If the curfew wasn't enough motivation for Pac and the others to get back to the dorms, the ghosts certainly were. To make matters worse, Skeebo fainted from the horrible sight of those specters, leaving what was quite literally a load on everyone's backs. Spiral did the honors of carrying him the way back since he was physically fit for the task.
As they exited the maze, they came face to face with the rest of Skeebo's goons and Ms. Globular. "Tsk tsk," the teacher started scoldingly, "outside after curfew! And you're already due for a meeting with the dean after what happened earlier, Pac!" The yellow student sighed in exasperation. "Look, we just gotta get inside!" Globular was quick to respond. "Not until I write all four of you up since I already did so for the others! You will be serving in the detention room tomorrow morning!" Pac groaned in exasperation. "I'm sorry, Ms. Globular, but we just don't have time!" "Oh, let me guess, ghosts?" Her sarcasm was answered with the ghost swarm flying overhead. Like Skeebo beforehand, she too fainted. Pac and the others didn't hesitate to keep running, alongside Skeebo's posse.
...
In the Round House's circle office, Stratos requested to his two aides that the TV be wheeled in. He tuned in to an emergency news broadcast reporting on the current situation.
"Ten minutes ago," the reporter began, "these… things flew out of Maze 256! We're not exactly sure what they are, but we'll keep you post-" she was cut off by a ghost spitting slime all over her, and then the camera. The feed turned to static.
Stratos got up from his seat and looked out the window behind him. Sure enough, there were ghosts everywhere, illuminating the night sky. He recognized them. Somehow, he felt responsible. He thought back to what he said earlier on the news. Seeing through his brother ahead of time wasn't the only thing he wished he could've done differently back then.
The static stopped. The president looked back to see a rather crudely drawn sign displayed on the monitor that read "Special Bulletin". A harsh voice spoke, "we are pleased to bring you a special bulletin concerning recent events." Stratos knew immediately who it was.
...
The sign lowered, revealing the spirit of Lord Traditorus himself. "Eighteen years ago," he began, "I suffered my greatest loss. But today, I have been given a blessing." Stratos gritted his teeth at how his brother twisted his words.
The ghost lord continued, "I wish I could've won all those years ago, but there is no way of changing the past. But! You know what I can change?" Traditorus flew closer to the screen, almost as if he was addressing his brother directly. "The future! And the future is now, for I will rule Pac-World! Forever!"
...
Traditorus ended his broadcast with a hearty and sinister cackle and the regular channel 765 feed resumed. Stratos turned off the TV.
One of the aides spoke up. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, Mr. President." Stratos thought to himself, eyes closed. Then, suddenly, he remembered something. "I believe I have an idea."
...
Pac, Cyli, and Spiral (who was still carrying Skeebo on his back) had made it to the top of the dorm building. Skeebo finally woke up. "W-what happened? Where am I?" he groggily asked. Pac grabbed him by the hand. "Everything will be ok, Skeebs." The blue jock quickly swatted him away. "Get off of me, lemonhead," he snapped back, "and don't call me Skeebs!"
The ghost army was still going strong up in the sky. They were circling all around Pacopolis. Suddenly, those four ghosts that hitched a ride with the rest appeared above Pac and the others. They were performing an elaborate and synchronized introduction.
"I'm Blinky!" said the red one.
"I'm Pinky!" said the pink one.
"I'm Inky!" said the blue one.
"I'm Clyde!" said the orange one.
They all continued in unison, "and we're gonna take you for a-" their sequence was cut off when they took notice of Pac in particular. "A-a-a-a-a-"
"A yellow one?!" they all screamed, immediately turning a deep blue in fear. Right after, they all flew out into the distance. They continued screaming and hollering about this unexpected encounter.
Pac just kept staring in confusion. The other three stared at him, feeling the same. "Uh, maybe they've been reading too many comics?" Pac stated.
...
The four university students ran into the main city itself to try and look for better hiding spots. Suddenly, Skeebo was swept up by a large cyclopean ghost. "One more move and I'll slime him!" the ghost threatened.
