Bug Juice

by Perdyta

Betel Geuse makes a plan to take his revenge out on the Maitlands. A part of his plan, however, involves finishing the wedding ceremony with Lydia Deetz and she ends up being the one who has to put up with him. Movieverse.

10. Chapter Nine

Author's Notes: I'm a horrible person who doesn't update enough, I know it and now I made this chapter so ridiculously long! Oh well, enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Lydia shut the door behind her and leaned against it, not minding the dust or the paint chips that got on her dress. Getting a little dirty did not bother her considering her present feelings.

I always thought I had more self respect than this.

I guess I was always wrong.

A very large part of her - the part she was listening to at the moment - was disgusted at her little plan. It felt so wrong to even be considering it after all the harm he had caused. It felt wrong and shameful.

But there was a tiny part of her that thought it was hilarious. That part of her was getting beat down by self-pitying feelings. It felt wrong to be laughing at the thought of Betel being afraid to get in her pants after all the times he had tried to take advantage of her... but it also felt good to know what was frustrating him and to know it was all because of her.

Think of it that way. I'm not degrading myself. I'm getting back at the bastard and when I see the look on his face before I blast him into a million pieces with my mind it will be worth it. Maybe.

I wonder if I would really be able to blast him into a million pieces with my mind. That would be neat. Sex with Betel Geuse is only a small price to pay for super powers.

Sex with Betel Geuse. In a right world there would be no possibility of having to sex up the bastard. In a right world, I would be sexing up Jack and worshiping his raw bod.

Which I can still do. Maybe. After I sex up Betel Geuse.

I think I'm gonna be sick.

Lydia slid down the door and held onto her knees, trying to will away all the bad thoughts.

And now we're going "house huntin'." I guess that means Betel Geuse gets to have all the fits he wants and it's okay if he wrecks the house, we can always steal a new one.

What was he like with his powers on a bad day? Where he was in control I mean... of course Betel Geuse in control probably makes for a good day for him.

I'm really over dwelling on the way Betel Geuse's brain works. Time to pack. Again. Oh joy.

Lydia was about to stand up and make herself do just that but her eyes had traveled to the bed, well actually underneath the bed. She could just see the corner of one of the many heavy boxes and she knew it was useless to even bother trying to talk herself out of looking in them.

Maybe I shouldn't look, though. I mean yeah I'm dying of curiosity here but still. Crawling under the bed, Lydia began to summon up her strength and didn't listen to her own sense. I mean if even Betel Geuse thinks this is something that should be put in boxes and hidden from guests, it has to be bad.

The door swung open, though and she froze with her eyes wide. I've been caught!

Slowly, Lydia pulled her legs under the bed though she knew it was pointless. Never hurt to try though. If it was Kise he might just get confused and leave again.

Who ever it was was not talking to her and Lydia began twisting around, not noticing how her dress was getting dustier than before.

As soon as Lydia was turned around all the way she shouted in surprise. Betel had bent over to see what the hell she was doing and his crazy looking face wasn't what she expected to be right there when she rolled over.

"Um, Lyds, why are you under the bed again? The first time was kinda weird and all but this is getting ridiculous."

"I uh... I lost my brush." It was a lame lie but she wasn't big on honesty with this guy.

Betel made a show of looking at her hair and nodding slowly. "You don't say."

Don't glare. Don't glare. It was a joke, laugh it off.

Lydia didn't laugh but then she didn't exactly glare at him either so she figured that was good enough. Swallowing her irritation at his presence, she tried to think of something civil to say as she wiggled out from under the bed. The boxes would have to wait for now. Betel Geuse had stepped back to give her plenty of space and that act in itself almost threw her for a loop.

"Are you gonna pack for me again?" She asked, wishing it sounded as light and kidding as she had meant it to be. "I've gotten kinda used to dumping all my responsibilities onto you is all."

"No, I came to get the books." He replied shortly, Lydia noticed the look he gave her and frowned slightly. He was not looking at her in a way that made her feel sick, instead it seemed as though he was weary of her.

