Pac simply stared at the framed photo in front of him, his mouth hanging open. There was Rotunda, and someone who was obviously a younger Stratos. But those two weren't who Pac was staring at. His vision was fixated upon the little tyke cowering behind Rotunda, peeking out shyly. They were a stark shade of white as was their hair, his red eyes looking as if they were about to well up with tears at any moment.
No doubt about it. This was a toddler Betrayus, a very long time before his fall into darkness. Dare Pac think about it, he was an adorable little scamp.
But he continued to stare at the boy in the photograph, a deep feeling of unease beginning to overcome his senses. He truly never gave much thought into Betrayus' youth, he really did only ever see the malicious, power hungry monster he was the present. But in the photo he didn't see that. He saw an innocent child.
"Pac dear, dinner's ready!"
"C-coming, ma'am!"
You see, Pac had made quite a decision, one that shocked his friends. He had decided to stay with Rotunda over the course of summer vacation as per the old lady's offer. He had taken the offer without thinking, eager to spend more time with the First Grandlady. Little did he know what he really had gotten himself into.
Pac made his way into the home's dining room and sat down, his stomach doing its never ending hunger thing as usual. A plate full of a freshly prepared meal was placed in front of him, and he wasted no time in wolfing it down much to the delight of Rotunda. "Hungry?"
"Hehe, always."
"Well, there's plenty more where that came from. Care for seconds?"
"You bet!"
Rotunda smiled and picked up the plate, going back into the kitchen to fetch more food.
If any word could be used to describe the home, it would be, well, homely. The abode was overall very old fashioned, and had a distinct hint of nostalgia for times past. The inside was warm but not too warm, and there was even a glass case full of antique knick knacks and the tables were adorned with doilies. The air felt calm and welcoming, a nice break from all the intense ghost fighting back in the city.
But, something kept nagging at Pac's young mind- the walls were covered in several portraits, be they of family or the brothers in various stages of childhood. Some of them were big, some small, but they all had one thing in common- the lack of a certain paternal figure. Pac never thought about the Spheros family patriarch at all until he began his visit. That combined with the pictures of a small, still innocent Betrayus were really bugging him. It finally occurred to him that he knew next to nothing about any of it. But asking Rotunda questions was probably out of the question, lest he accidentally reopen any old wounds. Speaking of-
"Order up", Rotunda chirped as she presented a second plate of steaming food before her adopted grandson.
Pac just stared at it, his hunger leaving him as these thoughts ravaged his mind. "Pac?"
"Sorry ma'am, I don't think I'm hungry anymore."
Rotunda just smiled gently. "That's quite alright dear. But there's plenty of leftovers if you change your mind. You're excused. Why don't you go watch some tv while I clean up?"
"Thank you."
Pac stood and went into the living room, sitting down on the sofa. The sofa was quite soft, and Pac could feel himself sinking into it for at least five seconds. He looked about, something new catching his eye every other moment. Even the television was old fashioned, it was the kind you operated with a dial and such. Two crooked antennas jutted from the top, and the old thing truly looked like it had seen a lot of use. He decided to go turn it on, following through with the lady's offer.
Oh. It was in black and white. Not a problem, just surprising. Pac sat back down and watched, and it was currently showing some news about how he and his two best buds had once again saved Pacopolis from Betrayus and his army. Good times.
Pac smiled a bit as he remembered all the missions they had been on, and he wondered if they were doing alright. Cyli and Spiral were going to stay with their own folks to his knowledge, as would Pac (more specifically with his aunt) if the offer hadn't come up.
"I wonder if the president and Betrayus ever sat here", Pac asked himself. What a silly question he then thought, of course they had. In all likelihood they had probably been everywhere in this house.
"Thanks for waiting, Pac!"
Pac jumped a little and looked to where the voice had come from. There was Rotunda, and she was carrying something thick and brown- a binder of some sort. She sat next to the boy and began to chuckle as she opened up the object- oh! It was a photo album!
"Care to look at some old photos?"
"Heh, alrighty."
"Wonderful!"
They began to flip through the aged, yellowing pages. Each photo was a delight. Some cute, some funny, some sweet.
"There's little Stratos on his bike. Oh! And there he is in high school!"
