Pac and his friends were outnumbered. Four against tens of ghosts. The odds were stacked against them. Funnily enough, that's how it was at the end of the war.
The elevator came again, this time carrying a small group of armed guardsmen carrying plasma cannons. They spread out across the room, firing along the way. They certainly didn't do a good job at it.
Pac knew he had to act fast. He leapt onto the leaves of the Tree of Life, making his way to the top. He grabbed a Power Berry off the branch closest to him and didn't hesitate to pop it in his mouth. Like the president said, he was granted great power - one of those powers being flight. He used his newfound (albeit temporary) strength to fly toward the first ghost he saw. He didn't hesitate to chomp with all his might.
Boy, did that floating heap of slime taste good.
Meanwhile, more guardsmen had arrived, again wielding plasma cannons. They were still doing a lousy job. The ghosts took advantage of this, obviously, and spit slime over them. Another guard was swept up by a ghost who had the intent of dropping him from high up. Pac took quick notice and ate the ghost in a second, the guardsman falling in his arms. "Sorry about that!" he assured him. Meanwhile, Spiral and Cylindria grabbed the dropped plasma cannons and opened fire on the specters, doing a much better job than the trained guardsmen in the process.
Even though his opinion on Pacster had changed, Skeebo's "bravery" did not. He cowered in fear at all the ghosts, and unknowingly backed into the bark of the Tree. A mass of Power Berries rained onto him. He decided to use them as improvised ammo, throwing them at the ghosts. "Hey, Skeebs!" Pac exclaimed after seeing him, "you're supposed to eat the Berries, not throw them!" Skeebo hurriedly replied, "uh, whatever you say!" He shoveled several Berries in his mouth.
In an instant, Skeebo jerked around in different positions. Maybe it was a bad idea to eat multiple Berries at once. He spewed a stream of fire, just narrowly missing Pac's face. Then, he ran around, like he just ate a plate of Pacolina Reaper curry, spewing more fire in the process. "Agh!" He screamed. "Hot! Hot! So Hot!" Conveniently, several ghosts got caught in his path, their ectoplasm burning to crisps and leaving their eyeballs behind.
Traditorus was watching the scene from high up, full of anger that his army was losing. "No!" he screamed, "this can't be happening!" He motioned for more ghosts to fly toward the yellow hero and his sidekicks. "Wrong, slimeball!" Pac responded, "this can be happening!" He flew upward, chomping more and more ghosts, and then ready to take a bite out of the ghost lord. Suddenly, his Berry power ran out. He took a deep fall, Spiral catching him in a stroke of luck. From up above, Traditorus laughed. "Think again, lemonhead!" Then, he started throwing fireballs in Pac's direction.
The yellow orb dodged the fireballs as best he could, eventually leaping back onto the Tree of Life. He plucked a blue Power Berry from above and popped it in his mouth. Suddenly, his skin turned blue and a headdress of ice formed over his body. He had the power of ice, seemingly. Perfect match for his spicy opposition. "I'm putting you on ice, Traditorus!"
"Wanna bet?" replied His Sliminess. It was a one on one duel - Pac-Person up against ghost - fire versus ice. Pac continued to dodge the fireballs while fighting back by spitting flying masses of ice at Traditorus. The ghost lord subsequently dodged the ice balls, but ended up getting a face full of ice in the end. "Ack!" He nearly froze into an icicle, but the heat generated by his ectoplasm managed to fight it off.
"All ghosts! Grab the Tree of Life! Take it away!" The ghost lord ordered.
Immediately after that command, every ghost in the room flew toward the base of the Tree and pulled. Like a mass of Pac-Ants, they successfully managed to uproot the massive palm. They burst through the top of the room, creating a massive hole in the soil above that led to the surface.
The odds were stacked against Pac and his friends. And the odds had won.
...
Pac, Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo returned to the circle office in sorrow. Stratos looked downward, knowing what happened. All five of them turned to the window and watched the ghosts carry away the Tree of Life, Traditorus laughing in a sinister manner in the distance.
The president began, "without the Tree of Life, the entire planet will collapse in a few hours." True to his word, there was a large quake felt within the room - the beginning of the end, so to speak.
Stratos turned toward Pac. "Pacster, you must save the Tree! All of Pac-World depends on you!" Pac wasn't so sure. If he couldn't hold off the ghost attack here, he had no chance of winning over there. "Gee, Mr. President, but… I just don't think I can do it. Even with my friends."