She replaced the frown with as neutral a look as she could muster and took a few steps towards him. His back was to her now as he stacked the books and she would have tried to just look over his shoulder, but he was way too tall. Summoning up her courage, she took another step forward so that she was standing beside him.

If you can't even pretend to be civil with him you're never gonna get his powers.

He sorta smells. Not as bad as when I was fourteen, but he has an odor. A lazy man odor that kinda resembles storage space...

Lydia meant to chit chat with him and ask him idly what he was reading all the books for, but while her thoughts began to take a different direction, she opened her mouth and said, "You smell like man."

Betel carried on with his task but she noticed him fumble with the one he held after she spoke.

Why did I say that? You stupid idiot! Wait... that's kind of a compliment... Right? Sure... That's what it is. I'm being flattering. To the asshole. Go me.

"Um... sorry?" Betel said and grabbed his stack of books. He could only hold half at a time and Lydia thought she could get kudos points if she helped him - but she hesitated. The thought of helping Betel made her lip curl in disgust.

Just think of Adam and Barbara... and your parents.... You are doing this for them and you are strong and amazing.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Lydia quickly stacked as many of the books as her short arms could carry and followed Betel out of the room to go work on her brownie points.

---

Betel was walking at a semi quick pace down the stairs in an attempt to put some distance between him and Psycho-Wife-Pants. Kise poked his head out of the kitchen just to see what all the ruckus was.

"Hey!" Betel said before Kise could retreat back to the beer. "Get me a bag wouldja?"

Kise pulled one out of the air without question and Betel stuffed the books in, trying not to get too bitter about how easily Kise had done that little trick.

I miss bragging like that.

"Lydia's trying to pull something. Or maybe she lost her mind again, I can't tell anymore." Betel said quietly, aware of tiny footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Oh yeah?" Kise whispered back, "What's she doing?"

"Complimenting me on how I smell. It's wrong and messed up." Betel hissed. "Look I'm just warning you 'cause I must not have noticed before we got married."

"Right."

"Dammit, I gotta get the rest of the books." Betel turned around to go get them but stopped at the sight of Lydia in the kitchen doorway with an armful of his books. He noticed Kise take a large step back out of the corner of his eye.

That's what her plan was! Ransom! I can take her, I'm not letting her kidnap my books. Betel decided and looked at her suspiciously.

"Here you go, I saw how many books you were trying to carry so I thought I might help out a little." Lydia said with a shrug. That big cheesy smile was off her face but then so was that murderous glare.

This passive person was new territory and Betel was lost.

"Kise, help her get those into the bag."

---

After much shouting at each other to hurry up and both men watching Lydia once again struggle with her baggage, the three were finally standing in front of the house they were abandoning.

"Is this what life is with you?" Lydia asked breathlessly.

"If you mean fun and games - oh yes." Betel nodded with a smirk and watched Kise walk ahead of them, acting as their eyes for any wondering Policy Guards. It had been a while since Betel had been to any sort of nice neighborhood, but he knew that was probably the only way to find a house that wouldn't fall on their heads in the middle of the night.

He noticed all the dirt still on Lydia's dress and knew another feature about the house was that it would have to be pretty clean when they moved in. Or he could make Kise act as the house maid.

I wouldn't know how to clean. Kise seems like a tidy kinda weirdo. Betel Geuse thought, remembering all the shit Kise had given him about his hygiene habits back in jail.

"Not really." Lydia said, interrupting his thoughts. "I meant are you always on the run like this from house to house? Did you get yourself into some kinda trouble?"

Betel would have offered an excuse but he was distracted by an odd looking passerby who was watching his wife a little too closely.

"Tell ya what, babe. You keep that pretty little mortal mouth of yours closed for now and you can ask me all the damn questions you want once we get a shiny new house."

Lydia had not noticed the odd passerby and so she was confused between feeling insulted that Betel was telling her in flowery words to shut up or to feel weirded out and the tiniest bit flattered that he was using flowery words. Such as "pretty."