Pac stepped forward. "Try me!"
In an instant, the cyclops ghost turned blue in fear just like the other four ghosts. He dropped Skeebo in shock, Pac quickly catching the falling jock afterward. Skeebo was amazed. "Y-y-you saved my life, Pac!" he exclaimed. Pac simply grinned. "Don't mention it, Skeebs."
All the other surrounding ghosts stopped their attack and floated in place. Again, they shifted to a deep blue. Somehow, for some reason, they were all afraid of Pac. After the entire ghost horde left to fly back to the hedge maze, the Pacopolis residents that were present all started clapping and cheering for Pac. The news crew wheeled in closer to him.
The news reporter began, "what an amazing turn of events, everyone! It appears that those "ghosts" were all scared off by this young man here!" she pointed her microphone toward Pac. "Tell us, please, what's your name?" Pac, still reeling from the surprise, cleared his throat. "Uh, my name is, um, Pacster." "And, Mr. Pacster, what is your secret to being a hero?" Pac was surprised again. "Being a hero? Um," he tried to think of a good excuse for the press. "I was just, uh, being myself!"
What no one else saw was the ghost quartet staying behind on the surface, hiding in the bushes and watching.
...
Stratos was watching the broadcast from his office again. He smiled to himself. He pushed a button on his desk and spoke into a microphone. "Ready the limousine," he began ordering.
...
The Netherworld was empty, considering almost the entire ghost population was absent. Traditorus was watching from his balcony, peering into a telescope pointed at the gateway in the sky. He checked his watch and sipped his drink, expecting his army to return any minute now.
Just soon after, his expectation was fulfilled. Except with one catch, however. All the ghosts were still blue in fear after their previous encounter with Pac.
In an instant, the ghost lord's expression turned from wicked glee to surprised anger. "What is the meaning of this?!" he inquired in frustration, "I gave you hours to prepare! How could you botch your first invasion?!" One of the ghosts, that cyclops ghost who held Skeebo at slime-point earlier, flew in front of his master. "There was a yellow one, your sliminess!"
In a nanosecond, Traditorus crushed his drink in his hand. "There was a what?!"
All the other ghosts repeated in unison, "A yellow one!"
Traditorus looked upward at the crimson sky and screamed at the top of his proverbial lungs.
...
The news crew and the crowd of Pac-People followed Pac and his friends all the way back to the dorm. Even after locking the dorm room shut, the hallways were still occupied.
"So," Spiral began, "what's up with them?" Pac sighed to himself. He had some explaining to do. "Alright, alright," he started, getting up from his bunk, "listen up. A long time ago, back when Pacopolis was still called Pac-Land, my grandfather fought these ghosts who wanted to take over the whole town."
The other three got up and came a bit closer, interested in the story. "That's why I believe in ghosts. Now, however, here's the real reason why I never told this to anyone else - do you wanna know what he did to those ghosts?" The other three leaned forward even closer. "He ate them. He ate the ghosts." Spiral, Cyli, and Skeebo started laughing in response, a move Pac very much expected.
"Well, that's what my aunt always told me when I was little." Pac continued. Skeebo continued to laugh, even after the other two finished. Everyone glared at him. "Oops, sorry. Force of habit.
...
Outside the dorm building, the president's limousine arrived. The two aides stepped out and entered the building.
...
After Pac told his anecdote, there wasn't much else to do inside the dorm room other than wait for the masses outside to leave. A sudden loud banging on the door drowned out the cheers. Then, suddenly, it burst open and the two presidential aides entered, having broken the lock. "There's a fine for breaking that!" Skeebo remarked. The aides didn't respond. They just grabbed the four students and dragged them out of the dorm room, against their wills.
...
Pac, Spiral, Cyli, and Skeebo were taken to the limo by the two aides. One of them drove while the other watched over the four in the passenger area. "Nice night out there, yeah?" Spiral cracked to break the silence. "Where are you taking us, anyway?" Cyli asked. The aide sternly responded, "to the Round House. You'll see when we arrive."
