Authors note: I own nothing so be a dear and please review. Thank you.

Chapter 2

Beetlejuice floated around his Roadhouse. He was concentrated on the floor as he moved two feet above it. Spotting his target, the six hundred-year-old ghost slammed his hand down on the floor and picked up two squirming objects. Putting one of them in his mouth, he looked at the other and smirked.

"Hey Beth!" Beetlejuice called.

"What?" She answered, walking into the room with Lydia.

"Think fast, babes." Beetlejuice said. His striped clothes instantly changed into a black and white baseball uniform and he pitched the large bug at the woman.

Beth caught the beetle easily and flicked off its head without a thought. Then, before Lydia fully comprehended what was happening, Beth bit the beetle.

"Um, I don't think you should do that, Beth. I mean, you are alive and I'm not sure what a neitherworld beetle will do to you." Lydia said, only slightly disgusted. After so many years of seeing her best friend eating the creepy crawlers, not much truly disgusted Lydia anymore. But it was still a bit disturbing to see what seemed like a normal young woman eating bugs.

"Listen, Edna Allen Poe." Beth said, since she had yet to know Lydia's name. "If I die, then it'll all work out. I'm not going to change the things I have been doing since I meet Beetlejuice just because I'm alive. Besides, I hear that anthropoids are a good source of protein for humans."

Lydia looked darkly at the blond woman while Beetlejuice gave Beth a glare that said back off.

"My name is Lydia. Remember it." Lydia said, slightly annoyed.

Beth just shrugged and Lydia was once again reminded of her best friend. However, a burst of cold air and a whirlwind of yellow fax paper cut Lydia's thoughts short. An old woman with a large gash in her neck strolled in, extremely agitated.

"You two!" The short woman said sharply. "How in the neitherworld could you let something like this happen. I'm especially talking to you, Beetlejuice! I can expect this from a rookie like Beth, but you have been a bio-exorcist for almost 600 years. I would have hoped you'd have learned to control and keep your powers by now."

"Whoa, whoa! What are you talking about? Let what happen? Nothing's happened!" Beetlejuice said.

"Oh, you've really screwed up this time, B-J. Who did you train to jump worlds without my permission? Was it Chester Slime? Or maybe Little Miss Warden; I'm sure she's been wanting to get her little evil hands on those powers for some time." She said.

"Hey, Juno! First things first. What are you doing here? I thought after the incident we had at with the Maitlands," Beetlejuice said, his eyes flashed towards Lydia in remembrance, "you would never see or have anything to do with me again."

Juno took a long drag of the cigarette that was in her hand. The smoke, instead of being breathed out, billowed from the large gash in Juno's neck.

"I wouldn't, usually. However, something destroying the lining of the neither world. If this keeps up, with out that lining there won't be a barrier between the living in the dead. We could have hundreds of ghosts illegally entering the outerworld. Or worse, the living entering the neitherworld." Juno said, frustrated and annoyed. She took another inhalation of her cigarette. Beth and Beetlejuice laughed harshly.

"That's impossible. The barrier can only be destroyed on the outside of the neitherworld dimension. The only people who have that kind power are us Bio-" Beth's eyes widened as she figured out what had happened. "That jerk! Not only did he turn me human, but he took the liberty of stealing my powers as well!"

"Good. Look's like Beetlejuice didn't make you too stupid." Juno said sarcastically.

"So what?" Beetlejuice said, trying to ignore the obvious insult. "It's not my problem. If you're so worried about the living finding their way here, fix it yourself."

Juno walked up to the much taller ghost and placed the end of her cigarette in the middle of his forehead and proceeded to crush it (knowing all to well that it would not hurt him the slightest).

"Wrong, you dead beat of a ghost. Those powers are of a bio-exorcist. I'm the only one outside this house that even believes that you aren't to blame. I was barely able to calm Prince Vince down enough to hold the mob for a little while longer." Juno said. She dropped the crushed cigarette on the floor. Beetlejuice quickly wiped the black ash that marked where the cigarette had been from his deathly pale forehead.

"Mob?" Beetlejuice said, now a bit more nervous.

"Yes, a mob. They want you exorcised. And considering Hanging Judge Mental is with them, it would be a snap to capture and teleport you both right in front of a sand worm. Or maybe they'll just torture you for a little while and do an exorcism the old fashion way." Juno said casually. She flicked her wrist and another fully lit cigarette appeared between her fingers.

"They can't exorcise Beetlejuice or Beth." Lydia exclaimed. "What about rights? Not to mention their powers are one of a kind."