Pac let out a snort at the latter photo. Oh there was Stratos all right- with a huge afro. One had to wonder if it was real or fake!
"And here's little Trayus."
Wait, huh? Trayus? Oh, duh. Of COURSE his birth name wasn't something that awful. The photo in question was of a baby Be- er, Trayus, apparently only a few days old. His tiny fists were clenched and his expression was sour as per newborn baby norm.
They spent a good while flipping through the photos, having a wonderful time. One picture Pac particularly enjoyed was of Betrayus on his first birthday, with cake smeared all over his face. To think he was seeing embarrassing photos of his nemesis. Oh Pac couldn't wait to rub that in Betrayus' face.
Finally they were finished and the album was closed. Pac tried to tell the woman thank you, but all that came out was a heavy yawn. "Sleepy, dear?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, feel free to use the boys' old room! Not much left in there."
"...don't you have a guest room?"
"Sorry dearie but no."
"Okay then."
"Good night, sweetie."
"Night."
Pac opened the door, eager to get some rest. The door creaked open (it wasn't an automatic door, the house was older than that), and he turned on the light. The light flickered a few times, before finally bathing the room in its glow. The room was indeed mostly empty, save for two nest-like beds on either side and some wall decorations. It was easy to tell which side had belonged to which brother- the right side was decked out in posters and awards, and looked neat. Pac smirked as he realized that this must have been where a young Stratos slept. Pac looked to the left, and the good feeling was gone instantly.
That side of the room was bare and stark, save for a shelf with some dusty Pac Pong trophies. "Trayus Spheros" was engraved in each one, and they looked as if they hadn't been tended to in quite some time. Welp, it didn't take a genius to figure out which side he was going to sleep in.
Pac quickly went over to the side that once belonged to young Stratos, and hopped into the bed. It was stiff, but not uncomfortable. Oops. He forgot to turn off the light. He got up to go flick the switch. Then- he saw it. Something he had missed during his initial entry into the room. The left side's bed lid was partially ajar, and Pac could see something inside.
Leave it alone, Pac, he thought to himself as he reached for the light switch, then stopped before he looked back at the other bed. His curiosity getting the better of him, he went over and pried the lid open the rest of the way. It was… a book! A journal more specifically. Written on the cover was "KEEP OUT" in large letters. A journal that belonged to a young Betrayus perhaps? Now Pac's morbid curiosity had REALLY peaked. Once again, he knew he ought to leave it alone, it wasn't his. But then again, perhaps he could finally get the answer to his question about what Betrayus' youth was like…
He stared at the journal for a few moments too long, before finally deciding to grab it and hop into the bed on the right side of the room.
This is wrong and you know it, came another thought. Pac ignored his conscience in favor of snooping. He flipped it open, and began to read. The handwriting was sloppy and barely legible in typical Betrayus fashion.
The first part of page one read:
I hate this journal, but mummy said it would "make me feel better". Stupid journal. I guess now's the part where I write about my day or something.
The rest of the entry was filled with petty complaints about how awful school was and how everyone hated him. Yep, this was definitely something that belonged to young Betrayus.
Pac smiled and laughed a little as he flipped to the next page, but his heart sank as he read the second entry.
I got pushed again. He's always making fun of me. I tried to tell mummy but she just went on about how he just wants to be my friend. It's all stupid. Stupid school. Stupid mummy. Stupid Zac.
ZAC?! Pac reread the line many times to make sure his eyes were correct. Yep. Zac apparently used to have a penchant for bullying young Trayus if the rest of the entry was anything to go by. Well, that certainly explained some things.
Pac knew he probably should stop and leave it be, but for whatever reason he felt compelled to keep reading the other entries.
They too were unpleasant, full of complaining and bitterness. They seemed to get worse as the journal went on, going from simple discontent all the way up to sheer, unbridled rage.
But that wasn't the worst part. That wasn't what made Pac's stomach churn and his heart pound. Near the end of the accursed journal was something so awful, so disgusting that Pac nearly threw up.
It was a series of crudely made yet very graphic drawings of bad things happening to other people, other people whom Pac could only assume Betrayus had a low opinion of. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't stop flipping through the pictures, his horror increasing with each page he saw. After the horrid drawings finally came to an end, there was one sentence written on the final page- They'll see. They'll all see.
