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Chapter 2: Bacon and Cheese

"Spiral, that's gross!"

The red jock grinned cheekily down at his short, pigtailed friend. Hanging between his fingers were three strips of bacon, all dipped in molten cheese and dripping with greasy fat.

The cafeteria at Maze High School was as busy as usual at this time of the morning. Breakfast was never as loud or rambunctious as lunch or dinner, but there was still a steady buzz as the students got their fill, chattering away at their tables in early-morning leisure.

There was a notably quieter atmosphere at the tables occupied by the younger students in junior grades, many of whom were still getting used to life in high school. However, the tables with the seniors were the main drive behind the cafeteria's buzz as they hung out and chattered comfortably amongst themselves. It was at one such senior table where two of Pacworld's ghost-fighting students sat and had breakfast in moderate calm.

That is, until the older red teen had dunked half his plate in hot, molten cheddar, and his female companion openly voiced her disgust.

"Just try it!" Spiral urged, grinning mischievously as he jiggled the greasy bacon strips above his plate, knowing full well that this would only gross her out even more.

"Ew, stop it! You're getting the grease everywhere," Cylindria protested and moved her plate away from the reach of the dripping fat, glaring indignantly at Spiral's teasing grin.

The red teen merely snickered at her fussiness. "I'm telling you, Cyli, you're missing out on world-class cookery here."

"You mean missing out on getting severe cholesterol?"

"Come ooon, do I look like I'm about to have a heart attack?" he said as he gestured to himself.

It was no secret that Spiral loved to work out. Ever since they had to fight ghosts, monsters, aliens, and the like, they all tried to exercise consistently to stay in top shape – which was no problem for the red, sport-loving jock. Spiral was an athlete at heart, and his body was fit to prove it.

However, that didn't stop him from making questionable dietary choices and Cylindria, ever the healthy eater, was having none of it. After the two went back and forth on it some more, Spiral merely shrugged. "Suit yourself," he grinned, lazily.

With that, he chowed down on his meal, and much to Cylindria's disgust, he deliberately slurped up the bacon and flashed a grin at her.

"Scrumptious!"

"You're disgusting."

Spiral carried on with wolfing down his breakfast. Cylindria could only watch in mild disturbance as her friend ate tons of calories like it was nothing. He and Pac truly were alike.

Speaking of, she thought as she did a quick scan of the cafeteria, looking for two other students in particular.

Pac was never hard to spot, being that he's the only drop of yellow within a sea of colourful bodies, but this time he was nowhere to be seen. Odd, the pigtailed girl thought, Pac is usually the first one in the cafeteria.

As true as the sky was blue, there was no sign of the last Yellow One.

She did, however, spot the other person whom she was looking for. With a smile, she waved her hand high up in the air to catch her attention.

"Elli! Over here!"

Making her way over to their table was none other than the president's niece: Elliptica Spheros.

Light lavender skin, bright violet eyes, and persian pink hair complete with baby blue highlights, Elliptica became the talk of the school when she transferred from Pac-Tokyo to Pacopolis about a year ago. Which wasn't a surprise given that she was related to the president.

After her prompt adventure with Pac in the Netherworld, Elliptica had chosen to stay a little longer in Pacopolis. That stay turned into weeks, months, until finally she decided to stay in Pacopolis for an indefinite period of time, possibly for good. She had built a bond with the trio of ghost-fighters, and soon came her decision to abandon her life in Pac-Tokyo and slowly integrate into Pacopolis. Which also meant transferring schools on her mother's terms.

Settling in as a new student in Maze High wasn't easy, but with time, she came to fit in nicely with the rest and showed promise as a student – and as a ghost-fighter.

She was quite the rookie when it came to ghost-fighting, but with the guidance of her newfound team, she was learning quickly. Pac, Spiral, and Cylindria couldn't be happier to have another friend to aid them in protecting the city. Cylindria was especially happy to have another girl on board. And so, Elliptica was a much-welcomed addition to Pacworld's number one ghost-fighting team.

Arriving at their table, she took a seat between the two and greeted them with a cheerful smile. "Morning, guys!"

"Morfningf!" Spiral greeted with a mouth full of food.

