Collision Course [+ Additional Levels]

Cutscene Part 2 - They Meet

He came to the stairs at the of the seats, and turned right... and then turned right again. Moments later, Pinky burst through the doorway, narrowly missing Pacman as he ran through a row of stairs. She ran down the steps and immediately turned left in pursuit, following close behind Inky.

Clyde was ahead of Pacman, but Pacman didn't fret about him. At the end of the row of seats, he turned left up the stairs, and ran through the opening. He haphazardly rushed down the short amount of steps that led to the halls, which were empty where he was, and without breaking a stride he took another left, Inky and Pinky trailing him. His heart pounded in his chest, the squeaks from his shoes bouncing off the walls and making an echo with every step. His breath hissed through his teeth as he stared at his target straight ahead, something that would save him. It was the Ghosts' only weakness.

A power pellet.

The glowing orb, larger than most, hovered motionlessly, suspended in air by nothing but code. Pacman narrowed his gaze on it. Right then, the most important thing to him was getting to that pellet. He wanted it more than anything else. He yearned for it, not only because of the satisfaction it brought him when it enabled him to turn around and take out the Ghosts, but because of the peace that came after—the temporary relieve from the game that gave him a chance to take a breath until the ghosts came back for him, one by one.

Ever since a few months after he spawned for the first time, his goal has been to get as far away from the Ghost House—their spawn point—as his code would allow him, so that his breaks from their chase would become longer. Right now, he was lucky if he had a half an hour to himself. A whole hour would be amazing.

There are two ways he's found to do this; the first one was obvious. He just gets really good at playing the game, gaining points and getting through the levels without getting caught. However, there's a drawback to this; after the completion of a level, he also respawns by the house. He was still figuring out how to get around that.

The second solution comes up if the first one isn't working out. If he can't avoid the danger, he'll bring the danger to them. And the only way to do that is by using a power pellet, just like the one that was ahead of him, at the end of the hall.

There were only four power pellets per level. This was the fourth, so he was going to have to use it wisely. That is, if he could get to it in time.

His feet hammered the floor on his way to his destination. The orb held its position, waiting for him. Pacman could sense Inky groping the air behind him in an effort to reach him. Pinky was nearly on Inky, just trying to get to him. They knew of the power pellet. They were just as desperate to stop him from reaching it as he was desperate to get to it. Pacman's breaths were becoming harder and shallower. Inky was nearly on top of him. With a panicked cry, adrenaline coursing through him, heart beating like crazy, he leaped forward... and felt Inky crash into him.

Pacman fell to his knees with a skid, eyes squeezed shut as he fell. He felt the pit of his stomach twist in his defeat, feeling the heavy weight of the Ghost on his back. As he felt Inky push himself off of him, he opened his eyes, and a slight frown formed on his face. His head... something in his head wasn't registering. At least, not in the way that he thought it would.

He turned his head to look back at Inky. The ghost pushed against his shoulder to sit upright in a crouch position, and looked back at him. Seeing Pacman's eyes widen, the ghost frowned and looked down at himself—and gasped. He wasn't his natural color. He was blue, but not his blue. Inky had become a dark shade of blue, as opposed to cyan... and that only meant one thing.

Inky looked back up at Pacman, shock and disbelief on his face. His wide eyes were different from when he had last looked at him. They were pixelated, tiny blue squares reflecting the overhead lights. He blinked, and his pupils and irises became two single squares. A moment later, he disappeared—all except for his eyes. His square eyes looked back down the hall and zoomed past Pinky, heading back to the Ghost House to respawn.