Before she could decide between being mad at being told to shut up or tease him for calling her mouth pretty, a shout from behind distracted them all.

"Hey wait a minute!" A gruff voice called from behind them. "You aint Betel Geuse, are ya?"

Betel looked over his shoulder and saw the odd passerby from before walking towards them again.

Great. He thought angrily, Just what I want. A fan.

"I'd feel a lot better if you didn't shout my name." Betel Geuse grumbled as the passerby got closer.

"Why? What're ya worried about?"

"Oh gee." Betel said loudly, turning to face the stranger with a very irritated look. "Couldn't be because they got a wanted sign of me all over the goddamn Neitherworld, could it?"

The fact that the stranger responded in laughter really didn't do wonders for his mood. House hunting while powerless and wanted was enough to make anyone a little twitchy.

"You have no idea what's been going on around here, have ya?"

Betel didn't say anything in reply but simply looked at the other man. This guessing game everyone liked to play was getting really fucking annoying.

"I'm Kent by the way," Kent extended his hand and when Betel didn't move to accept it, Lydia did for him with that cheesy grin back in place.

"And as you know this is Betel Geuse, just a little shy around strangers is all, aren't you sweetie?" Lydia looked up at him and his murderous glare made her look away quickly but her grin never faltered.

"You were saying, Kent?" Betel said through clenched teeth, wondering why he surrounded himself with crazy, friendly people.

"Sheldon's out and about, I've heard that any Policy Guards or Carnage members he didn't take care of himself all ran for the woods."

"Damn." Kise whispered and Lydia looked between the stoic looking men curiously but reminded herself what Betel said about waiting to ask questions.

Betel was currently feeling very light headed. I didn't - no please don't tell me I accidentally set free Sheldon. I just thought it would be fun to set out some harmless outlaws. Sheldon is not just a harmless outlaw. "I uh... I didn't think they were keeping him in a prison."

"They weren't." Kent shook his head, "Had him up at the asylum with the rest of the whack jobs they couldn't keep close enough tabs on. Some of his more clever goons were being kept in the prison you helped break out though, it didn't take them long to go find Sheldon."

Lydia looked up at Betel wide-eyed. Kidnapping and being an insane poltergeist was something she had come to expect from him - but this sounded really really bad. There weren't any Policy Guards, which sounded like law men to her and she had really been hoping they would run into one.

By the sound of it, though, she was stuck in a world full of people like Betel Geuse and Kise.

"S'pose we'll have our pick of the nicer houses then." Betel said idly.

"The nicer neighborhoods were the first to be taken over by the Pits and right now they're at a full out war over territory with the Krows. So unless you got friends in any of those gangs - "

"Thank you Kent." Lydia was the one to interrupt him with her wide smile having noticed the look on Betel's face. "I think you've told us all we need to know." As she spoke she looked up at Betel with a questioning look who nodded silently.

They walked away ignoring Kent's goodbye and fond wishes. Lydia was a little surprised that he hadn't yelled at her for speaking for him like she expected him to and the fact that he didn't was very nice even though she knew it was because he was thinking about what Kent had just told them.

"Do you have any friends in those gangs?" Kise asked at last, breaking the silence.

Betel shook his head.

"Yeah well me neither, so where are we gonna go Betel?" Lydia looked over at Kise who had stopped walking and she paused as well. When Betel noticed she wasn't at his side anymore he halted and turned around.

"There's a whole world of nice neighborhoods." He said.

"And a whole world of criminals thanks to your cockiness." Kise snapped. "The house we just left was probably the best place for us because you know that any remotely nice place we go steal is just gonna get stolen from us."

It had been the first time Kise had snapped at him since they were sharing a cell. Until then, he had been so goddamn gracious for Betel freeing him that he hung around like his little side kick who currently had more powers than him.

"Kise." Lydia said softly, though she had nothing to say to make him feel better. She didn't want him to leave because then she would be stuck with Betel and she knew Betel was powerless so if those criminals did come back he couldn't protect her from scary bad men.