Cylindria shot him a distasteful look. Before she could chastise him for his table manners, Spiral swallowed his food and merely gave a thumbs-up in Elliptica's direction.

"You nearly missed today's special, Ell. Porky bacon dipped in spicy hot, melted cheddar. Complete with an extra-large side of mashed potatoes, of course," he grinned.

As he expected, Cylindria sighed and shook her head in disappointment, whereas Elliptica merely chuckled.

"Well," the lilac teen smiled light-heartedly, "it is quite the breakfast to start the day with."

"Don't encourage him," Cylindria deadpanned.

"No encouraging needed," Spiral smirked, "because it looks like I've already encouraged someone else to try it as well."

At that, Cylindria eyed him suspiciously before her attention was drawn to what was on Elliptica's plate. Low and behold, among some toast and eggs, there was a portion of cheddar-dipped bacon strips as well, much to Cylindria's chagrin.

"Not you, too!" she gasped as Spiral let out a chortle of laughter.

Elliptica chuckled sheepishly at the horror and betrayal in her pigtailed friend's face, "Hey, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an interesting combo!"

"Spiral 1, Cyli 0" the red jock declared with a victorious grin, feeling proud for achieving victory in the little debate against his booksmart friend. Cylindria was not impressed, to say the least, but all she could do was give a dejected sigh of defeat. Annoyed as she may be, she wasn't going to win this battle.

Elliptica couldn't help but giggle softly at the scene. There was never a dull moment with her newfound friends.

When she got to know them better, it had struck her that the trio were indeed very close. Being high school buddies was one thing, but it was thanks to ghost-fighting and constantly saving the world together that made them stronger, not only as a team but as close-knit friends.

They were like their own little family, knowing each other's best and worst traits, and they always had each other's backs. She found it especially endearing how familial they were with each other, like how Spiral and Cylindria often bickered like siblings.

With the red and pink Pacworlders' voices morphing into the lull of the chattering cafeteria, Elliptica found herself looking around at several tables and moving bodies, in search of the yellow Pacworlder.

After not seeing him anywhere in sight, she got Spiral and Cylindria's attention with a tentative question, "So… has Pac been out yet?"

Reminded of her thoughts from earlier, Cylindria quickly glanced over at the busy cafeteria. After not seeing Pac anywhere either, she looked at Spiral expectantly.

The red jock swallowed the last bit of food before rightening himself to speak. There was a change in the way he held himself. No longer was he sporting a teasing grin, but rather a calm and serious look.

Cylindria knew that look. It meant that something was off.

"He'll come out to join us soon, he just wanted to have a bit more time to himself before he comes out to eat," Spiral answered.

Immediately, confusion and surprise came upon the girls' faces.

"What? Pac is waiting on getting food?" Elliptica asked in disbelief. She nearly laughed at the mere thought of such a possibility, but there was no joking tone in Spiral's words.

The red teen himself chuckled light-heartedly, but there was a twinge of heaviness to it.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either when he told me. But I guess he just really needed to start his day right. Dude had a hard time sleeping… " Spiral trailed off, a distant look in his eye as he seemed to recall an exchange he had with Pac from that morning.

Cylindria perked up at this. Spiral looked like he wanted to say more, but for some reason was hesitating on doing so. She had a gut feeling about what it could be, and so she softly voiced what they were all thinking.

"Another nightmare?"

"Yeah…" Spiral admitted, knowing that he wouldn't get past Cylindria's perceptiveness so easily.

Looks of concern washed over the eyes of his female companions. This news didn't come as a surprise; they all knew that Pac suffered from bad dreams from time to time, but it's gotten more frequent over the years and it drastically affected his mood.

"Did he say what it was about?" Elliptica asked. Worry was creased onto her features, knowing that Pac was never himself whenever he had a bad dream. The reasons for his bad dreams can vary, ranging from the pressures of protecting Pacworld, to the deep longing for his parents.

"Not really. He wasn't being very open about it, so I didn't pry. But whatever it was, it must've been pretty bad… he was really spaced out," Spiral informed, his own concern starting to show. He remembered waking up to find Pac sitting on his bed, wide awake with a distant and troubled look in his eyes.

