It was six in the evening and the sun was beginning to set, with the two moons taking its place. The Inde-Pac-dence Day party on the university campus was about to begin. Spiral and Cylindria were still concerned about Pacster, as was Sir Cumference. "Do you think he'll ever get out of there?" Spiral asked the inventor. Cumference rubbed his chin and picked at the end of his mustache. "The chances are pretty low. It's possible he may be lost there forever, even with the security looking for him." Spiral and Cyli glumly looked to the ground.
Out in the hedge maze, Pac was still looking for his lost berry dispenser. Hitting another dead end, he said to himself "Next time I'm bringing a GPS - and a midnight snack!" Just then, he heard faint voices in the distance. "Pacster Mannington! We know you're in there!" It was one of the security guards sent after him. "Have you found my berry dispenser yet?" he yelled back. "No, we're still looking for you!" Pac was a tad conflicted. 'Oh well, I can just get another one,' he thought. 'No way! I wanna one-up that Skeebo!' another thought interjected. And it was that thought he decided to commit to, as he began running through the hedges again.
"Bob," one of the security guards began, "I'm starting to think this isn't worth it." "Don't say that, Paul." the other scoffed. "No, really, Bob," Paul said back, "why'd the administrator only send two of us when he should've sent, I don't know, five?" "Oh, I know, but he's the one who calls the shots, not us." "Whatever."
...
In front of his castle in the Netherworld, Sir Cular was giving a presentation to his horde. "As you can see," he began, pointing up to the sky, "the barrier has miraculously been broken. Do you know what this means?" A ghost in the audience raised a hand. "Unlimited cable for all of us?" Sir Cular facepalmed. "No, it means-" "Access to your jacuzzi?" another cut in. Cular sighed. "No, it's-" "The ability to pet Boochie?" The ghost lord was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. "Free insurance?" "Ogle cooking every meal for us?" "Pet monsters for everyone?" The audience of ghosts was restless.
"NO, YOU IDIOTS!" Sir Cular finally blurted out, his voice reverberating throughout the landscape and silencing everyone else. "It means that we are finally free! We can finally escape this horrible place and invade the surface of Pac-World!" "Oh!" the audience said in unison before they began cheering.
Cular was angry again. "What are you doing?!" he yelled. "Go on, fly out of here! Do I need to spell it out for you? Fly! Fly! FLY!" With each utterance of the word, his arms raised higher and higher. He laughed as the ghostly horde took to the sky. "Oh!" he called out, "and don't forget to get me a Paccacino!" He retreated to his throne room.
Tagging along the mass of ghosts were a group of four - one red, one pink, one blue, and one orange - who seemed a bit younger than the rest and otherwise acted more independent. "This is gonna be so fun!" said the red one. "I hope my skills aren't too rusty!" added the pink one. "Yeah, I haven't made a good scare in years!" continued the blue one. "I hope this invasion isn't anything like the one from before." finished the orange one.
...
It was already dark. Pacster could barely see, but nevertheless carried on. Eventually, he turned a corner and saw a small yellow object. "There it is!" It was his treasured berry dispenser. Picking it up, he also saw before him a wooden sign marked 'Dead End' in front of a rather menacing looking cavern. "Dead end?" he scoffed. "That's just what they want you to think! This is probably the way out." He casually began walking into the cavern.
From a distance, the two guards overheard Pac's statement. "What'd he say?" Paul asked. "I think he found the exit." Bob responded. "Uh, I don't think that's the exit." Paul said back. "Really? How do you know?" "Bob, I've been through this maze hundreds of times. Wasn't it part of our training?" "I always called in sick on those days." "Figures."
Meanwhile, the celebration had just begun. "Well," Sir Cumference began to Spiral and Cylindria, "your friend still hasn't shown up. I guess we'll have to start without him." Spiral and Cyli sadly nodded in acceptance and the inventor began walking over to the podium, where President Stratos Spheros was performing his opening speech.
The president had rich blue skin and well-groomed (albeit slightly grayed) hair. "I, President Stratos Spheros of Paclandia, would like to begin our eighteenth annual Inde-Pac-dence Day celebration with a performance from the Maze University Symphony Orchestra!" He stepped aside and the curtains behind him opened up, revealing the eponymous band team. Using their horns, brass, and strings, they performed the Paclandia National Anthem - a wonderful tune that sparked happiness in everyone who heard it.