Scarier, worse men I mean.

Kise looked to Lydia and her baggage. Ever since she had come into the picture their sweet life had gone down the drain. Betel was shouting and throwing a tantrum practically every day and all the beer was always gone by the time he came home from running errands or doing some other type of responsible shit.

"Unless you can find a better solution than getting gang banged by a Pit, or a Krow or a fucking Grass-Man - I'm staying at the house. I'm not walking into hell just so I can follow you, Betel."

Lydia was impressed by this little 'me or that' speech and filed it away for possible blackmail later. Betel couldn't let her know he was powerless, so she was interesting how he would play this.

"Nah." Betel said at last, an evil smile forming on his face. It had been a long time since he'd looked so happy. "I just came up with a plan."

---

Some Time Ago...

They had put handcuffs on them and Delia knew it was her own fault. When they were accused of being drugged up hippies and told to go back to the city instead of making stories up about a daughter kidnapped by ghosts something had snapped in her at last.

Then her fist was flying and the cops nose had snapped. When the police officer tried to restrain her Charles Deetz claimed they were man handling her and he went in with fists flying as well.

In hindsight it may have not been her wisest decision but at least now they couldn't send her away. Silver lining? She hoped it was.

The pale man sitting across the table from them called himself Detective Binkley but Delia didn't think he acted much like a man of the law. None of those people did. Even before she had let it slip about Betel Geuse being a ghost and the fact that the Maitlands were missing too, no one was making a move to help them.

They were told to sit in this room then the other and the next one and so on until someone heard her mention to Charles that the Maitlands were missing as well.

She should have known the Maitlands' death was well known in this small town but when they asked her questions the answers just came coming. Then the laughter started. Delia did not handle being laughed at very well.

"And I'm supposed to believe this story of yours?" Detective Binkley asked, pushing his sunglasses farther up his nose.

"We don't care what you believe, just help us." Charles begged. "Or find someone to help us. Some sort of psychic type heebie-geebie magic person."

"Well after striking many of my officers I'm not feeling very inclined to help either of you losers." Even as his words were harsh his voice was still smooth. Smooth enough to make Delia consider where he was coming from for a moment.

"Fine don't help us, but Lydia - she's been kidnapped by that man. She must be so scared!" Delia exclaimed. After all Delia was petrified so Lydia had better be petrified.

"Who am I supposed to call in for this? The Ghostbusters?" Binkley asked and though Charles knew he was patronizing them he nodded anyway.

"If you think it would help."

Binkley nodded slowly, his hands smoothing down the manila folder he had brought in with him. "What would really help, folks, if is some of us started telling the goddamn truth."

"But Lydia is - "

"Missing!" Binkley cut Delia off with a harsh shout. "Yes that I do believe, but you're little fantasy story is the biggest pile of shit I've ever heard, especially after considering all the evidence."

Flipping open the manila folder Binkley took out the glossy photos and slid them across the table to the Deetzes. Waiting a beat, the couple leaned forward in their seats to inspect what he was showing them and Delia gasped.

"What happened to Jack?" Charles demanded, Delia suddenly too over whelmed to speak. "This has to be connected."

"Oh you're damn right and I believe I'm sitting across from the the pair responsible for both incidents." Binkley replied cooly, snatching back the photos of Jack Harper's body. "Two of you are looking at charges of murder."

"Murder?" Delia shouted in disbelief. "Lydia has only been kidnapped, that's it. She's fine otherwise and Jack could have just been an accident how can you be so sure that somebody is out to get these two!?"

"Because somebody, Mrs. Deetz, tried to cover up Little Jackie's death as a drunk driving accident, only the funny thing is is that there wasn't a drop of alcohol in that kids blood. And that was way too obvious of a cliff for him to have just 'accidentally gone over'."

Binkley shook his head at the two miserable looking couples. The door opened and closed softly behind them but neither turned to look to see who it was. Delia figured it was police men, taking them away. Away from trying to help their daughter.

