I'll keep this short, and simple. Ahem. WAAAAAHHHHHHH! Beetlejuice isn't mine! Lydia isn't mine! The Neitherworld isn't mine! Whhhhyyyyy? It's not fair!

But that being said, please don't sue me.

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Okay, this was really hard to write. Really hard. I read 'Only to Her,' twice, trying to get back in the right mindset for this. But it was my personal favorite fic, the one I'm most proud of… And thus, the hardest of them to follow up. This would be people, why it took so long to do it. But I have tried. With Beej and Lyds as my witnesses, I have tried. I would wait a few days, see what I think of it then, before posting it… But really I'm way too eager to see what you guys think. Oh well… Halloween special number two, for me! Er, from me… Yeah.

No questions why Beej is 'holding back' with Lyds... I still want to follow this up too, and that would be telling...

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"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!" The words rang through his head like a familiar song, and grinning, he found himself standing before the goth girl in instants, wearing his best suit. Really it was his only suit, but he'd actually gone as far as having it cleaned for her. At one point. So it still counted.

"You're late, babes." He greeted her good-naturedly, though as far as calling him was concerned, better late than early. He'd been busy a lot lately… Already he was in a good mood though, and it was only improved when he saw the saucy little number she was wearing, all red lace, and precariously placed strips of the spider silk she'd asked for. Blood red, to be specific. His favorite color. "And what're you supposed to be?" He asked with feigned innocence, as if she didn't choose the same costume every year.

"I'm an enchantress!" She giggled, giving a little spin, and making the contents of her dress shift in an alarming way. Already his smile was fading a bit. It was one thing for her to wear something like that to impress him, which was probably the point, but she wanted to go to the neitherworld dressed like that? It made his fingers itch, already wanting to claw people's eyes out for looking at her funny.

All he said to her though, was, "You're always an enchantress, Lyds. You don't even gotta wait for Halloween, for that!" His mind was turning over the evening ahead, and while part of him reveled in the chaos that would ensue, her walking around in that outfit, and the excuses it would give him to indulge in a little violence, he was still uneasy about letting her see that part of him.

"Yeah," She looked delighted to hear him say it, and the girl barely wearing enough clothes to cover herself, tried to hide her blush behind her hands, "But you're the only one I ever manage to enchant, B. It's Halloween! I'm supposed to enchant everybody!"

That was about all his smile could take. His eyes darkened, and she paused, seeing the frown flit across his face. "What's wrong?" She worried quickly, not sure why he was suddenly less than pleased. "Don't you like it? I made it for you!" She fidgeted a little under his steady gaze, suddenly not certain this had been a good idea. When he continued to just stare at her, her own cheerful expression dropped completely, and she sighed, turning back to her closet. "Fine, I'll wear something else…"

Beetlejuice drew his legs into the air, propping himself up on his back, momentarily satisfied. "Don't know who else you think you ought to be enchanting, anyway." He noted evenly, lidding his eyes to watch as she stripped unabashedly out of her costume, completely ignoring the fact that he was right behind her. She was beautiful… And so far from the little goth girl he'd met all those years ago, that it often took his breath away.

"I wouldn't dare." She assured him, some of the lightness returning to her voice, as she turned to look at him with a smile, her eyes filled with warm humor. "You'd kill anyone I looked at twice!" He just nodded, accepting this, his gaze lingering on her bare form.

Slowly a blush covered her, from cheeks to toes, and she turned away, forcing herself to focus on getting dressed. She'd started doing this a few weeks before, out of the blue, pretending she didn't care he was watching. And hell if he'd look away. But so far, he'd yet to rise to her bait… And he knew that she didn't know what to think of that.