The Yellow One had assured him that he just had a rough night. But his roommate and best friend knew better, and although Spiral understood that his buddy just needed some time alone, deep down he was just as concerned.

"It must've been about his parents," Cylindria spoke up, catching their attention. She knew that dreams about his parents usually hit him hard, and he is never himself for a while after the nightmares—which might explain why he was holding back on coming out to eat. However, she was hopeful that Pac will eventually bounce back to being his regular, cheerful self. He always did.

It was, after all, understandable that nightmares about his parents would be more prevalent this time of the year…

"The anniversary of their disappearance is coming up," the pigtailed girl explained, "maybe that could be triggering the nightmares. I'm sure it'll pass; we just need to give him time and space."

There was a pause as Elliptica nodded, accepting that Pac merely needed some time to go through it for a while.

Spiral, on the other hand, had a concerned frown on his face.

"I don't know… I don't think it's about his parents anymore."

Cylindria and Elliptica looked at him quizzically, put off by the ominous tone of his words. Spiral saw the questions in their eyes and the need for him to elaborate, and so he explained.

"You know how he gets whenever he has a dream about his parents, right? He gets sad and depressed. This is different," he trailed off, remembering how different Pac looked this morning as opposed to how he looked whenever he had dreams about his parents. It was like he was caught in a trance, unlike in previous times when he often just woke up crying.

Spiral looked up from where he was gazing absentmindedly at the center of the table during his explanation. He looked at the girls and took in their worried expressions before he continued.

"He's more withdrawn and confused than sad whenever he has these new nightmares. He's constantly dozing off into another train of thought. That doesn't usually happen when he has dreams about his parents."

Cylindria wasn't going to argue with that. For the past few days, Pac did seem withdrawn. She picked up on the subtle change as well, and she trusted Spiral's judgment – out of all of them, Spiral knew Pac the best, being his roommate and all.

What had her more concerned, however, was that Pac wasn't saying anything about it. It made her worry that he was just bottling it all up, most likely for the sake of his friends and family to not worry about him. It wasn't a healthy coping mechanism at all, but out of everything that Pac was, he was frustratingly stubborn.

"Is there anything we can do for him?" Elliptica asked. Her relationship with Pac was that of close friends, but admittedly she sometimes felt uncertain when it came to how much she really knew about him. Spiral and Cylindria had the advantage of knowing Pac longer than she has, with Pac and Spiral going as far back as elementary school.

Though she came to learn a lot about the trio over the past year, sometimes she was at a loss of what to do when it came to comforting Pac with his past, especially with his missing parents. He always just kept to himself about it.

The other two pondered over her question for a bit, before Spiral answered. "Let's take it day by day. Like Cyli said, Pac's nightmares are kind of a seasonal thing… but he's a tough guy. He'll get through it."

With a determined smile, Cylindria added, "And we'll be there to support him through it all, no matter what."

Spiral's signature grin came back, and he held out his fist above the table. One by one, Cylindria and Elliptica brought up their own fists and bumped them against his in a unified fist bump. This was their code, their unspoken promise that they had each other's backs. That no matter what happens, they'll always be there and look out for each other, as a team. All four of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cylindria spotted a figure approaching their table. She lit up with a smile once she saw who it was, "Well, speak of the yellow devil!"

Making his way over to their table was none other than the Yellow Hero himself, carrying a tray full of plates. Plates that were stacked with heaps upon heaps of food, and peeking through the gaps was a happy and hungry smile.

"Morning, guys!" Pac greeted cheerfully as he reached their table, as bright and happy as if no bad dreams were haunting him at night – and as if his nightmares were not the very subject that his friends had been discussing prior to his arrival.

"Duuude! Took you long enough, I thought I'd have to come back and drag you out of there," Spiral joked in greeting, silently hoping that Pac didn't overhear their conversation before he came along. But it seems like the Yellow One had heard no such thing.

Pac sat down between him and Elliptica, and the yellow hero merely raised his eyebrow and smirked up at his best bud, "Me? Miss breakfast? In another lifetime, maybe!"

"I knew it was too bizarre to be true," Elliptica giggled next to him, to which Pac responded with a proud smile.