"Hold it just a minute!" came a voice from the other side of the room.
It was Blinky, and he had brought Pinky, Inky, and Clyde with him. "What are you doing here?!" asked Skeebo in fear. "We're the reason why this happened in the first place!" explained Inky. "We didn't think this would happen!" added Pinky, "we just thought they were gonna slime the city again!" Clyde pitched in, "so that's why we've decided to pay for our mistakes by helping you guys rescue the Tree!"
"Alright! You're in!" Pac announced defiantly, shaking Blinky's hand, er, tendril. "Get ready, guys, because we're going to the Netherworld!" Everyone in the room started cheering, except Stratos.
The green president began, "Hold your Pac-Horses, everyone. You can't go in there like that! It's not safe!" Cyli was puzzled. "What do you mean?" Stratos continued, "the Netherworld's atmosphere is harmful to organisms not native to it. The only power that can protect you is that of a Power Berry."
Spiral was just as confused as Cyli was. "But without the Tree of Life, where are we gonna get any of those?" Stratos responded calmly, "take a look at this." He went behind his desk and pushed another button, and on the adjacent wall - opposite to the secret underground elevator - a hidden door opened, leading to a storage room full of Power Berries. Pac and his friends didn't hesitate to step inside and grab some Berries to use.
...
It was early in the morning following the two ghost attacks from last night.
Pac, his friends, and the four ghosts stood before the entrance of Maze 256. "This is where they came from, right?" Pac asked Blinky. "Yeah," the red ghost responded, "but good luck finding it!" "It'll take you days!" Clyde added. Cyli inquired, "can't you guys just fly us over there?" "Oh, good idea!" Pinky replied.
And so, the Ghost Gang did as requested. Blinky carried Spiral, Pinky carried Cyli, Inky carried Skeebo, and Clyde carried Pac. The red ghost struggled a bit in particular. "Gee, care to lose a few pounds?" Spiral was quick to reply. "Wouldn't it be Pac who's the heavy one with all he eats?"
In just a few minutes, the Ghost Gang and the Pac-Gang reached their destination - the heart of Maze 256, where the gateway to the Netherworld was located.
"Berries ready?" Pac asked the rest. They each responded by pulling out a Power Berry from their bags. "Alright! Here goes nothing!" The two gangs jumped (well, floated in the case of the ghosts) into the gateway.
...
The trip through the gateway felt like it took forever. When the two gangs arrived, they had a rough landing. Both of them, as the Pac-Gang had a sudden drop on the ground and the Ghost Gang bumped right into them, accidentally covering them with slime. "Ew!" "Ugh!" "Ack!" "That's nasty!"
"Oh, sorry about that!" Blinky quickly responded. "Hey, wait a minute - that gives me an idea!"
...
The ghost quarter finished up covering the others in slime. None of them were particularly enthused about it. "Isn't there a better way to get us in?" Cyli asked. "Nope!" responded Inky. "Unless you want to become permanent prisoners instantly!" Nonetheless, the two gangs went along.
It wasn't long until they faced two of those giant bearded guard ghosts. "Halt!" one of them said. "Four of you ghosts look quite strange." "Oh!" Pinky started, "they're just a bit shaken up from seeing that yellow guy yesterday! That is a spooky sight, you know?" The two guard ghosts simply stared. "Alright, you can go." Said the other.
As the two gangs proceeded through the gates, the guard ghosts watched. "Y'know," one said, "one of those guys looked familiar…"
...
Traditorus watched the feed from one of his slug cameras (another ingenious invention from the Netherworld's top scientist), intrigued. "So, the yellow one thinks he can just waltz in here!" He started. "But I have plans for him. Plans to make him my prisoner! And then, I'll exterminate him and get him out of my ectoplasmic hair forever!" He laughed like always. "Ahem," Ecto appeared, behind him, "talking to yourself again, m'lord?"
...
The two gangs had reached Traditorus' palace. Blinky pointed across the hall. "Over there!" he started, "I think that's where they're holding it!" The eight were just about to make it over there when they were confronted by those two guard ghosts from before. "Not so fast, Pac-People-Pea brains!" Skeebo hurriedly tried to explain, "y-you don't understand! We're just ghosts like we said-" "Oh really? Then how about some of this?" The guard ghost pulled out a giant blow dryer and turned it on, blowing all the slime off of the Pac-Gang.
"Gee, that worked well!" snapped Skeebo.
...