A smile twisted the corners of his mouth, as she now tried to cover herself, while slipping into a far more modest, second enchantress dress. This one far more suited to his taste. The kid wanted to grow up way too fast… Not that he minded humoring her from time to time. But she was nowhere near as grown as she seemed to think she was. Sometimes when he looked at her, he swore he still saw the twelve year old girl, swaying in her little black nightgown, to the sound of neitherworld drums…

Decent now, Lydia was still trying to banish her blush, not quite up to meeting his eyes yet. "I'd call you a spoilsport," She murmured, her voice still as warm as ever, "But you're the most fun guy I know, so heck if it would make sense." When he dropped back down to the carpet, she crossed the distance between them without hesitation, throwing her arms around his waist, and burying her face in his chest. "You liked it though, right?" She whispered, a little giggle in the words.

"Babes, I loved it…" He admitted with a grimace, tucking a hand around her waist. "But I would have been busy all night, tearing people in half for seeing you like that." She tipped her head back, her eyes glowing with that same devotion that had snared him from the very beginning, an invitation to kiss her in her gaze. And hell if he'd pass up that invitation.

The simple feel of her lips against his, so otherworldly warm, still left him light-headed every time. The way her fingers tangled in his hair now, winding through the greasy strands with gentle tugs, always left him wanting more. But if the kisses weren't as innocent as they once were… In his eyes, she still was.

So after only a moment, he broke it, and considered her from beneath a slightly lifted brow. "You just happened to have two costumes ready, hmm?" He goaded, giving her arm a little pinch. She just sashayed away from him, an innocent grin plastered to her face. Damn, she still looked good enough to eat… "Uh-huh." He muttered dryly. "Well, we better get going, before all the good grub is gone."

Of course, if she wasn't yet grown, she was still way too old to be trick or treating… But if this was how she wanted to spend the holiday, it was fine with him. Especially as she always shared. Willingly or otherwise.

She lifted her arms, pleased as anything, saying the words again… "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!" And like that, she was back to playing the game on his terms…

--

The neitherworld just wasn't the friendly place it used to be… And in truth, he was directly responsible for that, the girl at his side only slightly less so. With the 'death' of the only heir to the monarchy, still unexplained as it so happened, being dead had gotten a whole lot nastier. And while he wasn't necessarily worried about the kid while he was with her… It was true that they traveled to the neitherworld less and less these days. Bids for power after all, tended to have a lot of casualties.

But Halloween without the neitherworld just wouldn't be the same in her eyes, and besides, it was actually the one night of the year that was more or less considered one of truce. Not that this meant a damn thing to someone like him. And lately it seemed there were a lot more 'someones like him' out there. So he kept his eyes open.

Lydia on the other hand, was completely oblivious, running up to each distorted house like she was still five, sing-songing out in her sweet voice, 'Trick or treat!' Usually with a group of neitherworld kids half her size. And for her efforts, receiving squirmy worms, gooey red drops, cloying clusters, or other such delicacies of the dead. He wondered absently when the last time was, that she'd eaten living world candy. He hadn't seen her with any since he'd met her.

Examining her latest haul, Lydia twisted the large piece of taffy in her hand for inspection, trying to discern the flavor by sight. "Hot fudge scum-dae!" She announced after a moment, looking at him in triumph. "My favorite!"

"Mine too." He agreed, snatching it from her fingers without ceremony, and as she gave a little pout, popping the prized treat in his own mouth. "Why don't you go back and get some more?"

"You can't go to the same house twice, B." She sighed, quickly forgiving him for the little slight. He wondered if there was some unwritten rule about that house thing somewhere… "Come on, maybe the next house will have something good."

As he obligingly started towards the next house though, Lydia suddenly stopped, tugging on his arm. "Their light's not on, B." She protested, already turning to find another house more suitable. "That means they're not passing out candy!"

"Says you." He muttered, giving her a little push towards the door. "It's Halloween, they better have some damn candy!"

She considered the house with a sense of wariness, but then shrugged, and strode up to the door as easily as any other, pounding on it with her little hand. "Trick or treat!" She called out, secretly doubting that anyone would even bother answering the door. "Trick or treat, and Happy Halloween!" The worst that could happen, was they'd tell her to leave, right?

