Yet again, I apologize for updating so much. Each chapter seems to pop into my head and if I don't get it out of there, it will eat me alive. Also, I know that each chapter so far ends on a cliffhanger, but that's where my mind leads me before it shuts down and I can actually think of other things for a few hours. ^^;; Enjoy Chapter 4!
Chapter 4
Walking through the door wasn't easy. Lydia looked around the roadhouse from her bedroom in Reaper's place. It was a strange sensation. But there wasn't anyone to be seen. It looked deserted.
Lydia wiggled the key out of the bedroom door and put it back around her neck, tucking it away again. Holding her breath, she stepped into the roadhouse foyer all at once. The door swung shut behind her. She turned around to look at the door she just came through and found herself staring at the front door to the roadhouse, which had always been there. She opened it again to see if her bedroom was behind it. But it wasn't, she was just looking at the gray outside again.
I didn't think this out very well. How am I supposed to get back? Lydia pondered. It was then that she heard footsteps. Panic set in as she looked around for someplace to hide. There was nothing that she could see that would disguise her, so she had to stand and wait for whoever was coming into the foyer.
"Are you a new recruit? The meeting is downstairs, mademoiselle." Lydia found herself looking at Jacques. He was holding some posters or flyers of some sort, from what it seemed. Jacques looked so different… more haggard and war-torn, if a skeleton could be called that.
Lydia had an absurd moment of thought where she wondered just how many skeletons she had seen in the past day. She shook it off.
"Jacques? You don't recognize me at all? I didn't think I had changed that much" said Lydia, glancing down at the clingy spider queen costume. "Well, yeah, maybe a little. Then again I haven't seen myself since last night and a lot has changed since then. Oh! What if I look disgusting!? I don't really know exactly what happened, of course, so I could look like anything, no wonder you don't recognize me, Jacques." Lydia, who had said all of this rant in a single breath, stopped to calm herself down. Being in this place again made her feel so nervous.
"I'm… I'm sorry, have we met before, petite cher? Do you need some help? You're not hurt, are you? Our base here has a self-appointed nurse, Ginger has fixed up plenty of our comrades…" Jacques seemed to be slightly wary of Lydia.
"Oh. Jacques, no, it's nothing like that. It's me, Lydia." As she said the last part, she looked down at her shoes. Nothing happened or was said for a solid three seconds. Then, the flyers that Jacques had been holding flittered to the floor at Lydia's feet. Suddenly he had his arms around her, twirling her up off of the floor in an enormous, bony hug.
"Oh, oh! Mademoiselle Lydia! My, but you've grown so much! Forgive me for not recognizing you, mon chere. I knew you would come back one day. I told him you would, he didn't listen to me, and Ginger told him, too! Oh Lydia, you've made me so very happy!" Jacques finally set her down and got closer to her to look her over. Then, something in his face changed. His expression was one of shock and disbelief.
"Mon amie… you're too cold and pale, as if you were dead. But that's… not possible." Jacques shook his head in denial.
"I am dead Jacques. Of course it's possible. It's okay, though, people die every day, I suppose. I did have a lot of things left that I wanted to do…" Lydia frowned at this. "But I guess it was my time." Lydia gave a small shrug, pushing thoughts of her parents and friends out of her mind.
"No no no…. this is not right. Not right at all. We need to speak to Beetlejuice right now, my love. He'll know what to do." Jacques grabbed her wrist and began to pull her towards the stairs leading to the basement. Lydia put on the brakes, digging her heels into the floorboards.
"Hold it just a minute, Jacques. I'm not ready for all of that, and besides, it's my understanding that Beetlejuice has lost his marbles and is convincing people to overthrow the order in the Neitherworld…" Lydia stopped short. Jacques had said something to her earlier about recruits, and Ginger being the nurse… about the meeting downstairs. Lydia pulled her arm away from the skeleton. "Oh, Jacques… please don't tell me you're part of The Chaos too… has he brainwashed you as well? This isn't right! Exorcising people!? Causing havoc and devastation! I never would have imagined that you, gentle Jacques, would have succumbed to something so terrible…"
"Lydia… who have you been speaking to?" Jacques asked, shock evident on his face. Lydia opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a second old acquaintance waltzing into the room.
"My feet are killing me" groaned the spider. Ginger had spotted Lydia and went to straighten the nurse cap on her head as she approached the two of them. "Jacques? Who is your pretty friend? I'm Ginger" said the spider.
"Why doesn't anyone know who the hell I am anymore!?!" Lydia groaned. Ginger, looking taken aback, turned to Jacques for enlightenment.
"Of course you remember Lydia, Ginger. She's dead now." Jacques said heavily, emphasizing the importance of the last three words. To Lydia's surprise, Ginger began to laugh nervously.