The music was loud enough for Pac to hear it all the way from where he was in Maze 256. 'Welp', he thought to himself, 'there goes my big chance to meet Sir Cumference'. Nevertheless, he continued into the cavern, still convinced it was his ticket out of the maze.
After the orchestra finished their song, the president continued his speech. "It was still such a miracle that we were able to succeed that day, all thanks to our beloved Sir Cumference." All the time, Spiral and Cyli couldn't keep their eyes off of the empty seat between them - the one they had reserved for Pacster - as did Sir Cumference from where he was standing next to Stratos. The president concluded his speech, "Oh, and don't forget the fireworks show in an hour! You're going to love it!"
Pac never thought about turning back, not even once, no matter how much the signs warned him to. Suddenly, he tripped over a rock, sending him tumbling downward. Crashing through more signs, he immediately began to regret his decision to enter the cavern.
Eventually, he made it to the bottom and found himself in front of a large and menacing set of doors. "Ok," he hurriedly said to himself, "maybe I was wrong. Now all I gotta do is get out of here and-" He was cut off by the security guards from up above. "Pacster Mannington! Come out from down there! That's an order!" Even though he knew he was gonna be punished, Pac was relieved that he would finally be able to get out of the maze.
"Alright!" he yelled back, "I'll be out in just a minute-" He was cut off again by the sound of an ominous thump behind him. Turning around, he could see the doors slowly inch open, farther and farther with each thump. Paralyzed in fear, he fell on his back.
Bob and Paul stood at the mouth of the cavern. "Tricky one, isn't he?" Bob said. "I wouldn't say that," Paul replied, "he's usually a good boy." Bob rolled his eyes.
'Get out! Come on, run! Get out!' Pac's mind urged the rest of his body. No dice. He was practically frozen from shock.
With one final thump, the doors burst open, with the ghost horde from the Netherworld flying out. It was at this point that Pac finally broke out of his trance and ran out of the cavern, screaming as loud as he could.
When he made it out, he ran into Bob and Paul. "There you are!" Paul scolded. "The dean would like to have a word with you!" "You don't know what I saw!" Pac snapped back. "That place - that dead end place - they're not kidding!" Bob restrained him. "Kid, you look like you've seen a ghost." "YOU THINK?!"
As if on cue, the ghost swarm flew out of the cavern entrance and into the sky, scattering like a horde of Pac-Locusts. The two security guards stared upward - they had never seen anything like it before. Pac used this as an opportunity to break free from Bob's grasp and run away, hoping he'd find the real exit this time. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"
...
All the ghosts that had exited from the cavern flew up above and through the clouds. Many of them went toward the university campus where the party was, while the others headed for the city of Pacopolis itself. "Hey, Crob," one of them said to another. "Yeah, Rall?" The other replied. "Who are you gonna scare first?" "Oh, finally, 'who are you gonna scare', not 'who do you want to scare'." "Well, did you pick one?" "No, how about you?" "Me? I thought you were gonna go first!" "Oh, for the love of slime..."
In a surprising moment of luck, Pac managed to get out of Maze 256 - the way he came in, via the revolving handles. He stopped right in the middle of the party. "Pacster!" Spiral exclaimed when his friend came into view! "You're back! What happened?" Pac was still hyperventilating from running so much. Any sound that came out of his mouth lacked coherency. He babbled for a minute before forming one distinct word - "GHOSTS!" Immediately after, he passed out.
Immediately, most of the students in the area began laughing as they usually would at the yellow student. They thought it was some kind of prank. It didn't take long for their laughter to turn into screams as the ghost swarm arrived.
Sir Cumference stared in shock. "Oh, no. No, no, no." He knew that the impossible had come true. The ghosts had broken free and were determined to conquer everything and everyone. Even though his brother wasn't there at the scene, he could hear his cackling ringing throughout his eardrums, clear as day.
And cackled Sir Cular did from his throne room. In addition to his armada, he sent out batches of living slug cameras to record and broadcast the invasion to his personal big-screen television. With a platter of live slugs and a slime martini ready, he sat back and watched his minions do their work. He had won.