The door flew open, and a scowling monster on the other side regarded her rather like something particularly offensive he'd just discovered on the bottom of his shoe. "You have some kind of problem?" He snapped, making her take a surprised step back. "Get off my goddamn porch! See?" He jabbed at the unlit bulb. "No light, no candy! Get it through that rotten skull of yours!" And with that, he slammed the door again, right in her face.

Lydia blinked, more surprised than offended. The same could not be said for her companion. As she would have shrugged, turning away from the door, he rested a hand on her shoulder with a small smile. "Hold on, babes," He murmured smoothly, "I'm gonna go ask Mr. Charming again… Stay right here." And to her concern, he forewent any niceties of knocking, and drifted right through the front door.

There wasn't much in life that really pissed Beetlejuice off anymore, or in death for that matter. In truth, he wasn't even really upset now. He just wanted to make a point. If you can't say something nicely, don't say it. Then he'd be on his way.

The monster in question, a hulking brute with patches of blue and brown skin, seemed startled to find himself abruptly face to face with the poltergeist he thought he'd just left outside, and after a moment, his face turned a deep shade of purple. "What the hell do you think…?" He began, only to find himself suddenly speechless, and hanging upside down in midair.

"My turn to talk." Beetlejuice denied easily, pushing the creature's body back with one hand, until he found himself pressed against a wall. His eyes were huge as he tried to force sound through his soldered mouth, and veins in his neck bulged impressively with the effort.

Beetlejuice however, was not impressed. "See now, here's the way it works," He explained, reaching into his pockets to find what he was looking for, "Lyds back there, she says 'trick or treat.' Then you give her a treat. Or," And now he fanned both his hands to display his prizes, an array of slender scalpels grasped between the fingers of one, and shining thick razors in the other, "I offer a few tricks."

"It's really pretty straight forward. Trick, or treat. Which do you prefer?" Not that it really made a difference to him… But he should probably try not to keep Lyds waiting.

Lydia meanwhile, was doing her best not to feel exposed, without her friend and protector by her side. That, and trying not to dwell on just how Beetlejuice expected to convince the guy to change his attitude. She suspected there wouldn't be much patient cajoling involved…

Though she'd informed Beetlejuice in no uncertain terms, some time before, that she knew he wasn't a 'nice guy,' that was really a pretty broad definition. And as far as she was concerned, it should stay that way. But at the moment, her imagination was working double-time, wondering just what her best friend was really capable of, if he got it in his head to be particularly 'not nice.' And over some candy? She sighed, and reflected that they really should have just tried the next house…

The door chose that moment to swing back open, and Beetlejuice stood there with his arm slung over a far paler monster's shoulder. Beetlejuice was grinning. The other guy, if the expression may be excused, looked like he'd seen a ghost, his eyes wide, his jaw slightly slack. "H- Happy, Halloween…" He rasped under his breath, pushing a mason jar full of squirmy worms into her hands, before turning around, and going back inside. He didn't even bother to close the door.

Lydia peered at the wriggling treats in her hand, impressed that they were fresh enough to be putting up such a fight, and of course, deliberately not meeting B's gaze just yet. "That's a lot of candy." She noted, opening the top, and scooping one of the sweet, slippery things out. Mm, green, her favorite flavor too… She sucked it up like a strand of spaghetti, belatedly offering Beetlejuice one, as she mashed the writhing thing between her teeth.

He grabbed a red one, absently, and ripped it in half with his teeth, dripping ooze onto his fingers. Despite herself, it made Lydia smile, which of course, had been his intention. Licking the thick syrup off, he patted her on the shoulder with his free hand, offering amiably, "I knew he'd change his mind. You just gotta know how to talk to people."

"And that's all you did," She murmured, trying to believe it, "You just talked, right?"

"Business, babes." He smiled, showing every one of his slightly edged teeth, now menacingly smeared with red. "You know I don't talk about business." And yes, she did know, and from long engrained habit as much as anything, she decided that this satisfied her. Even if it was an answer he'd used a hundred times before.

