said. "Whatever it is, we're putting a stop to it now." Pac said. He lashed out his tongue again. But the ghost kept dodging the tongue. "Wow. He really is quick. But not quick enough." Pac said. He pulled a special maneuver with his tongue and snatched the ghost. "Aw man!" The ghost complained. "Finally! It's feeding time!" Pac cheered.
Suddenly, something zapped Pac's tongue and the ghost. The shock forced Pac to let go of the ghost. "Hey! What gives!" He exclaimed. The ghost managed to flee. But Pac noticed that it dropped the thing it stole. But just then, it was picked up by someone who Pac and his friends never thought they'd see again. "O'Drool?!" They exclaimed in shock. Yes. It was O'Drool, former Secretary of Security to President Spheros. But he was fired for arrogantly blaming Sir C for one of Buttocks' plans. "Look, O'Drool, we just want the device that ghost stole from Sir C." Pac said. "Place the Pac-Man under arrest at once!" O'Drool ordered with a snap of his fingers. Just then, several Pac-soldiers surrounded Pac and his team, much to their shock. "What's going on here?!" Cyli asked. "I don't know. But this is really gonna go on our permanent records." Spiral said.
Later, Pac and his friends were placed inside a jail cell. The bars were also ghost-proof so the Ghostly Gang couldn't phase through. "I don't get it. Why were we placed under arrest?" Spiral asked. "Because you were violating the new city laws." O'Drool said as he walked up to the cell. "What laws?" Cyli asked. "It was placed by President Spheros just this morning. By decree, the Pac-Man and those associated with him are hereby declared vigilantes and enemies of Pac-World." O'Drool explained, showing them a document. "What?! That can't be right! I'm the one who's supposed to protect Pac-World from Betrayus!" Pac exclaimed. "Correction. You were the one. But you are officially out of a job." O'Drool said. "We demand to talk with President Spheros about this." Spiral said. "There's nothing to talk about. This signature is all that you need to see." O'Drool said. Pac and his friends glared at O'Drool. "But I'll give you kids this one freebee. I'm gonna send you lot back to school where you belong. And if I see any of you out trying to fight Betrayus' invading forces, you will be locked up for life. And to make sure you stay put, I'm placing a couple of guards to see that you stay in school." O'Drool warned as he led Pac and his team out of the jails.
As Pac and his friends returned to school, they were wondering how and why President Spheros would deem them vigilantes. "Why would President Spheros do this?" Cyli asked. "There must be a reasonable explanation." Spiral said. "But what? Ever since we've joined this ragtag troupe, the citizens of Pac-World have gotten a bit restless." Blinky said. "Why don't we try calling President Spheros?" Spiral asked. Pac tried calling Spheros on his watch phone, but he couldn't get through to him. "Oh man! O'Drool must've put a blocker on our phones!" Pac exclaimed. "Then it looks like we're under house arrest." Cyli said. Unknown to them, one of Betrayus' slug cams was watching them.
In the Netherworld, Betrayus and Buttocks were watching. "Well, well, well, it looks like our luck has finally turned, Betrayus." Buttocks said. "Indeed, it has. With the Pac-pest and his little friends under house arrest, we can continue with our plans for conquering Pac-World!" Betrayus cheered. "Shall we launch an immediate ghost attack, your spookiness?" Buttocks asked. "Does a gargoyle have hyper hot jalapeno breath?" Betrayus asked.
A portal opened in the maze and Betrayus' entire ghost army invaded Pac-World. The Pac-Worlders started fleeing for their lives as the ghosts attacked the streets. "Citizens of Pac-World, Betrayus' ghost army has once again invaded Pac-World. But no sign of Pac-Man or his friends. If anybody knows where they are, tell them that Pac-World needs them!" The news lady exclaimed with worry. "Never mind the Pac-Vigilante, citizens! The real heroes are here!" O'Drool called with a snap of the fingers as he and his forces drove their pineapple tanks into battle. "And it appears that former Secretary of Security, O'Drool, will be attempting to handle the ghost army himself." The news lady said.
Pac and his friends watched the scene from their TV. "This is a disaster. O'Drool's no match for those ghosts." Spiral said. "No doubt. I doubt he'd even be a match to the 4 of us." Inky said. "We gotta get out of here and talk to the president." Cyli said. Pac had an idea. "Say, can 2 of you guys possess the guards at the door and let us out?" He asked. "Oh, why didn't we think of that?" Pinky asked. "Leave it to us, Pac." Blinky said. He and Pinky phased through the wall and possessed the 2 guards. Pinky then unlocked the door and let the others out. "Thanks, guys. Now let's get to the Round House." Pac said. "But we don't have the document O'Drool showed us." Cyli said. "Oh yes, we do." Clyde said. He coughed up the document and cleaned up the slime. "We snuck it away from O'Drool as he let us out of our jail cell." Inky said. "Great work, guys. Let's go." Pac said as he and his friends headed out. Blinky and Pinky left their possessed guards' bodies, leaving them dazed.