Binkley looked over their heads and nodded at who ever stood there before saying to the couple, "The two of you disgust me."

Charles barely had time to react before a pair of strong hands pushed him to the floor and covered his head with a black bag. Delia's piercing scream rang in his years before there came a blow to his head.

He tried to fight it, but the darkness enveloped him.

---

"This is insane." Lydia whispered.

"My plans usually are." Betel grinned and helped her down from the ledge she had been balancing on in an attempt to look over a very tall wall. Kise had disappeared on a mission and Betel wasn't about to be climbing up that high ledge. Not when the view was much nicer down there.

"I mean that I'm helping you." Lydia muttered, feeling awkward with his proximity but still working on her master plan and knowing if she leaped away it would not send off the right message. Despite how she desperately wanted her personal space back.

Betel was squinting at her with his green eyes and she almost thought he was going to get angry for some made up reason but then that smirk of his appeared on his big ole crazy mouth and she knew she didn't have anything to worry about.

"I was noticing that too but I figured you were just finally ready to admit you think I'm sexy. Maybe I'll get that honeymoon after all." Betel said with a shrug and despite how light his tone sounded she could see it in his eyes how dangerous he was. Those eyes that were no longer murky but looked clear and icy.

A shiver went down her spine as she realized her and Betel were flirting and she felt like she was in over her head.

Opening her mouth, Lydia tried to make her voice cooperate though it was extremely difficult when Betel kept getting closer and closer like that.

"Hey boss I found a uh... hey... what are you guys doin'?" Lydia's eyes snapped open and she jumped away from Betel. When did I close my eyes? I don't want to flirt with him, I just want to get his powers. Think Lydia, think! With a man like Betel flirting doesn't have to happen for the whole sexing thing. A shiver went down her spine and Lydia fixed a glare on Kise who has looking between the two of the suspiciously.

"What did you find Kise?" Betel asked, walked towards him. Lydia couldn't see his face but knew he must not have looked to happy because Kise decided it would be wise to start explaining himself quickly.

Biting her lip to keep the smile off her face, Lydia was unreasonably happy with the fact that she had that affect on Betel in just a few minutes.

Things are looking up for me.

---

Kise had found a way in.

Sort of...

"I don't think this is very fair. Don't you guys think the ones who are already dead and don't have to fear death from really high things should be the ones doing this?" Lydia called down from where she was half way up the side of Juno's old home. It had taken them a good deal of shouting to get her to even consider helping them in that way but after Kise threatened to use his powers to turn her face inside out, Lydia jumped up onto the side of the building and began the slow trip up.

Thirty or so feet up, however, and Lydia was starting to want to go back down. The building was made out of large bricks that had the tiniest slots to hold on to making the climb border between possible and idiotic.

"You're fine Lydia, you're at least maybe half way to the top." Betel called up to her, really wishing he had his powers. "And we gotta stay down here because the um..." Betel looked at Kise for assistance.

"Because if we left you down here you'd probably get abducted by a gang member!" Kise shouted.

"Yeah!" Betel agreed, who actually was only making her go up because of the view but that sounded better.

"But it's so hi-i-igh...." Lydia whined, inching upwards as she did so.

"Relax Lyds. I... um... Kise will catch you!" Betel promised.

"Yeah, and I'll resist her feminine wiles too." Kise hissed earning an innocently confused look from Betel.

"I'm not real sure what you're trying to say." Betel said in a low voice, fidgeting with his earlobe and watching Lydia nervously as she covered another few inches of wall.

"What I'm trying to say here is that you are insane!" Kise replied, his voice steadily getting louder.

"Well it wasn't my idea!" Lydia shouted back, mistaking where Kise had directed that little accusation.

"That's the general consensus." Betel said in response, smirking up at Lydia.

"Leering at her is your right, I'll give you that." Kise went on, pinching the bridge of his noise irritably. "A few kisses while she's half naked are bound to happen, sure. But sneaking off for alone time under the guise of looking over a wall we didn't really need to see over just to flirt and get her all woobly over you? Are you trying to get us killed by demon-wife out for revenge?!"