His hands began to shake and hot tears appeared in his eyes as he finally shut the book and let out a shriek.
Rotunda wasted no time rushing into the room, and she tried to comfort the poor boy. "Pac? Pac what's wrong?! You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Pac couldn't even speak, he just let out a little hiccup. Rotunda rubbed his back and offered kind words but to no avail. Finally, Pac managed to find his words.
"I'm going home."
"Pardon?"
"I said I'm going home."
"Dearie, it's so late! And you just got here!"
"I mean it. I'm calling my aunt Spheria."
Pac didn't dare tell the old lady what he had seen, lest she have the same reaction.
Rotunda kept trying to offer comfort, but Pac was inconsolable and dead set on leaving.
"Was it something I did?"
"N-no! Not you at all! Please don't feel bad ma'am!"
Rotunda wasn't pleased that her guest was so adamant to leave so soon, but she understood that she wasn't going to talk him out of it.
"If that's what you really want, I suppose I can't stop you. Please be safe, darling."
She left the room but not before giving one last glance at the boy. Pac wasted no time in getting up to call his aunt with his phone, but not before grabbing the journal with full intent to take it along. He couldn't risk Rotunda finding it. As soon as he got back home, he was going to burn it. That way no one would have to see what he saw.
His hands were trembling as he pulled out his phone, he could barely manage to press the buttons to call his aunt.
"Pac? Everything all right?"
"Can you come pick me up?"
"At this hour? What happened?"
"I don't wanna talk about it. Please just come get me."
"If ya say so. Sit tight kiddo."
"Thanks."
Pac grabbed the journal and raced out the front door, sitting on the porch as he waited for his aunt to arrive. He felt bad about leaving so suddenly, but he didn't think he could stand this trip anymore.
He should have known better than to march into the childhood home of his nemesis. Of course he'd find something like this eventually! He just kept sitting and fiddling with his hands, as he had many unwanted thoughts about the situation.
He thought about how cute and innocent little Betrayus used to be, and how something apparently twisted him into the monster he was today. Pac couldn't help but have more questions-
Why? Who or what was to blame? Now what?!
"Pac, dearie?"
Pac jumped. There was Rotunda, who looked quite sorrowful. Pac was quick to pick up the journal, and put in the bag with his belongings before she saw it.
"Y-yes ma'am?"
"I'm very sorry this trip wasn't fun for you."
"It's not your fault, miss."
"Mind if I sit with you while you wait?"
"Not at all."
Rotunda sat next to the boy, and it was silent for a minute or two.
"Ma'am?"
"Hm?"
"Sorry for asking this, but what was Betrayus like as a kid?"
"Well, he used to be quite a bit like you. Cheerful, optimistic… Then something began to change. I don't know what got into him, let alone why he would do all those awful things."
"..."
"If you need to talk, you can always reach out to me."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Anytime."
They sat there in silence for a while, before the headlights of Spheria's car illuminated the home. Pac said goodbye, then hopped in.
"Sorry auntie."
"Pac, what happened?", she immediately asked as she drove away.
"I… well…"
"Go on, out with it."
"I… saw something. Something really bad."
"That being?"
"I found an old diary belonging to Betrayus and-"
"Say no more. I understand. Must've been something pretty awful."
"Yeah. I don't want Rotunda to see it so I brought it with me."
"And what then?"
"I'm gonna burn it."
"Burn? Bit extreme there, kid."
"I don't want anyone to see what I saw."
"I gotcha. But before that, please get some rest."
"Okay…"
"You alright though?"
"No…"
"Thought not. Listen, tomorrow I'll make it up to ya by baking you a nice big Pacberry Pie."
"You're not mad at me?"
"Nah. You gotta do whatcha gotta do. Just next time try not to do it so late."
"Yes ma'am."
The rest of the drive was silent, Pac staring up at the stars in the sky through the passenger side window. It was pretty, a stark contrast to his grim mood. Pac couldn't stop thinking about the journal and what a young Betrayus must have been through to become something so awful in the future. He felt something he thought he'd never feel- pity for the fiery specter.
But what mattered at the moment was getting home and disposing of that dang journal ASAP. His thoughts went back to the family portrait he had seen earlier, and how they all looked like a happy family.
Where did it all go wrong?