Later, Pac and his friends arrived at the Round House in record time. President Spheros and Sir Cumference were talking inside the office, along with Grindor, Grindette, Fuzzbitz and Buttler. "I've been trying to contact Pac and the youngsters for hours now, but I can't get a hold of them." Sir C said. "And O'Drool isn't responding to my call either. Where is Pac-Man?" Spheros asked. "Right here, Mr. President." Pac said as he and the others entered the office. "Pac, my boy! Where have you youngings been?" Sir C asked. "O'Drool put us under house arrest…by order from you, Mr. President." Spiral said. "My order?!" Spheros asked in surprise. "Here's the documentation O'Drool showed us, sir." Inky said, handing the document to Spheros. "I never signed anything like this." Spheros said. "You didn't? But the document says it all." Cyli said. "Perhaps the document is a fake." Buttler suggested. "A fake?!" Everyone asked in surprise. "We'll figure that out later. Pac, you need to get out there and gobble those ghosts." Spheros said. "Yes sir, Mr. President." Pac said.
Meanwhile, O'Drool's troops weren't having any luck dealing with Betrayus' army. "Sir, nothing's working! We must retreat!" A soldier exclaimed. "We will do no such thing! We will stand our ground! We will fight! And we will WIN!" O'Drool exclaimed. "Not without me, you won't." Pac's voice said. Everyone looked up and saw Pac flying into the fight. "What?! No!" O'Drool exclaimed. Pac started gobbling up every single ghost he came up against. "Alright, Pacster!" Spiral cheered. "Chow down, Pac!" Cyli cheered. "You got this, Paccums!" Pinky cheered. "Go, Pac-Man!" Blinky cheered. Pac continued chowing down every last ghost. "Ah, now that hit the spot." He said before belching out the eyeballs. The remaining ghosts retreated back to the Netherworld. Betrayus watched the scene and was burning with anger. "NO! Not another invasion foiled! Why does this keep happening to me?!" He asked in anger. Buttocks just shrugged.
As Pac landed back on the ground, his friends congratulated him and the crowd cheered. "Nice moves, bro." Spiral said. "You beat Betrayus' whole army in one swoop." Inky said. "We're so proud of you, Packles." Pinky said. "Thanks, guys. I guess that's just what I needed." Pac said. As the crowd cheered, everyone suddenly went quiet as O'Drool marched up to Pac and his friends. "I warned you that you would be locked up for life if you ever violated your house arrest. And now, that's exactly what's going to happen." O'Drool said with a snap of his fingers. "That's not gonna happen, O'Drool." Spheros said as he and Sir C's crew walked up. "P-P-President Spheros!" O'Drool exclaimed in surprise. "We analyzed your document, O'Drool, and we happen to know that it was a forgery." Sir C revealed. "You're the one who's going to be locked up for life, O'Drool." Spheros said. "But, Mr. President, he may be the last yellow one, but he has to be-" O'Drool tried to say. "Save it, O'Drool! We know you've had it out for Pac and his friends ever since I fired you. Well, this is the final straw. Arrest him!" Spheros ordered. The Pac-cops cuffed O'Drool and dragged him away. "No! Stop! What're you doing?!" O'Drool exclaimed as he was dragged into the police car. "So long, Snappy!" Pac called as he snapped his fingers in mockery.
O'Drool was brought into jail and placed in a cell. "What're you looking at?" He asked rudely to his neighbor in the next cell, who was revealed to be Skeebo, smiling annoyingly at him.
Later, Pac and his friends met with Spheros back in his office. "I'm really sorry for all the inconvenience O'Drool caused you and your friends, Pac-Man." Spheros said. "It's not your fault, Mr. President. O'Drool's plan was almost very clever. But we managed to see through it." Pac said. "And now O'Drool won't ever get in your way again. I guarantee it." Spheros said. Just then, Cyli gasped. "What's wrong, Cyli?" Spiral asked. "That device the ghost stole! We never got it back after O'Drool confiscated it!" Cyli exclaimed with worry. "Not to worry, Cyli. I got it back just after O'Drool was arrested." Sir C said as he entered, holding the device. "Well, at least it's another happy ending." Pac said. Everyone laughed at that.