"Come on, Lyds," He prompted, leading her to the next house on the block, this one with its light shining reassuringly in the darkness, "Let's see what they're giving away over here… Maybe some of those clotted caramels you love. You do know what's in those things, right?" He glanced at her sideways as he asked this, arching one brow.

"B," Lydia murmured, taking his hand in her own with a little smile, "I figured out a long time ago, not to ask too many questions about what's inside the things I like. It would just spoil my fun."

Beetlejuice just grinned. He knew the girl was a smart one…

--

Lydia later wouldn't be able to explain exactly how she managed to amass three bags of candy, in the time it usually took to collect one… But she did know that it involved stopping at a lot of houses with doused porch lights. Which made her wonder if maybe she was getting too old to still be trick or treating after all, if this was how Beetlejuice was going to play it, from now on.

The poltergeist meanwhile, was carrying two of her bags for her, leaving her hands free to knock, collecting more and more of her ill-gotten goods. She didn't even care that he was munching away enough sugary sweets to put a hummingbird in a diabetic coma. One thing she would not be lacking when this night was done after all, was candy.

But somehow the fun had gone out of it, along with some of the spring in her step. There was no challenge, and she was starting to feel a little guilty, even though she hadn't done anything wrong. Beetlejuice, ever aware when it came to the girl, took notice when she passed half a block of lit porches without going up to the doors, walking along with her head high instead, staring at the stars.

"Head in the clouds, babes?" He noted dryly, followed by a desperate attempt to catch his own head, and drag it back down to his shoulders. He thought he'd been getting the hang of that too…

She looked back at him, eyes shining as he struggled to reattach his head, before bending to scoop up the candy he'd spilled. "The stars are different in the neitherworld." She noted aloud, as if this were some significant discovery. "Especially on Halloween."

Beetlejuice glanced skyward, admitting to himself that she was half right. The stars were different in the neitherworld… Totally different constellations. But that whole part about them being different on Halloween was just shit. "Stars are stars, babes." He noted, shrugging, and dipping into her bag for a candy coated cockroach, one of the few treats she couldn't stomach. "They're out of reach, they never do anything new, and if you wish on them, you're wasting your time, 'cause stars don't care."

The response for his attempt at candor was a little giggle, and a slow swivel of her hips, as she walked backwards now, so she could meet his eyes while she talked. "But neitherworld stars are different." She crooned, lidding her eyes with those heavy dark lashes she had, in something like reflection. "No matter how many lights there are down here, they never get any fainter. And on Halloween… I swear, they're even brighter than usual."

Again, the kid was imagining things. Sure, there were just as many stars whether a person was in the middle of the city, or the middle of the desert, that was true. But again, the whole Halloween thing was just shit. "Whatever you say, Lyds." He smirked, going through no pains to hide the fact that he was just humoring her.

She just slowed more, until she was right beside him, albeit still walking backwards. "Look, B." She whispered, tilting his head up a little with the lightest brush of her fingertips. It made him shiver, and unintentionally, obey. "They're orange as pumpkins tonight… The stars love Halloween too, I'm certain of it."

Beetlejuice turned his gaze back to her, and noted dryly, "And I think you've had enough candy, babes. You ready to turn in for the night?"

Lydia sighed, accepting the fact that there just wasn't a romantic bone in her best friend's body. "I swear, you could spot a beetle at five hundred paces, in the dark, but sometimes you just can't see a thing, can you, B?" She murmured, eyes turning adoringly to him anyway. He just chuckled, not admitting anything. "Oh well." Her hand slid into his, as she turned back around, and tipped her head, so that it rested against his shoulder. "That's okay, B. I'll always be there to see that stuff for you."