"And looks like you're off to a strong start," Spiral chuckled, resting his chin against a propped-up hand as he eyed Pac's food pile.

He noticed, with beaming satisfaction, that Pac had also taken advantage of the morning special by having a generous amount of cheddar-dipped bacon on his tray. Stealing a glance to his left, it took a bit of self-control not to burst out laughing at the peeved look in Cylindria's eyes.

"Sure am!" Pac grinned, before he took a great bite out of his breakfast, singlehandedly cleaning up the first plate in one gulp, after which his eyes gleamed and his happy smile grew wider. "Wow! This is great! Now this is what I call a scrumptious breakfast!"

Okay, now Spiral really couldn't contain his snickers as he watched the disgust wash onto Cylindria's face at Pac's statement.

"Careful, bro," Spiral nudged Pac playfully as he smirked teasingly in their pigtailed friend's direction. "Eat too much of that good grub and the big bad cholesterol monster will get ya!"

Pac caught on to the joke, and knowing perfectly well just how much of a health-critic Cylindria was, he played along. "In that case…" Pac started with a devious smile, "I better finish up this course and go back for even MORE delicious bacon dipped in cheese!"

"I'm out of here," Cylindria declared in exasperated defeat and stood up to enjoy her healthy breakfast elsewhere.

Pac, Spiral, and Elliptica couldn't help but laugh and chuckle at Cylindria's retreat, knowing that some harmless teasing was the norm between them and that she'll brush it off eventually.

For that small moment during breakfast, all seemed well with the world as the team enjoyed whatever bit of peace and normalcy they could get. Soon classes will start and they'll be off to their day, taking their hero-work in strides in the ongoing conflict between good and evil.

Blinky knew that he shouldn't be here.

He didn't need to be told twice that the Wayward Bogs was a place that no ghost would dare venture too far into.

Granted, it wasn't anything like Nowheresville or the Temple of Slime, but the Bogs had a… 'special' reputation.

It was a secluded place far away on the outskirts of the Nether realm, hidden away within winding paths and dense, dark canyons. It was more than just a swamp. It was a forgotten area of rocks, algae, mist, and bog water, and stretching further into its depths were caves that led into many directions and chambers, including an underground channel.

It was those very caverns that gave the Wayward Bogs its ominous reputation; most of the time the bogs were eerily silent, but on several different occasions throughout Netherworld history, many ghosts reportedly heard strange voices from these caves.

Nobody could understand the eerie whispers, but it's been rumoured that if you stay around for too long, you'll be swept up into the bog's clutches and join the voices of those lost souls. Many had attempted to reach the end of the bogs but never returned.

That is, if the rumours were true.

Blinky wasn't planning on staying long enough to find out. He wasn't even planning on being here in the first place.

But when he recently witnessed two strangers sneaking in and out of the silent bogs, his curiosity was piqued.

He didn't recognise the two ghosts, discreetly wandering in and out of the area. He had first seen them two days ago when he flew by and spotted them disappearing into the canyons from afar. Today, he was out for some alone-time when he saw them again, unmistakably floating through the winding paths that lead to the bogs.

They were both pale, milky white, and both were female. They looked like any other ghost, but the tips of their slimy plumage were longer than average. They were silent and wispy, floating through the bogs and disappearing behind rock walls and caverns on their trek to…who-knows-where in this forgotten place.

Something was off about it. He felt it in his gut, or whatever could suffice as guts in his ectoplasmic body. And yet, he couldn't resist the urge to follow them.

He made sure to keep his distance, lest he get caught. He didn't know what their business was here and wasn't keen on being discovered if they were up to no good.

Gliding silently over the hot, bubbling bog water, he came to a large rock jutting out from the bog, perfect for hiding himself from their view. He floated up to it and peeked over its rocky ledge, just in time to see the two female ghosts disappearing into a cave a good distance away.

The cave entrance was nothing more than a wide crack in the canyon, covered in moss, algae, and thick, slimy foliage. Bog water trickled into its entrance like a river. The light of the white ghosts reflected on the ripples before they vanished into the darkness.

Blinky frowned, narrowing his gaze as he tried to figure out what the strangers were doing in that cave.