When Betel didn't respond right away Kise thought maybe he was ignoring him. He was right.

At the angry tap on his shoulder, Betel turned back to Kise with an odd smile on his face. "Sorry I completely zoned out once you said the word 'woobly.' What the hell are you talking about?"

An angry noise erupted from Kise before he tackled Betel.

Lydia turned and looked down at the two most annoying men in her life and shook her head in disbelief.

"This is no time to be fighting! I'm in mortal danger!" She shouted down at them. Trembling, she lifted her leg up to the next brick and screamed when her sweaty left hand slipped. Her feet lost their hold and she was dangling now, but the two men carried on their brawl down below.

She tried to grasp any brick she could but her fingers were too sweaty. Heights need to die. Was all she could think before her other hand slipped and she fell to the ground.

This time she didn't get knocked out but she squeezed up her face at the pain in her right ankle. Despite how she tried to stop them the tears were already flowing and she thought she was going to die of humiliation when Betel knelt down beside her.

"Why were you fighting?" Lydia asked, wiping at her eyes with the palms of her hands. There was so much pain and it wasn't going away but Betel said Kise would catch her and he didn't. Because they were too busy fighting.

Why am I even surprised?

"We were being dumb." Betel admitted and Lydia looked up at him with a big nod. "Kise is gonna go up, he already knows what to do. I'll stay down here with you." Betel promised, despite how he knew he wouldn't be up to protecting her should anyone who poses a threat stop by.

"You're bleeding." Lydia said. She had not gotten a look at Kise to see if there was any damage done to him and he was already halfway up the wall. Like some sort of fast monkey freak.

"I didn't even realize, you were screaming and I saw you falling it kinda distracted me." Betel muttered. "Did you uh... break something?"

Lydia shook her head. "I think I just landed real hard on my ankle, I wasn't that high up."

"Yeah well mortals are a lot more fragile than I think. Shoulda been Kise up there."

"Or you." Lydia whispered.

"Right... or me..." Betel watched her wipe the tears away again and was reminded that she was definitely up to something - even through her pain and tears she was not forgetting whatever devilish plan she had.

Sniffling, she met his gaze and held it before reaching a hand up to his face. His first instinct was to flinch away, associating contact from her with pain from the last few days but he noticed the gentleness and his suspicion grew.

He watched as she pulled her dress sleeve up to cover her hand and wiped at his slightly parted lips. Despite her dress being so dark he could see his shiny black blood on it and realized she was cleaning him up. She was trying to make him better even as she lay in the dirt still silently shedding tears over the pain in her leg.

Whatever her plan was, she was doing it really well.

"Moving to a better place was supposed to make you stop crying." Betel tried to joke but felt it only made the comfortable silence they had turn awkward.

Lydia's hand fell to her side and Betel regretted speaking right away, wanting the contact back.

"It's going to take a lot more than a new house to stop me from crying." She said and Betel almost told her not to be so damn depressing but he realized she was talking about being kidnapped, being taken away from her parents. Betel hadn't even paid them a thought since they said goodbye.

"Well it's annoying, hearing you sniffle all the time. Knock it off." Betel grumbled and stood up, leaving her by the wall. They were in Juno's private garden, where Kise had found the wall with enough access to the roof. Choosing a boulder at random, Betel sat down and concentrated on the dead foliage around them instead of the beautiful, crippled girl he couldn't make stop crying.

---

Kise jumped over the side of the wall with ease onto the roof. There were reclining chairs for relaxing and staring into the murky sky. A luxury he didn't think Juno had the time for but her job paid for anyway.

The job also paid for the finest security a home could have next to higher members of the Board of Carnage, but Betel had known Juno would be using minimal security when her job consumed her entire afterlife.

And minimal security was a breeze.

Although it had been Betel's plan, Kise was the one who found the way in in the first place.

There was a door that sat on a slant and Kise had the lock picked in a matter of seconds. Despite his recent anger at Betel Geuse, Kise had to admit the crazy man had fun plans. They just did not always go smoothly, but things were looking up.