Or so he thought.
...
One of President Stratos Spheros' aides ran up to the podium. "Mr. President, we need to escort you to a secure location, fast!" he alerted. The president obliged as he ran along with the aide, until he noticed that Sir Cumference was still standing where he was, looking shell-shocked. "Sir Cumference!" Stratos called out, "You can't stay out here! It's much too dangerous!" Cumference snapped back to reality. "Alright, old friend!" He continued in the direction of the president and the aide.
For the whole night after his detention period was up, Skeebo was cooped up in his dorm room. His satisfaction at showing up Pacster had turned to disappointment and regret that he couldn't attend the party. "Big mistake, Skeebo." He said to himself. "Big mistake." He was about to call it in for the night and go to bed early until he heard screaming from outside.
Skeebo looked outside the dorm window and saw that to his horror, there were ghosts causing havoc out on campus. Looks like Pac was right. "Real big mistake, Skeebo!" He put his jacket back on and ran out of the room, into the hallway.
Spiral and Cylindria were carrying the still-unconscious Pac to safety. After a few minutes, he finally woke up. "What happened?" he groggily said to his friends. "You had fainted hard, bro." Spiral replied. "So the ghosts weren't real? I just had a nightmare?" Spiral shook his head. "I wish." Cyli said, pointing upward to the ghost swarm.
Pac got up on his feet. "So what now?" Spiral asked. "I know," Pac began in response, "You guys get somewhere safe! I'll go to the dorm to get my anti-ghost supplies!" "Cylindria!" A voice called out from behind. It was Skeebo again. "I'm glad you're safe!" he continued, running toward his girlfriend. He turned to face Pacster. "As for you," he began in a menacing tone before suddenly flipping, "I apologize for everything! You were right about ghosts!" "Well," Pac said in response, scratching his chin, "I guess you could come along. You're part of the team!" The four began on their way, in accordance with Pac's plan.
...
President Spheros, Sir Cumference, and two presidential aides took refuge in a shelter in the Round House. They were watching a news broadcast reporting on the ghost invasion.
"This is Farounda Diskora of Channel 765," a redheaded green reporter began, "and we're coming to you live from the Maze University campus where - just a short while ago - an unprecedented attack of these strange - things - emerged from Maze 256." The camera swiveled to show the hedge maze before turning back to the reporter. "We've brought to you two individuals who were present at the site of the attack when it began." Bob and Paul, the two security guards from before, appeared on-screen. "We were just looking for someone who got lost in there," Bob began, "when those ghosts came out of a cavern in the center! I didn't sign on to hunt ghosts!" Suddenly, a red ghost flew down overhead and spewed ectoplasm all over Farounda. Wiping it off, she said in response, "Like most people, I don't believe in ghosts, but in this case I'm willing to keep an open mind!"
The president turned off the television. "This is terrible! We've got to do something!" he exclaimed, pacing around the bunker. Sir Cumference just looked downward in silence. Part of him still had a hard time believing this was all happening. The rest of him did the opposite and accepted the awful truth. Suddenly, he perked up. "I've got an idea." he said, raising a finger.
...
In his dorm room, Pacster grabbed several supplies and objects he had accumulated in the event of a ghost invasion - high-frequency sound emitters, salt, and various other things. Just then, the four ghosts appeared in front of the window.
The red one, Blinky, picked up one of Pac's ghost encyclopedias. "Well, well," he observed, "this one's been reading up on our kind!" "Oh, my!" the pink one, Pinky, began, "he's pretty round!" The blue one, Inky, responded, "Yeah, that'll make him easy to slime!" The orange one, Clyde, added, "I love a good sliming!"
Pac shrieked and ran out of his dorm room and into the hallways. The lights were off, but he knew the place pretty well. "You can run, but you can't hide!" shouted Inky. Eventually, Pac made it to the janitorial closet. Still hyperventilating, he frantically mashed the button to open it while looking back at the chasing ghosts.
As soon as the door opened, Pac bolted into the closet, only to meet a dead end. As he backed into the wall, he prepared for what seemed like his final moments, until the four ghosts got a good look at him in the light.