It was too far away for him to see anything of value. It put him on his nerves, his gut telling him that those ghosts were up to no good. But he was not about to throw his sanity out of the window and follow them into that cavern – rumours or not, he'd like to keep his soul free from whatever haunts this bog.

Little did Blinky know that he should've paid attention not only to who he was following, but who was following him.

He was so focused on what was in front of him that he didn't realise someone was approaching him from behind. Until he heard a voice.

"Yo, Blinky! Didn't think I'd catch you out he-"

Moving so fast he was a blur of red, Blinky whirled around and tackled the intruder behind him, shoving him up against the rock wall with a fisted, ectoplasmic hand at the ready.

Had he not hesitated and recognised the blue ghost beneath his grip, he surely would've thrown that punch.

"Inky?!" Blinky gasped in slight aggravation, surprised yet irritated that the blue ghost had followed him out here.

Said blue ghost frantically held up his arms in surrender, mumbling some sort of apology under Blinky's hand, clasped over his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Blinky demanded in a hushed whisper, stealing a glance over his shoulder and hoping that the strange ghosts didn't hear them. He removed his hand from Inky's mouth and let go of him, allowing him to float freely.

"I could ask you t'eh same thing," the slender blue ghost huffed, dusting himself off from Blinky's assault. It's not every day he nearly gets pummelled by a Pac-Fu master.

"Saw you's sneaking off, and wondered what convinced ya to come here, of all places."

"Shh!"

Blinky held a finger against his lips as he glared at Inky. The red ghost eyed their surroundings and listened for any sounds. When nothing but silence met them, he gestured for Inky to follow him and the pair of ghosts floated over to the rocky ledge Blinky had peeked over earlier.

The cave Blinky had been spying on was still silent and dark, with no sign of the white ghosts anywhere. Several seconds went by as the two stared out over the bog, Blinky more intently.

The red ghost could tell that Inky was confused, itching to ask why they were staring out into the foul swamp air. Inky squirmed next to him and was just about to ask him that, when Blinky hushed him and pointed out to the cave, "Look!"

Faint flashes of light emitted from somewhere deep within the cave. Its flickering reflection on the stone walls was the only giveaway that something was happening within the cave.

The light flickered on and off, some reflections brighter than others. Yet, the bog was silent and no noise came out of the cave, the source of the fleeting light. Blinky could've sworn the bog had gotten even quieter. Eerily quiet.

"What is that?" Inky whispered, his voice grave. He now understood why Blinky was so adamant about staying quiet – nevermind the haunted bog, the flickering light within that cave was giving him the creeps.

"Two white ghosts went in there," Blinky explained in a hushed tone. "I've never seen anything like them. But I promise you, I'm sure they're not in there for some tea party. I've got a bad feeling about them."

"Ya think Lord B knows about this?"

"Dunno… I doubt it," Blinky whispered, frowning as he considered the possibility of Betrayus sending out two lone ghosts into the Wayward Bogs.

Betrayus may be crazy enough to seek help from evil entities living in different parts of the Netherworld to aid an attack on Pacworld, but the Bogs were so hidden and taboo that Blinky couldn't think of any reason why Betrayus would seek it out. He doubted that Betrayus even knew this place existed.

"Well, Doctor Heinyhead usually knows about everything that's going on in the Netherworld," Inky contemplated, "Maybe he's behind this?"

"Maybe…"

Blinky wasn't convinced. There are a few possibilities as to why the deranged scientist would take an interest in these bogs, but something in his gut told him that this was not the case…

Whatever it was, it left a bad taste in his mouth, and he wasn't keen on staying in that bog any longer.

"Let's keep this a secret for now," Blinky said, pushing off the ledge and floating down towards the water, Inky following soon after. "I don't know what those ghosts are doing here, but I don't think it's good. Until we know for sure what's going on, we can't let Lord B find out about this."

Inky looked like he wanted to protest, but Blinky didn't give him the chance to as he grabbed the blue ghost's arm and dragged him back towards the canyons, away from the bogs.

What they saw was odd and creepy, and although Blinky had no idea what it all meant, his instincts told him that whatever was brewing inside of that cave, it wasn't going to be good.