Smooth was Benjamin Kise's made up middle name. Now all he had to do was make it to the bottom floor with out setting off any alarms.

Sure there would be no punishment from Policy Guards or anything, but he didn't want the gangs to be aware of their presence in Juno's home until after they figured out what they needed to know to get the security system running top notch.

Kise sighed happily when he reached another locked and oddly shaped door. Work, work, work.

---

Lydia lay in the dirt and stared up at the colorless sky. Clouds above her threatened to storm but it was an empty threat. There was no weather in Neitherworld, no sun or water. Nothing would grow in the toxic place full of despair.

The garden she lay in suggested that at one point there had been a fair share of plants, skeletons of old trees stretched up towards the sky as if seeking warmth in their last days. Lydia wondered if the sky had been blue before and Neitherworld had been like a sort of heaven, but people brought sadness with them and turned everything to hell.

The sadness spread and leaked and she could hardly remember anymore if she had caught it like some sort of disease or if she was simply adding to the chilly surroundings.

"I'm cold." She told Betel, wanting him to fix it. "But you're warm." she added as an after thought.

"I'm used to it." Was all he said, his tone making it obvious how little he cared.

Lydia frowned up at the sky. Betel was more than warm, when she was near him she could feel the heat from his body and that had never happened when she was fourteen. Turning her head she noticed the healthy glow in his cheeks and noted again how clear his eyes were. No dark circles around his eyes, no sickly tint to his skin.

It was as if he was taking the life from her, her heat ran through his body and surged through his veins fueling every emotion into an extreme. Leaving her lifeless, cold and depressed.

I don't think marriage between the dead and living was ever meant to happen...

There was an archway near the wall she had just fallen off of and it was covered with dead vines that twisted and coiled. It led to an extravagant looking door save for its dust and cracks and Lydia's attention was brought to it when it opened and Kise stood in the doorway looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Did you time that?" He asked Betel.

Betel gave a grunt in reply, obviously not interested in the inevitable bragging. Instead he stood up and walked inside without a glance at Lydia. Seeing his target audience leave, Kise followed him into their new house and his tale of being a fast freak faded from Lydia's ears.

"No it's okay," Lydia said to the empty garden. "I'll just walk it off, tough it out. It's not like my ankle is killing me or anything."

The sarcasm was heavy in her voice and there was no one around to appreciate how well she had mastered that.

The damn bastards even left all the luggage outside.

---

Betel had eventually gotten rid of Kise with the suggestion that he try to figure out the security system in a hurry.

Being in Juno's home again brought back ancient memories that he tried to beat down. Smoothing a hand down the stairway banister, Betel frowned at the thick layer of dust that came off. He beat his hand onto his pant leg trying to clean it off while wondering how long she had drowned herself into work.

Of course more and more people were dying each year, but there were other case workers.

Juno just hadn't wanted to come home.

He stepped away from the stairs towards the cozy sitting room. With out sitting he knew how comfortable that couch was and how it was ten times better with a snarky woman curled against you, like a tamed lion. Through out their relationship she had always felt so proud of herself thinking she had snagged him but he was the lion tamer.

His foot came down on something hard and he paused before he could put all his weight on the object. Looking down, he stepped back and saw the broken piece of glass koala bear.

Betel held it gently and used his jacket sleeve to clean the broken gift as best he could, peering into its lazy looking face.

He had known something was wrong the moment she walked in the door.

"We can't do this anymore." She refused to look at him and she sure as hell wouldn't say his name. If it hadn't been for the fact that they were alone Betel might not have even been sure she was talking to him.

"What? Cuddle on the couch? I guess we have been doing it for a century - spicing things up aint a bad idea at all." Betel muttered, attempting to make a joke out of it.

Her expression remained stoic but she bowed her head.