"This isn't the time for jokes, Jacques. I hope you weren't planning on introducing her to Beetlejuice, he's got enough to worry about. The resemblance is striking, for sure, and this might truly upset him. You know how he feels about the subject of Lydia. Honestly, Jacques, how could you even think of such a foul prank?" Ginger was shaking her head.
Lydia answered before Jacques had a chance.
"Ginger, how exactly does he feel on the subject of me? I hope it's just terrible after throwing me out of his house on my sixteenth birthday and never speaking to me again. I think THAT'S a pretty foul prank in itself." Lydia snapped. Then she took a breath to check her emotions before continuing. "I've got to say that I'm disappointed in both of you for being sucked into his reign of terror. You used to both be so kind and reasonable."
Ginger's mouth had fallen open. Jacques was giving her a look that said 'I told you so.'
"Oh my god, it is Lydia. As impossible as it is… oh, Lydia, we've missed you!" The spider flung herself up to hug Lydia's torso. Despite her feelings on this stupid war, Lydia embraced the spider back… after all, they had been friends for years before the fiasco with Beetlejuice.
"But… but Jacques, how?" she asked, releasing the girl from her spidery hug. "Beetlejuice said that—"
"That's why we were on our way to see him, Ginger dear" said Jacques, cutting the spider off mid-sentence. Lydia noticed that they were speaking to each other with their looks, some unspoken information was passing between them.
"All right, I don't know what's going on. There's a secret that the two of you aren't telling me. If it's something that concerns me, I'd like to know what it is. Right now." Lydia stared them both down.
"I am afraid, beautiful Lydia, that it is not our place. Please come with us downstairs… Beetlejuice is addressing the troops at the moment, but it is of the upmost importance that he sees you. Something has gone terribly wrong in regards to your death. He, as the leader, should be made aware at once" said Jacques, looking at her gravely.
"I'm not going. I have no desire to see him any more. This has gotten out of hand, not only has Beetlejuice lost his mind, but he's taken you two with him. I'm leaving now" said Lydia, turning to exit. But suddenly she was scooped up, the skeleton throwing her easily over his shoulder. She found herself looking down at Ginger, who had an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Lydia. It's very important… if we can't convince you, we'll have to force you" said the spider. She trailed along behind as Jacques opened the door and began to descend the stairs.
Lydia was genuinely frightened now. It seemed as if she might be kept hostage. Reaper was right, she thought. They're going to kidnap me and there's nothing that I can do about it. Oh, why did I use that stupid key? He locked me in the bedroom for a reason… to keep me safe. What have I done?
It was hard to see anything draped over Jacques' shoulder like this, but she could hear well enough. The sound of Beetlejuice's voice over the loudspeakers assaulted her, a voice that she had not heard in five years…
"…And be aware that their tactics have become more merciless. Always keep your homes protected, they've been breaking and entering lately to arrest our comrades. Let's have a moment of silence for the fallen before the meeting adjourns" said Beetlejuice. The room fell silent for a few moments as Jacques and Ginger, with Lydia in tow, continued towards the source of his voice.
"To the Chaos" he said.
"The Chaos" a chorus of voices replied. A lot of voices, Lydia noted. Why, had Beetlejuice really convinced so many people to aid him in his scheme? The thought of Beetlejuice, as insane as he had become, with so many followers, was frightening. Lydia could only see the feet of the people in the room, but the numbers were staggering. They were all leaving, heading back up the stairs.
She felt Jacques climb a few more stairs, realizing that he was coming onto some sort of stage. He was suddenly setting her down.
Lydia found herself face to face with Beetlejuice.
"Oh!" she breathed, startled. He looked worse than ever. The rings around his eyes were even darker than usual, his hair in more disarray that she had ever seen it before. The outfit he wore, while still striped like she remembered, was that of a war general.
And just now he was looking at her with anger and hate written across his face. He turned onto Jacques and Ginger.
"You think this is fucking funny?" he spat. "Why are you bringing her to me? Are you trying to piss me off?" Lydia, terrified, backed into Jacques, silent.
"Beetlejuice, it's not what you think –" Jacques began. Beetlejuice cut him off.
"You know damn well who she looks like. Why did you have to do this to me today? Do you know who we lost last night? The Monster Next Door has been arrested. He was our most dedicated and skilled fighter on the frontline. You're supposed to be my second-in-command, Bones. You're supposed to be helping me for the cause. Not bringing me little strumpets that look like Ly.." -he seemed to choke on her name-. "that look like her." He turned back to Lydia. "Look, sugar, I'm sure you're a nice lady, but I can't stand to look at you for personal reasons. You're going to have to leave or something. If you're aiding in the fight, that's all fine and well, but stay out of my sight." Beetlejuice turned to exit.
"But Beetlejuice, it IS Lydia!" said Ginger, taking a step towards the ghost. He stopped mid-stride before he spun around angrily.