The guard ghosts put the Pac-Gang in chains after outing them. When they arrived in the prison area, the guards simply tossed them in there and locked the door behind them. "Guess we oughta Pac it up, guys!" Pac exclaimed.
The sound of a microphone picking up could be heard in the room. From a slug cam on the ceiling, Traditorus watched and spoke.
...
"Greetings, yellow one!" The ghost lord began, speaking from his throne room and watching the slug cam feed. "And goodbye in advance, for your end will be quick, easy, and - oh - I'd say 'painless' but that's not exactly true. Bring in the executioners!"
...
The executioners in question were the Ghost Gang, all wearing masks and carrying menacing-looking black and red firearms. They were visibly distraught at having to take out their friends - especially since it'd been only a day since they first met.
"Well?" Traditorus began from the mic.
...
"What are you waiting for? Fire! Exterminate them! Destroy them! Do it already!"
...
The Ghost Gang aimed their weapons at their friends. The Pac-Gang prepared for the worst.
...
Traditorus leaned closer to the screen, watching in glee.
"Yes, Yes, YES!"
Suddenly, the feed cut to static.
"No, No, NO!"
...
Pac opened one of his eyes. "What happened?" he asked. "It's a good thing the backs of these things look exactly like the front!" Inky happily replied, throwing his laser projector to the ground. "Now, come on! Here's your chance!"
The Pac-Gang started running, but the Ghost Gang didn't move. Pac yelled, "Come on! We gotta go!" "And blow our cover?" Pinky replied. "Absolutely not!" Pac just shrugged and moved on.
...
Traditorus got up from his seat, furious. He set his microphone to all the other slug cams in the castle. "Find them! FIND THEM!"
...
The Pac-Gang ran throughout the castle, knowing they could be spotted by ghosts at any minute. They were back in the area they were when they entered. Pac pointed at the spot Blinky showed them earlier. "Blinky said that's where they have the Tree! Let's go!"
...
The Tree of Life was located in the center of a very large room, on a circular platform. Surrounding it was a moat of lava. The Pac-Gang hid behind a rock structure so they wouldn't be seen by any patrolling ghosts. "So now what?" asked Skeebo. Cyli peered over the structure. "I'd say the Tree is ours for the taking - if not for that." She pointed at a large, three-headed poodle that looked rather docile, oddly enough. Next to it was a giant dog bowl marked "Boochie". It was merely a few feet away from the Tree.
Cyli was mesmerized. "It's so - so cute!" she said before everyone pulled her back. "How about we don't make noise?" suggested Spiral.
Pac surveyed the area for a minute. "Alright," he began, "I'll go. You guys stay back there and keep quiet." He emerged from behind the rock structure and swiftly jumped over the moat. Then, he slowly began to inch across the platform, toward the Tree of Life.
Suddenly, he heard a deafening crunch.
He looked down to see the shattered remains of a dog bone that was as big as he was. Then, he heard a loud growl in front of him.
"Oh boy."
...
President Spheros anxiously looked at the clock in his office. He knew that there still wasn't much time left for Pac-World, but he still had a glimmer of hope that the yellow hero and his companions would save the day.
He had already issued a city-wide statement about the loss of the Tree of Life and the ensuing disasters and chaos. But it didn't curb the panic in the streets. In fact, it got even worse - as the skies turned red, the quakes became more severe, and the mountains even crumbled.
...
"N-n-n-nice d-d-doggy!" Pac tried to assure Boochie. She wasn't pleased, her face literally changing to an expression much more monstrous. It wasn't long until the giant poodle was chasing Pac around in circles.
The other three watched from behind the rock structure. "Well?" asked Cyli as she got up. "Don't just stand there! We gotta help him!"
Spiral, Cyli, and Skeebo each jumped onto the platform in defiance, ready to save their yellow friend from the jaws of the three-headed monster. The tallest and reddest of the gang somersaulted high in the air over Boochie, distracting her. Meanwhile, Cyli went and kicked the dog in the middle head and Skeebo charged into the other with his shoulder. All of this gave Pac enough time to leap onto the Tree of Life.
Pac climbed the Tree the highest he could and as quickly as possible. He grabbed the first Power Berry he saw, a glowing yellow one. Upon swallowing it, he felt his legs morph into a spinning top of sorts. With this form, he quickly spun circles around Boochie until she got dizzy and fainted.