"A YELLOW ONE?!" they screamed in unison, accidentally flying right into Pac's wide open mouth. The yellow orb swallowed them all in one gulp, amazingly enough. He let out a small burp afterward.
...
Meanwhile, Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo took refuge on top of a tall building that they believed to be a safe place, as Pac told them to. "Where's Pac?" Cyli asked. "He should be coming any minute now! I texted him our location!" Spiral replied. "Anyone hurt?" he continued. "I don't think so." Skeebo responded.
Just then, a large, blue, cyclopean ghost with spikes on its head flew into view. "Correction," he began, "you're not hurt yet!" Several more ghosts appeared and all laughed at their new targets, grabbing them and hoisting them up high while continuing to cackle.
"Hey! You up there!" It was Pacster. He had finally arrived, backpack of supplies in tow, although a bit out of breath from running and also climbing the building. "In the name of Pac-Manity," he began, "leave them alone!" He stepped forward. "We don't want any trouble. Just put them down and leave us in peace, or-" he pulled a salt shaker out of his backpack, "or I'll use this on you!"
As the cyclops ghost took a closer look, he noticed something and screamed in fear. The other ghosts did the same and dropped their prisoners. Spiral and Skeebo fell back on the rooftop, but Cyli was about to fall all the way down to the ground before Skeebo grabbed her arm. "Skeebo!" she exclaimed in surprise, "Thank you." The blue jock grinned. "Anything for my fair Cyli."
More ghosts arrived from behind. Pac turned around and shot them with an angry glare. Once again, they saw something about Pac that scared the metaphorical shorts off of them. So much that they shrunk and turned a deep blue. This caused a chain reaction that resulted in every ghost in the city to fly screaming back to the center of Maze 256.
"Gee, I didn't know that salt stuff actually worked!" exclaimed Spiral. Pac shook his head. "I don't think it was the salt." Suddenly, he felt something inside. He burped loudly, ejecting the floating eyeballs of the four ghosts he swallowed earlier from his mouth. Taking a look at the yellow orb again, they screamed "A YELLOW ONE?!" like they had done prior before flying off with the rest of the spectral horde.
Pac and the other three just looked around and at each other in confusion.
...
Sir Cular was watching the slug cam feed from his throne room. He continued to laugh as more and more of his ghosts scared and slimed his targets. But what he had seen just now was no laughing matter - his minions had begun to turn tail and head back to the Netherworld gateway. "Wh-WHAT?!" he screamed, "What's going on here?!"
He flew outside his castle and was met with his entire horde, floating and staring at him in a mixture of anger, fright, and confusion. "What are you doing back here so early?! And where's my Paccacino?!" he asked all of them. That cyclops ghost from before flew in front of the ghost lord and said, "Your ghostliness, we ran into some trouble." "Really?" Cular inquired, "What kind of trouble?" "A yellow one!" Cular spat out his drink and scoffed. "Oh, sure, a yellow one. That's just crazy talk! Now go back there and scare some Pac-Pests for me!"
Just then, the Ghost Gang's eyeballs flew by and into the regeneration chamber - where ghosts reduced to their bare eyeballs would go to regenerate their ectoplasmic outer coverings. After a flash of light, they emerged with new coverings, still coughing and reeling from their encounter with Pac's gaping maw.
"No dice, Big C!" Blinky snarked. "You told us there weren't gonna be any yellow ones!" Cular, his ever so unstable temper rising, snapped back, "What did I just say?! There aren't any! The yellow ones are gone! Extinct! History!" Blinky shook his head. "Wrong, wrong, wrong! We saw him! He was there! That chubby yellow guy!" Inky added to the conversation, "yeah, the Ghost Grabber! The Monster Muncher!" "He ate us, dude!" Blinky continued, "gobbled us up whole!" "And spat out our eyeballs!" Clyde commented. "Have you ever had your eyeballs spat out?" Pinky remarked. She flew closer to Sir Cular, "have you?!"
He still wasn't convinced. "They've lost their minds, right?" he asked the rest of the ghosts. He was met with multiple groans, shouts, and screams of "No." "B-b-but they're gone! At least I thought they were!" Finally, the realization was getting to him.
He screamed upward to the sky, as loud as he could.