It surprised him a little, how much he liked the thought of that. But not as much as it once would have. Not anymore. "Lyds," He assured her matter-of-factly, "I'm counting on it." And that of course, just made her eyes shine more…

B was still the best. Never mind that he could put a scare into pretty much anyone he put his mind to, and never mind that he probably wouldn't stop at much to do it. Never mind the way people stopped and stared when they saw him, murmuring in fear, or the outright chaos he occasionally caused, for no reason she could see. He was still the guy that had taken time out for some kid with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and made her laugh, when no one else could.

Even if she wasn't strictly a kid anymore. Thinking this, she stopped then and there, and threw her arms around him, burrowing her face into the part of his neck that was cool, and smelled a bit like a basement. "Happy Halloween, B." She whispered, because she hadn't said it yet, and she needed something to say. She knew when he smelled her hair. She loved when she felt his lips at the top of her head. And she tangled her fingers in the cloth of his jacket, giggling. "That tickles!"

"Heh." He pushed her away, sort of off-handedly, and steered her down the street with the side of his arm. "Okay, enough mushy stuff… You're gonna have people thinking I've gone soft." Not that he really cared, what anyone thought besides her…

A sudden sharp rumble interrupted her reverie, building quickly to a low roar, humming through the night around her like a struck chord. Beetlejuice tensed beside her, reaching to draw her behind him, certain something was wrong, but not sure yet what it was.

The sound continued to escalate until the cause was revealed, as a group of over twenty bikes sped down the street over the distant hill, the growl of their engines nothing compared to the deranged howls of the creatures that rode them. Lydia stood very still, trying to see over Beetlejuice's shoulder, but well aware at the same time that little was more vulnerable than a living person in the neitherworld.

As they sped along, one lashed out with a length of chain, toppling street lamps into the road, and plowing over them with his spiked wheels, while others shot randomly into the air, and otherwise shrieked insanely. She'd never seen anything like it, even here. It made her heart leap into her throat, and she closed her eyes, leaning lightly against his back. It had come out of nowhere… But B would always protect her, no matter what. He just would.

Beetlejuice could smell her fear, and it made him angry in a way that nothing had, since he'd almost lost her years before. He felt the way she hid behind him, trusting him to protect her, and it made his stomach twist, never one who would become accustomed to playing the hero. But hell if he was going to let anything take his babes away.

"Lyds," He hissed, in a hurry to tell her what she should already know, "You need to get-" The rest of it was never said, as something hit him square in the chest, with the strength of a sledgehammer. That it was a bullet was unmistakable. That it would hit Lyds if it managed to pass through him, was without question. So he stopped it, somewhere inside him… And for just an instant, his world went black, even though he didn't fall. He heard her call for him. Damn it, why wasn't she saying his name? Why wasn't she getting away?

And then, before his vision returned, the horrible sound of something solid colliding with flesh… Flesh far too meaty to be dead. A sort of muffled wheeze, and then, even as he could see again, Lydia falling, as if in slow motion. He didn't even know what had hit her. But in that moment, his world stood perfectly still, as her eyes abruptly lost her light.

What happened after that, even Beetlejuice himself would never really be sure of. He'd have no memory of it later. The next thing he'd be aware of in fact, was standing over the last of the fallen bikers, his fingers hooked into ripping metal claws, continually slashing, in a maddened way, at the whimpering form beneath him. Not that there was much left of it.

Only when the last of the sounds stopped, even with his mind somewhat in control again, did he lift his head, and take in the scene of carnage. Blood dripped over everything. Torn and twisted metal lay all across the road, and here and there, stuck embedded into nearby walls of stone. Everything was slick and coppery, and nothing larger than a hand remained of their attackers. All he could see, all around him, was the death of the dead.

And for one, horrible moment, his own dead heart within him did its best to skip a beat, his stomach falling away completely, as he couldn't find any sign of the girl. Oh god. Oh god. He'd killed her… He'd been completely out of it, destroying everything in sight, and he'd killed her!