"Nice going, Pacster!" Spiral exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. Suddenly, he began coughing, as did Cyli and Skeebo. "The Berries must be, ugh - wearing off!" Cyli just barely managed to belt out. Pac was horrified. He jumped up and swiftly grabbed more Power Berries, handing them to his friends.
After everyone was well, Pac announced, "Quick! Let's get this thing back to Pac-World!" Skeebo was confused. "But how?" he asked. "That thing's like a thousand times bigger than us!" His question was answered by Spiral and Cyli, positioned on opposite ends, picking up the Tree by its base. "That's how!" Pac replied.
...
Traditorus angrily paced back and forth in this throne room. "My plans! All of them! Ruined! That yellow sack of slime won't get away this time!" He grabbed his microphone and prepared to make a castle-wide announcement. "Attention! Attention!"
...
As the Pac-Gang were flying upward carrying the Tree of Life, they almost stopped in mid-air when they heard Traditorus' announcement.
"Every ghost in the Netherworld! Those Pac-Fiends are escaping with my Tree! Find them! Destroy them!"
"Uh oh," said Spiral, "We better get out of here!" "And fast!" added Cyli.
It wouldn't be long until the gang found themselves tailed by another mass of ghosts, some of them riding cyclopean red-scaled dragons.
"What do we do now?" asked Skeebo. "I've got an idea!" Pac responded, his eyes locked onto a green Power Berry a tad larger than the rest. One gulp later, he was ten times his size - almost that of the Tree itself!
As expected, all the ghosts present once again turned blue in fear. They briskly flew the other way, even abandoning their steeds, but they weren't quick enough for the Pac. One gulp later, they were all gone. And just after, Pac returned to his normal size.
The gang continued flying up to the gateway without a hitch - that is, unless the size of the gateway isn't considered one somehow. "No way that thing's gonna fit in there!" exclaimed Spiral. Pac was quick to respond, "yes way! We gotta push!"
And so the four did push - push with all their might, combined with that of the Power Berries - and succeeded.
...
Conditions on the surface were even worse than before. Stratos glanced at the clock once more. Time was almost up.
...
A pillar of light beamed up from the heart of Maze 256, just like it did the previous night.
Out of the gateway emerged the Pac-Gang and the Tree of Life.
"We made it!" yelled Cyli in relief. But soon, that relief turned to shock as the gang eyed another swarm of ghosts about to exit after them. "Not on my watch!" announced Pac. "C'mon, Skeebs!" He and Skeebo flew down to the gateway's hatch and forced it closed.
...
The swarm of ghosts on the other side of the gateway collided head-on with the doors and then each other, turning into masses slime.
...
Stratos looked through the office window to see the Tree of Life back on the surface, up in the sky. He smiled in relief.
...
The Pac-Gang flew downward into the giant hole the ghosts left when they stole the Tree of Life earlier. Landing in the Tree's formerly secret chamber, they gently placed it down in its designated resting spot.
...
Elsewhere throughout Pacopolis, the quakes stopped. The sky turned blue again. Everything was back to normal.
...
Later, during a public ceremony, the Pac-Gang were awarded medals by Stratos for their heroic efforts. Pac in particular was given a special one, signifying his bravery and leadership during the past events.
"Without you," the president began, "There would be no Pac-World."
"Alright, Pacster!" said Spiral. "Right on!" added Cyli. "No doubt about it!" finished Skeebo.
"Ah, while your friends may still call you 'Pacster'", Stratos continued, "To Pacopolis and all of Pac-World, you will be given the appellation your grandfather held -" He was cut off by a strange rumbling. It didn't seem to be another quake, as it apparently came from Pac himself.
After a few seconds of rumbling, the yellow hero let out a hearty burp, releasing the eyeballs of every ghost he had eaten beforehand from his mouth. The eyeballs looked around before setting their sights on Pac - to which they all screamed in unison before flying into the distance, presumably back to the hedge maze.
"-Pac-Man!" Stratos continued. The citizens of Pacopolis cheered as loud as they could.
Pac-World had a new hero. A new Pac-Man.
...
Back in the Netherworld, Traditorus watched the ceremony from another one of his slug cams in anger.
"This isn't the end, Pac-Man! I'll be back! I'll be-" His Ghostliness was cut off by the ring of his throne room's doorbell. "Ugh, what is it?!"
He opened the door, only to be greeted with a long, long line of floating ghost eyeballs, each angrier than the last.
"I'll BE BACK!"
His scream echoed throughout all of the Netherworld.
The End