"Doesn't matter. The neitherworld wants an exorcism and that's what they'll get, unless you fix this. Then I'll have something to work with and I just might be able to stop this mess." Juno said.

"Hey, it ain't our fault. Can't ya fix it yourself?" Beetlejuice said gruffly. Juno was the only other ghost who knew how to get to the outer world in order to help her haunters. However, she couldn't move as freely as the bio-exorcists.

"Me? Even if I could get to the lining of the neitherworld, I have enough to worry about. There's over 3,000 people crowding my waiting room right now; all from the same place."

"3,000? What happened?" Beth said, amazed. Juno, having to work at the unnatural death section, usually never saw that kind of numbers.

"I don't know. A couple of really tall building collapsed." Juno said, smoking her cigarette. Lydia's eyes widened at the mention of that, but it went unnoticed. "The point is, I'm up to my neck with work and I can't deal (nor can anyone else) with the living coming into the world of the dead. You'll have to find a solution yourselves."

"But we don't even know who's doing this." Beetlejuice complained.

"Well then, I am going to make your afterlife about a hundred times easier. A few weeks ago, I was informed of a breach in our security. Do you remember the ghost SID."

"You mean that idiot that called himself the Shadow In Death? Of course we do, he was brought in by us after we found the people he was haunting murdered by his hands." Beth said. "But… he was exorcised, over two hundred years ago."

"Yes, I know. I supervised it myself. However, some how he escaped from the room of lost souls." Juno said impatiently.

"Wait a minute. It's impossible to get out of there. You'd have to practically be a demigod to perform that feat." Beetlejuice said nervously.

Juno nodded and raised her eyebrows as she blew smoke into the air.

"How in the word did you come up with the notion that we could stop someone that powerful?" Beth said.

"Because, besides a few exceptions, you two have the strongest powers in the neitherworld. You just fail to use them properly so no one considers you a threat." Juno said. She looked inquiringly at the two bio-exorcists. "I think you'll manage."

With that, she took one last puff of the cigarette and dematerialized in a cloud of smoke. Beetlejuice was floating in place, with a look of utter speechlessness on his face.

"If she thinks that I'm going to listen to her, that women is dead wrong." Beetlejuice mumbled.

"Great, my powers were stolen by a ghost who now really does have the most." Beth said sarcastically, indicating Beetlejuice's title. "I hope you're up to the Beej. The outer world cannot know of the realm of the dead's existence."

"Up to this? I can't defeat someone who's ripping the lining off the Netherworld. It's impossible." Beetlejuice argued.

"Well, if you had any control over your powers whatsoever, then you would have no problem dealing with this." Beth said, her voice raised slightly.

"I have a lot of control over my powers." Beetlejuice said dangerously. Lydia watched, not sure if she should get involved.

"I'm sure." Beth said sarcastically. "I bet you still change shape only when you say one of your bad puns or if someone's in mortal danger. Do you know how many hours I've practiced everyday just to get up to your level, which will never happen, because I am at a lesser class than you are? And yet you just blow them off."

"Well, I guess I'm just gifted babes. Unlike a few unmentionables." Beetlejuice said.

He leaned back in relaxed position, still floating. Or at least he tried, until Beth's foot kicked him straight in the jaw. Beetlejuice's head snapped back, and he rubbed his chin. But instead of looking angry (though the kick wouldn't have hurt him), Beetlejuice smiled at his former student.

"Babe's, I never realized you were that nimble. Those legs of yours sure can go high." Beetlejuice said in a suggestive tone.

"I've been training with the late Bruce Lee ever since I stopped some nuts in Hong Kong from destroying his house." Beth growled, standing in a fighting position. "Usually I wouldn't bother wasting my talents on the likes of you, but I've sunk a bit lower from the last time we spoke. You know you are so pathetic. You haven't changed in the last four hundred years and having something like this just shows how pathetic and tiny you are."

"You are so exorcised!" Beetlejuice said, suddenly taking offence. He pointed a pale, red tipped finger at his protégé and his finger started to glow. Lydia decided to step in.

"Quit it, you two." Lydia yelled. She ran between Beetlejuice's zapping finger and Beth. "You are both over 400 years old and are arguing like children. You are like my mother when she's not allowed to destroy the interior of a house. Please, we need to find a solution. You can argue later."

She looked pointedly at Beetlejuice and he instantly dropped his arm. Beth raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Fine." Beetlejuice sighed and backed off. He went to a window and looked out. Beth instantly looked at Lydia suspiciously.

