Later, in the early morning sunrise, the Pac-Gang and Sir Cumference traveled to the Round House and up into the president's office.
Outside, Channel 765 was reporting again on the situation. "Aftershocks continue in the wake of the supernatural attacks on our nation's capital, just hours ago." spoke Farounda. "Here's another word from our president." The feed switched again to President Spheros in his office.
"My fellow Pac-Worlders, I come to you today to assure you that the state of our union is strong." A Pac-Quake - one that was the result of the Tree of Life's absence - shook the Round House and the surrounding area. "With periods of severe shakiness. We have survived an unprecedented assault by the Netherworld. But the battle is far from over." He continued, "I have placed our security forces on red alert in the event of further hostility. But we must all do our part. I ask each of you to be cautious. I ask each of you to be fearless. I ask each of you-" he was cut off by another quake. Ducking below his desk, he quickly grabbed a hardhat. "To wear a helmet," he finished. "Because the whole place is falling apart." The speech ended and the feed resumed to the reporter.
Stratos walked over to Pacster and the others. "And it's going to get worse unless we recover the Tree of Life." he told them. "Without that tree, it's only a matter of time before all of Pac-World comes crashing down." Just then, a chunk of the ceiling fell, nearly crushing Pacster. Pac replied, "That's why we're going to the Netherworld to get back the tree and show Sir Cular what we're made of." "Or," Spiral interjected, "we can just move to another planet!" The rest of the Pac-Gang stared at him, unamused.
"But Pac," Cyli told her yellow friend after that, "we can't just go in there by ourselves! The ghosts would eat us alive!" Pac smirked. "Not if I eat them first." Sir Cumference, still watching the conversation take place, wasn't convinced by all of this. "She's right, my boy," he said to the yellow hero, "without any Power Pellets, you're almost completely defenseless against those specters!" Pac thought for a minute before an idea lit up in his head. "I still have my palm tree in my dorm!" Cumference picked at his chin hair. "Hmm," he began, "there you go. But that still leaves us with the question of how to get to the Netherworld."
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind. "Hold it just a minute!"
It was Blinky, and he had brought Pinky, Inky, and Clyde with him. Pac pointed toward the four. "What are you guys doing here?" Blinky began, "We saw what was going on, and we don't entirely approve of Big C's attitude!" Pac thought for a minute. "Well, what do you plan to do to help us?" he said. "Get you guys to the Netherworld and rescue the Tree of Life!" Blinky responded. "And what do you want in return?" "We want out. We're sick of the Netherworld." Pinky responded. Inky continued, "we want to live in Pac-World, with you guys!" Clyde finished with, "But nobody wants to live with ghosts." Skeebo interjected, "But wait, if you guys are ghosts, don't you have actual bodies? Or at least used to?" Blinky responded, "We're not those kinds of ghosts!"
Sir Cumference took a moment to consider the Ghost Gang's deal. "Very well." he began, "if the mission proves successful, we'll do all we can to help you find a home in Pac-World. But there will be caveats." "Like what?" Inky asked. "Your presence here must be hidden from both the general public and the Netherworld. If everyone else were to find out about this, the consequences could be disastrous." "Like Sir Cular mounting our eyes above his fireplace?" Clyde asked. "Er, yes, something like that, I suppose."
...
The Pac-Gang and the Ghost Gang stood at the mouth of Maze 256. Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo had brought their PSCs while Pacster got his palm tree from his dorm room and had it placed inside a metal canister for safekeeping.
"From what I remember," Pac began, "it was in the center of the maze." "But you were in there for hours," Cylindria responded, "and we don't have that much time!"
The Ghost Gang perked up. "Blinky knows," Pinky responded, "right?" "Nuh-uh," said Blinky, "I thought you did, Pinky!" "Hmm, how about you, Inky?" "Me?" Inky scoffed, "You better ask Clyde!" Clyde snapped back, "I don't think so, Inky!"
The four continued bickering. It didn't take long for Pac's patience to run out. "Haven't you ever heard the word 'cooperation' before?" he sternly cut in. "In fact, I've got an idea - just fly us over there!" "Oh!" the Ghost Gang replied in unison. "We hadn't thought of that!"
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?"
The two gangs flew across the sky. The hedge maze was vast, but didn't look that way so high up. It took only a minute for the eight to spot the gateway to the Netherworld - in a cavern in the heart of the maze. "There it is!" Pac pointed at it. "Just like I remembered." They flew downward to their destination.