...
True to the aide's word, the limousine stopped in front of the Round House. The four students were escorted to the main lobby. Pac, however, was taken to an elevator past the lobby by one of the aides. "The president wants to see you, young man." The aide told the yellow orb.
...
Pac was greeted with a smile from the president when he entered the circle office. "Take a seat, Pacster," Stratos began, "I've been expecting you." "Wait," Pac responded, "how did you know my name?" Stratos continued grinning. "Simple - I knew your parents during the war." Pac was amazed. "Woah. Tell me all about it."
The yellow sphere did as was told and took a seat in front of Stratos' desk. The president started, "when the war ended and my brother's army was put on trial, the punishment was made clear - their spirits were to be separated from their corporeal bodies and sent to the Netherworld permanently." Pac, still in awe, replied "so the stories really were true." Stratos nodded. Pac inquired, "tell me more about my parents."
Stratos chuckled and continued, "I remember the day they vanished alongside the rest of the yellow Pac-People, leaving you behind. Everyone else pinned the blame on my brother. I thought otherwise, but that's a story for another time." Once again, Pac's mouth was agape.
The green president carried on, "I know about your grandfather, too. You bear his name - Pacster Mannington Jr." Pac's amazement heightened. "So, that means," he started, "I have to fight the ghosts myself." The president nodded, "yes, and that means you have to-" "eat the ghosts," Pac interjected, finishing Stratos' sentence. "Exactly."
"But, President Spheros," Pac began, "there's hundreds of those ghosts! My grandfather only fought five back in his time!" Stratos chuckled again, "I'm fully aware. Follow me."
...
Stratos took Pac to an elevator hidden in the circle office. He set it to head downward.
"So, where are you taking me?" Pac asked. "Many know about it, but few know its location." the president responded.
...
The elevator reached its destination. Pacster and the president stepped out into a circular room housing a ginormous tree in the center. Pac's eyes widened at this sight. This was the greatest secret of Pac-World. This was the source of all life in Pac-World. This was-
"The Tree of Life!"
Pac could barely contain his excitement, so Stratos had to do it for him.
"The key to our victory," the president started, "and it rests in your hands."
...
The ghost army was assembled in the Netherworld once again. Traditorus furiously paced back and forth. "I still can't believe it!" he said to himself. "I thought all of the yellow Pac-People vanished years ago, during the war!" Ecto spoke up, "well, obviously, Your Ghostliness, you were wrong." Traditorus was still peeved. "Oh, really? How could you be so sure it wasn't just someone painted yellow?" he was met with every other ghost replying loudly, in unison, "yes, we're sure!"
Traditorus decided that was enough. "Alright, listen up!" he began, "we will strike the surface again, this time with me in charge! I will personally deal with this so-called 'yellow one' myself!"
Just then, the ghost quartet flew into the scene. "Ah, good!" Traditorus stated in response to their arrival, "you can join me in this next invasion!" Blinky spoke up, "not just that, but we know exactly where that living lemon is!"
...
"It's even bigger in person!"
Pac was still standing there, trying to take it all in. He still couldn't believe it - the real Tree of Life - right there before his eyes. He stopped for a second to ask Stratos, "so, uh, what do I do?" The president grinned once more. "I'm glad you asked." He said. "The berries growing from its branches will grant you great power - different powers depending on the berry."
The elevator behind them arrived again and opened. "I knew you couldn't do it all alone," Stratos started, "so I told my assistants to bring in your friends." Pac's eyes lit up again as he began running toward them. "Spiral! Cyli! Skeebo! I'm so glad to see you!" He hugged them all at once, to the slight dismay of each. Fortunately for them, he loosened his embrace as quickly as he tightened it.
"And I'm glad to take what is mine!"
Pac turned around to see Lord Traditorus himself.
"So!" the spectral lord began, "There really is a yellow one in Pac-World! But not for long!" He cackled as his ghost horde arrived, phasing in through the walls.
Pac stood poised, ready to take on this slimy threat.