"That is odd. No one ever could control Beetlejuice. Not even his girlfriend that he had when I was still training with him could. But you can do it easily." Beth said in a low voice. Lydia just shrugged.

"So," Lydia said, quickly changing subjects. "Where should we look for the SID thing?"

"How about up there." Beetlejuice said, pointing out the window.

Beth and Lydia ran over to him and looked at the sky. In contrast with the usual yellowish green color of the neitherworld sky, there was a big gaping hole that was filled with the light blue sky of the outer world. On the edges, bolts of black electricity came out and went to the opposite end, like threads of a string that was being pulled apart. Lydia squinted; she could see a plane in the distance on the outerworld side.

"This is not good." Lydia said. "Planes might fly in here without knowing it!"

"No, not yet. The dark electricity you see is what is known as The Black. It'll suck out your sole as soon as it touches you. The only people who can go through it must have doorways to the places where they're connected too. Hence the reason there are haunted houses. Or they can slide between worlds without the use of outerworld connections by reflective objects such as mirrors. However, only Beth and me can do that. Even Juno must use the doorways to go to the outer world." Beetlejuice said. "Anyway, because of all The Black, it tells me that SID is destroying only the lining of the neitherworld. When he starts to destroy the outerworld lining, then we're in trouble."

"So we need to go up there." Lydia said. "Ok then. Beej, why don't you transport us up."

Beetlejuice shook his head and laughed slightly.

"Babes, there's no way you're gonna get up there without dying first. There's no air and The Black will be everywhere. I can't understand how that ghost is up there in the first place without being exorcised." Beetlejuice said.

"Beetlejuice, I've seen you stop an exorcism before. Maybe SID's using the powers on himself." Lydia said, raising an eyebrow. Then Beth did the same.

"Only one? Well, you really are out of practice. I've had to do over 65 in the past hundred years. Ever since Houdini, everyone's been doing seances and have almost wiped out half the ghosts on the outerworld unknowingly. It's become half my job." Beth said to Beetlejuice.

"Hey, who has the lower class here." Beetlejuice said indignantly.

"I'm still considered a Ghoul, as are you."

However, before Lydia could become the mediator again, Jacques ran into the room, half-frightened and half-annoyed.

"Be-atlejuice. You are on ze news, did you know?" The skeleton said, crossing his arms. He then looked at who was standing next to his roommate. "Beth! Zis is a surprise, oui? 'Ave you and Be-atlejuice finally made up zis century?"

"No. Look Beetlejuice, either you get us up there or we're in sandworm land. I know for a fact that you have more knowledge about the lining of the neitherworld than any ghost, creature or monster in the neitherworld, so use it for once." Beth said, ignoring Jacques after a slight wave of her hand. Beetlejuice floated to the ground in order to think without having to worry about keeping himself up. After a few seconds, he snapped his fingers.

"I think I know what to do. It's a bit of a long shot, but if I'm right, there will be a crease that runs between the neitherworld and the outerworld that a type of limbo. In theory, it's where I go after I transport out of the neitherworld but have yet to cross into the outerworld. But that transition takes half a millisecond so I've never bothered to test the theory. It should have temporary livable conditions. It possible SID's there, but if he's below the crease and on the lining, then we're royally screwed in two ways." Beetlejuice said, floating into his relaxed position again. "But the crease is still filled with The Black. It ain't gonna be a piece of cake."

By saying that, Beetlejuice turned himself into a large black and white stripped piece of cake. He then instantly changed back; grimacing slightly as Beth smirked in triumph. But she didn't say anything. But instead, Jacques spoke.

"You cannot possibly be thinking of taking Lydia into zis crease, are you Be-atlejuice? Ze Black will suck her soul out as soon as it touches 'er." The skeleton said nervously. "Zis is stupid, I heard what Juno said. I know you are selfish, but don't put 'er in zis situation too."

Beetlejuice nodded in agreement and turned to say something to Lydia but Beth cut him off.

"No. I think both of us should come. We can help you and… Lydia may be more helpful than you think." Beth said enigmatically.

"What? Fine, you both insist on getting killed, then that's just perfect." Beetlejuice said with and exasperated shrug. "Just say the magic words."

With that he grabbed the two woman's arms. Lydia looked at him and smiled.

"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice." She said quickly.

With a poof, the three of them were gone, leaving Jacques all alone.

"Zis is bad." Jacques murmured to himself.

AN: Chapter 3 will be up soon. Please review if you like it (I'm not exactly sure how many BJ fans are out there, but it would be nice to know that there is more than 2).