...
The gateway tunnel was spacious and led underground. At the bottom of the tunnel was a large set of stone doors - ones that could not be moved by any single Pac-Person alone. Pac took a look at them and thought to himself. "I've got it!" he exclaimed. "Skeebo, Clyde, you pull open the doors." The blue jock and the orange ghost obliged, forcing the two doors open with all their strength.
Afterward, Pacster unsheathed the palm tree and pulled out a communicator device inside the container with it. Sir Cumference and Stratos responded to the call from the former's laboratory. "We're going in, Sir Cumference." Pac told the inventor. "Pac-World is counting on you four," Cumference began, "and remember, the power from those pellets will only protect you in the Netherworld for so long. Once the properties wear off-" He was cut off by Spiral, the red one interrupting, "What will happen to us?" "Well, according to our research-" he looked over the clipboard Stratos was holding and reeled back in shock. "Bad things." "Like what?" "What happened to my brother, that's what! Now, just get the Tree of Life out of there, fast!"
The Pac-Gang each plucked a Power Pellet from the palm tree and popped it in their mouths. Spiral, Cyli, and Skeebo winced. "Ack!" "Ew!" "Bleaugh!" Pac smirked while he picked the rest of the pellets and stuffed them into his pellet dispenser. "Don't mind the aftertaste, you'll get used to it." He looked at his communicator again, "Sir Cumference, we'll come back as soon as possible with the Tree of Life." The green inventor confidently nodded through the screen and left the call.
The two gangs prepared to make their descent through the portal. "Alright! Get ready!" Pac announced. The eight jumped in, one after the other.
...
True to the Ghost Gang's word, the Netherworld had an unwelcoming atmosphere. Despite the Pac-Gang having the power of flight from the pellets they ate, they chose to stay on the ground to avoid being seen.
The two gangs descended a set of rickety, jungly steps made of stone. "Stay close and watch your step." Blinky warned, "The stairs here can get pretty wobbly." He didn't need to point it out to make it obvious to the Pac-Gang. "They're not just wobbly," Pac exclaimed, "they're moving!"
The eight heard a fierce growl from behind. Turns out they were walking on the back of a cyclopean dragon. Its scaly outside shifted from black to red. "Looks like you took the wrong staircase, Blinky!" Pinky snarked. "Don't start with me, Pinky!" the red ghost snapped back. The dragon roared and spewed a stream of flame, nearly singeing the two gangs.
The Pac-Gang ran for cover while the Ghost Gang flew out of the way. Pacster tripped over a rock, falling into a small ditch. "Woah!" The other three met a dead end. Cornered, they prepared to be roasted alive until the dragon stopped. "Hey!" Pac called, climbing out of the ditch. "Over here!" He grabbed the end of the dragon's tail and bit as hard as he could.
The dragon screamed in pain and took to the skies, Pac still hanging on. Unfazed, the yellow hero bit the tail again. The dragon retaliated with another breath of fire, which Pac quickly dodged by jumping off onto a nearby plateau. It was ready to turn around when it suddenly noticed that its tail was on fire. "Hot enough for ya?" Pac remarked. Distracted and attempting to blow out the flame, the dragon flew right into a cliff, fainting on impact.
Shortly after, the four students and four ghosts ran into a nearby cave. "Nice going," Blinky started, "you made enough noise to wake the dead!" "I told you it was your fault!" Pinky snapped at him. "And I told you not to start!"
Blinky's previous statement was confirmed by the arrival of a ghost armada in various fashions - going solo, riding lizard-like monsters, flying on triclopean gargoyles - all ready to take on the Pac-Man and his allies. The two gangs ducked for cover.
"Security's everywhere," Blinky noted, "this could get ugly. We've got to disguise you!" "As what?" Pac asked. "As ghosts!" Seemingly from out of nowhere, the Ghost Gang pulled out beakers of a strange glowing liquid and began pouring it on the Pac-Gang. "Barf-a-roonie," Spiral snarked. "What is this stuff?" Cylindria asked, "Guk or something?" Pinky turned the beaker she was holding - on the other side a label reading, well, 'Guk'. "What else?"
...