His mind refused to believe it, and he began walking up to loose piles of torn flesh, oozing their various colors of red, black, and green, and began digging through them. Hoping to find some sign of her. Hoping it wouldn't be part of her body, in his frenzied rage, ripped away. He swore that his heart beat faster and faster, even as it lay painfully still in his chest. His mind screamed silently…

No, not there… Not there… Lyds… "Lyds…" He said it aloud this time, barely a breath at first. "Babes, where are you? This isn't funny!" His voice grew into a rasped shout, as he was certain he felt something tear in the back of his throat. "Lydia!" Even as something in his mind protested his panic, protested his giving this much of a damn about anyone, even her, he still surrendered to it completely. "Lydia!"

Nothing, nowhere, he couldn't find her. This wasn't right… She was the one person he was never supposed to hurt! No, no, no, Lydia… Lydia…

"Babes?" It was a whimper, he had no strength for anything more. His mind turned over the idea that maybe she had said his name. Maybe she'd escaped. But no, she'd been out cold, he was certain of it. Out cold, or dead. And with a howl of outrage at this realization, he turned on the nearest corpse, hands once more rendered to talons, ready to vent his rage again.

And immediately he froze, pupils dilating as they fixed on her arm, her hand, with his ring still in place. With an odd sense of surrealness, he dug her out, slowly, carefully. Covered in blood, gore, and various other drippings. Still, so still… But in one piece. He pulled her gingerly into his arms, like he was afraid he might break her, now that he'd found her. His fingers searched for a pulse… And found it, even as she finally took in a slow, shaky breath.

The most dangerous poltergeist in the world sat there in the middle of the road, surrounded by death and carnage rent by his own hands moments before, holding the broken sixteen-year-old girl tenderly in his arms. Rocking her back and forth gently as he poured his juice into her with infinite care. Healing her broken ribs. Repairing her pierced lung. Banishing, with an instant, every drop of filth that covered her. Making her perfect once again. But still she didn't wake.

His mind in a new kind of daze, he lifted her, and carried her out of the road, propping her gently against an unmarred brick wall. Then, as those who'd dared to emerge watched, he began gathering up the candy she'd spilled, still wanting somehow to undo what had been done to her. He banished every trace of blood on it, as he picked up the pieces, some one by one, others by the handful.

When he had a bagful once more, all her favorites, he stood, and walked back to the girl, lifting her easily in one arm. With another moment, he was moving between worlds, taking his time as he passed through the various gates, never moving quickly enough to wake her. It took time. It took a long time. But she'd been through a lot, and more than anything, needed to sleep.

She didn't wake in fact, until just about the time his feet touched the carpet in her room, and even then just for a moment. Her eyes opened, saw him, and she smiled. And then she was asleep again.

Beetlejuice laid her out on her bed slowly, setting the bag of candy on her nightstand, and retreated to her bright red chair, falling across it more than sitting. And he remained there, watching her sleep. He'd thought he'd lost her. Again. This time to his own hand. But even in his turmoil, he didn't miss the fact that he hadn't. Even at his worst, even in his maddest, he hadn't lifted a finger against her.

"I guess I'm stuck with you, kid." He whispered aloud, something in him letting go of a fear that he hadn't even know had existed. That one day, he'd hurt her. That one day, he'd lose control, and it would cost him the only person he gave a damn about, in any world. But now… Now that no longer scared him. Instead, all that scared him was that girl lying so still in her bed, and how much power she had over him.

He might have sat there an hour, more, before he finally shook his head, and stood, realizing that hr parents might come in at any time, and how hard that would be to explain. He paused by her bed though, not leaving right away, and ran his fingers slowly along the crown of her head. Lingering, as they brushed a careless strand of hair from her face. And realizing that he really had gone soft, for her.

"Babes, you don't know what you do to me…" He murmured as he turned away, resigned to the fact that his afterlife was now forever beyond his control, as long as that girl behind him held the reins to his soul. Hell if he knew how it had happened. But it had, and so securely, that he didn't even want to break free.

Oh well, Lyds… Happy Halloween…

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