"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THAT YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY HER NAME!" he snarled. Ginger shrunk backwards against Lydia, who still had her back pressed against Jacques' chest in terror. Beetlejuice took a moment to compose himself before continuing. "That broad's dead, ya know. It couldn't possibly be her. I made sure of that."
Lydia could stand it no longer. The fact that no one would believe that she was, in fact, herself, began to infuriate her. She stepped forward, around Ginger, putting herself in Beetlejuice's face.
"If you could shut the FUCK up for one minute, I could try to explain. I don't know why the three of you" she rounded on Jacques and Ginger "have such a hard time believing that I, LYDIA FUCKING DEETZ, am dead. It had to happen eventually! That's what living people do! THEY DIE." She took in the startled expressions all around. Turning back to Beetlejuice, she lowered her voice. "And you. You're sick and twisted for convincing these people to help you in this stupid war that you've started. I want to go home." She pulled the key out from around her neck and shook it in Beetlejuice's face. "Does this stupid thing work both ways, or does it only bring me back here? If it's the latter, then you can keep the ugly piece of tin" she snapped.
Apparently, flashing the last present she got from the ghost was the thing that sent it home for him. His face fell, his lip trembled…
"… oh. Oh babes…" He took a step towards her, his arms outstretched. It was more than Lydia could bear. She reared her hand back and delivered a sharp slap across his face. It was hard enough to cause his head to spin. The sound reverberated throughout the room. She heard Jacques exclaim and Ginger gasp. Lydia's voice was dangerously soft.
"If you think that you're going to put a single finger on me, you are sorely mistaken" she said, embarrassed to hear her voice crack. Tears spilled onto her cheeks. She could feel herself breaking down from exhaustion. The emotions that she had kept in check for all of the years refused to be contained any longer. "All I did was fucking KISS you Beetlejuice. That's it, and I'm sorry I did it! But I didn't deserve to be abandoned. I was sixteen years old, you were my whole world. And then you were gone. Over one kiss. And now look at you… leading the residents of the Neitherworld to certain demise for your own selfish reasons. I can't even stand to look at you" she hissed.
"You don't understand… you don't understand anything. There are so many things wrong with what you just said, Lyds…" Beetlejuice began, his own voice quivering. Lydia waited for enlightenment, her eyebrow cocked in an expression of doubt. But all he said was "…how did this happen?"
Lydia threw up her hands in exasperation.
"I think we would all like to know, mon chere…" Jacques said. Lydia saw Ginger nod as well. Beetlejuice just stared at her silently.
"My 21st birthday party. Time of death was 3:28am. Asphyxiation." Lydia said, quoting Reaper word for word. "Neither of us knows what happened."
"Neither of you?" Ginger ventured forward quietly.
"Reaper. When he came and got me, I asked him the same question, since I don't remember anything… What? What is it?" Lydia found that the three of them were suddenly staring at her as if she sprouted another head. They all began to talk at the same moment.
"That's what this is about--"
"Reaper? The GRIM Reaper??!"
"I'll kill him, I swear to fucking--"
"HOLD ON." Lydia couldn't understand what the problem was. "I know that you're on opposing sides, but that's what the Grim Reaper is SUPPOSED to do, isn't it? When someone dies, he brings them here to the Neitherworld. He was very sweet and kind about the whole thing, which is more than I can say about my reception here. He even invited me to stay with him. I, being the idiot that I am, snuck out of the house to come here. And now, I'm going back home." Lydia turned on her heel and began to march out of the basement.
Beetlejuice was in front of her suddenly, cutting off her path to the exit.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Lyds…" he said quietly.
"On the contrary, you don't seem to have a choice. You know how we feel about hostage situations, I'm sure" said a voice from behind Beetlejuice. Lydia found herself looking at Reaper, who had been lounging in the shadows until now. Beetlejuice's fury was written plainly on his face as he stared down the cloaked figure. Reaper moved to stand beside Lydia, but Beetlejuice got in his way.
"If you touch her, I'll have your fucking skull as an athletic cup" he snarled. Reaper merely laughed.
"Empty threats, my friend. If you don't watch yourself, I'll call the rest of the brigade here and have you all stand trial to be exorcised." Reaper walked through the ghost, coming to Lydia and draping his arm around her possessively. Lydia thought the look on his face seemed a bit smug as he waved the ornate door into existance. No theatrics this time.
Ginger and Jacques were suddenly there, trying to keep Beetlejuice under control.
"We can't do anything for her from jail, Beetlejuice. We have to wait" said Jacques, playing the voice of reason.
"LIKE HELL WE'LL WAIT, HE'S TAKING LYDIA" Beetlejuice screamed, clawing his way from around his friends. But it was too late, Reaper was escorting Lydia through the door. She glanced backwards to find Beetlejuice's hands outstretched to her. But the door slammed shut and all she heard was him beating against the wood before she once again experienced the feeling of falling.