The Ghost Gang continued with their second band of 'ghosts', out of view from the search party. Eventually, they encountered one of those large, bearded guard ghosts. "Halt!" he shouted, "Who goes there?" Pinky responded, "oh, just little old us! Pinky, Blinky, Inky, and Clyde." The guard ghost grunted and pointed toward the Guk-coated Pac-Gang. "And who are these four?" "Oh, this is Sinky, Finky, Minky, and Hinky!" Pinky explained. "They're ghosts too, see?"
The guard ghost wasn't convinced. "They're not ghosts!" Pinky was quick to reply with, "No, they are!" "Then why do they have legs?" Pinky crossed her arms. "Well-played." Clyde added, "Looks like we can't fool you. Fact is, these four are our prisoners. We wanted to bring them to Sir Cular as, uh, 'trophies'!" "Yeah," Inky continued, "we caught them ourselves!"
The guard ghost still wasn't convinced. "Want to know what I think?" he began. "Uh, not especially," Blinky said. "I see. I think you're helping these Pac-People sneak in here and steal back the Tree of Life." "WHAT?" the Ghost Gang shouted. "That's just crazy talk!" Blinky hurriedly explained. "Why would we do such a thing?" Inky added. "That is so nutty!" Clyde continued. "Why would you think that?" Pinky finished. "I don't know," the guard ghost responded, "it just seemed like a possibility!"
The Pac-Gang took this opportunity to tiptoe past the guard ghost. Once they were far enough, they began running and the Ghost Gang followed. The guard ghost quickly noticed. "Hey!" he shouted, "get back here!" The ghost swarm from earlier arrived and flew in the direction the two gangs went. "Get them!"
...
The Pac-Gang and the Ghost Gang stopped in front of an arched gateway, with the former shaking off all the Guk. Looking back, they saw the ghost swarm again and didn't hesitate to keep running.
While the other seven continued on, Pac started going the other way to chase off the ghosts. The spectral monsters immediately reeled back and turned blue in fear, as usual. The yellow hero started chomping as many ghosts as he could. Meanwhile, Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo put their PSCs to use again, opening fire on any specters that came their way.
After the battle, the eight met back up. The three with the PSCs ejected the ghost eyes from the internal storage units. Just after, Pac burped out the eyes of all the ghosts he ate. "Er, anyone got a mint?" All of the eyes flew back toward the castle.
"This might be a good time to move along," Pinky noted. Subsequently, the two gangs continued toward the castle.
...
"The Tree of Life's gotta be in there somewhere!" Spiral exclaimed. Clyde grabbed his eyeballs from his outer covering's eye sockets - much to the chagrin of the other seven. Holding them outward, he inspected the castle from a distance where he was. "Aha!" He plopped his eyeballs back into his sockets. "The tree is being held at the very top of the castle!" "How do you know?" Pac asked. "I have really good eyes!"
The Pac-Gang began running toward the entrance before they noticed that their ghostly friends were staying behind. "Hey!" Skeebo yelled over to them, "Aren't you guys coming with us?" "Remember what I said about Big C mounting our eyes over his fireplace?" Clyde yelled back. "Oh, yeah, that." Skeebo responded. "I get it!" Pac motioned forward. "Come on!" he commanded. He and the other three continued their way through.
...
"To repeat," Farounda began on the television screen, "President Spheros has recommended that everyone stay indoors. He has promised everyone that Pac-Man will return with the Tree of Life in due time." Stratos and Sir Cumference were watching from the bunker again. The former turned off the television. "At least," the president began, "I hope he returns!" Another Pac-Quake occurred.
It was a race against time. Not just for Pac-Man, but for everyone in Pac-World.
...
As Pacster, Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo entered the main lobby, the large doorway behind them shut loudly. The ghosts knew they were here. "Ah, Pac-Man!" Sir Cular buzzed over the loudspeaker. "So nice of you to drop by for a visit! Enjoy your stay - while it lasts!" he finished with yet again a burst of laughter, followed by squads of enemy ghosts flying in. The Pac-Gang were poised and ready, fierce expressions on their faces.
"Alright, gang!" Pac-Man declared, "Let's kick some slime!" In an instant, the four began jumping and running across the lobby, fighting off the evil forces by either chomping (for Pac) or shooting (for the other three), like they had done prior. They performed amazing and unique stunts - like using the PSCs to direct and launch ghosts into Pac's mouth and Pac eating multiple ghosts at once.
Once the main lobby was cleared, the Pac-Gang continued upstairs. Sir Cular, who was watching the slug cam feed again, had fire in his eyes once more. "YOU ECTOPLASMIC IDIOTS! You can't do ANYTHING Right!"
...
Several floors up, the gang stopped in front of a trio of guard ghosts, just like the one they had encountered earlier. "You're not getting by us!" said one. "Yeah, no one gets by us!" said another. "Except Sir Cular himself." said the third. Pac cracked his knuckles. "Wanna bet?" Once again, the ghosts were no match for the Pac-Gang's strength - as they defeated them in unique and slick ways again.
...
Pac-Man and his allies continued up the next few floors, via a spiraling staircase. Sir Cular buzzed through the intercom, "Nice moves, yellow one! Here's something for you to chew on!" They stopped in front of a quartet of ghosts, clad in robes. "Halt!" one of them began. "We are ghost wizards - the Netherworld's finest!" "Wizards like Mezmaron?" Cylindria asked. "Er, no. But still wizards!" Skeebo wheeled his arm around, ready to deliver a huge blow to the ghost in front of him. "I'm so gonna whale on you!" he yelled in defiance. "I think not!" the ghost said in retaliation, casting a spell that spawned a brick wall in front of the jock. "Oww!" he screamed, cradling his bruised fist in his other hand.
Cyli ran over to her boyfriend, still recovering. "Skeeby!" she exclaimed. "Oh, you are so gonna pay for-" "Hold it, Cyli!" Pac cut her off in response. "We can't solve this with brute force! We have to use our heads!" "Got it!" said Spiral, ready to ram straight into the ghosts. "No, not like that either!" Pac replied, facepalming. "We need to use our minds, not our muscles!" Throughout all of this, the ghost wizards just stood around and watched. "So why haven't we slimed them yet?" "Eh, too easy." "Spell first, slime second." "I thought it was 'slime first, spell second'!"
The ectoplasmic wizards continued to bicker, taking their eyes off the Pac-Gang as a result. "See?" Pacster told the others. "Think first, tussle second!" The gang leaped forward, tackling the ghost quartet and catching them off-guard. "Gotcha!" Cyli exclaimed, landing on one. Another wizard cast a stun spell directed at Spiral, but missed - the spell blast rebounding off the wall behind and hitting another ghost. As a result, the stunned ghost was an easy target for the Pac-Man.
...
After the ghost wizards were dealt with, the Pac-Gang continued up the castle. When they got to the next floor, they were greeted with a couple of those black reptile monsters from before - and a message from Sir Cular over the intercom. "My, what a display of strength, Pac-Rat! Let's see you get through this one - and remember, these bad boys can't be chomped!"
The monsters viciously growled, hungry for Pac-Person-Pie. Spiral, Cylindria, and Skeebo stepped back in fright, but Pacster wasn't fazed. "Watch this, guys!" He jumped up and landed on the monster in front. Slapping its exoskeleton, he rode it around the room, the reptiloid squealing. "Ride 'em, cowboy!" Motioning in his direction, he invited the others to do the same. "Yahoo!" Cyli hollered.
Eventually, all the running around caused the monsters to crash into each other - and faint from the impact. Jumping off their grotesque steeds, the Pac-Gang congratulated each other. "Well, that's that!" Pac said. "Onward and upward!"
...
The next floor was devoid of ghosts and monsters - in its place a harrowing obstacle course full of spikes and other deadly decor. "This challenge, Pac-Pest," Sir Cular began again, "will really push your limits!"
Pacster took a deep breath and prepared to go forth. He crossed pits of spikes - swinging blades of the sharpest degree - even rings of fire - but managed to make it to the end in one piece. "Now you try!" he said, pointing to his friends from where he was.
One by one, the others traveled across the same path their leader went - albeit not entirely with the same level of grace. When Skeebo reached the end (as he was the last to go), he nearly fell into the last pit - but Cyli grabbed him by the arm at that same moment. "Thank you, babe." Skeebo said, blushing. "Hey," he started, pulling up his sleeve and scratching his arm, "anyone else got a rash just now?" He showed it to the others, and it was no rash - it was a hideous spiky growth, similar to the ones around Sir Cular's body. The Power of the Power Pellets was beginning to wear off - and the Netherworld's effect on the four was beginning to take its toll. "Oh, no!" Pac exclaimed. "We gotta hurry - or else we'll be turned into Pac-Monsters! Let's go!"