"I would like it if you would have all of our things out by the end of the week." Juno told him, looking at her hands. She wasn't even going to acknowledge his ill attempt at a joke, and instead was going to pretend like he had just agreed with her. Like everything was aces. Like they were at one of her business meetings and she had just proposed some sort of well thought out project that was good for Neitherworld.

Well dammit, he couldn't have her acting like that at a time like this. Maybe if he got her mad, made her yell it would feel better. This professionalism was unsettling.

"Would you now?" He asked, playing with the hair at the back of her neck idly. "Well I would like to stay. Now why do I feel like I don't get a say in this?"

"This is my home Betel and I have the right to invite and excuse any guest that - "

"And I'm your boyfriend, your beau, your lover and lovee... and I have the right to be treated like it, not like some newbie ghost who needs the latest book on all your approved rules - "

" - I please and you shouting or making unfair statements isn't going to change that!"

" - and I'm not going to just lay down and be treated like that!"

By the end of it they were shouting over each other but Betel had gotten a rise out of her and she was looking at him at least. He was cunning like that.

Juno held his gaze and he could see how she was struggling. He had been in enough fights with her to know that she was close to screaming at him just what he had done wrong.

"You're total disregard for the rules is something I cannot condone in the working environment or in Neitherworld and our relationship is just a sign of my weakness."

"So I'm bad for your image?" Betel asked slowly, standing up and beginning to pace. That had never been a problem before. She had told him he was fun, a great distraction. Someone who helped her remember what it was like to live on the edge and piss off the authorities just because you can.

"My... my job is on the line..." Juno admitted.

Betel stopped his pacing and stood in front of the expensive dresser there for decoration.

"Oh... I see." His hands gripped the edge and he looked down, running over her words in his head. This was all coming out of no where, she must have just made the decision to cut him off that day for there was no distance from her before. No hints that she was losing her job.

The thought that she was either doing this as if on a lark or that she was hiding something even more from him was making his hands shake. His vision was getting blurry and he was aware of the anger about to boil over. He had never felt rage like this.

Reaching out, he grabbed the nearest item. A silver koala bear with emerald eyes he had given her on their fifteenth anniversary. He threw it and it hit the wall opposite him making a satisfying crash.

When he turned towards her at last, Juno seemed to realize what Betel she was dealing with at the moment and felt that satisfied feeling return when the look of fear crossed her face - but there was a painful feeling laced in with it as well.

He wanted nothing more than to storm through the house and tear it apart - something he hadn't done since he found out he had died.

Before the urge could take over he left the house and ran through the garden that suddenly was too green. Confusion and anger burned his vision and he let out a shout of rage.

The sound of the door slamming brought Betel out of his memories and he dropped the glass koala head. Attempting to act casual, he brought his shaking hands up to his head and smoothed his hair back before turning towards his wife.

Lydia limped the rest of the way into the door dragging her baggage. He watched her close the door and felt a pang of guilt. Leaving her outside had been dumb and mean for no good reason, especially after bullying her into climbing up the wall.

"Let me help you." Betel walked forward and Lydia could hardly wipe the look of surprise from her face.

The journey up the stairs was long with Lydia's limp but he figured she would want a shower with her smell good things and last he knew the good bathroom was on the second floor, connected to the master bedroom.

Leading her in, he left her for a moment telling her he was getting her stuff and was back in no time panting and puffing.

"Thank you Betel." Lydia said quietly, honestly not sure if she should be thankful after the way he had been treating her.

"Don't say that." He said roughly, all the sudden feeling a ton more guilty than before.

"O... kay..." Lydia said slowly, hefting her bag onto the bed and wincing at the pain on her ankle. Just a little while longer and she could get off her feet again, but she really needed to take care of her smelliness.

Betel walked forward and began to help her unpack. "I should have helped you up first thing, not get mad and storm off." He admitted, avoiding looking at her. He opened Juno's old dresser and noticed how bare it was.

She wears business suits now, they are all in the closet probably... He thought but tried not to dwell on it. He didn't care and that was that.

"You are really quick to anger." Lydia agreed.

Betel didn't say anything as he stuffed her clothes in the drawer and couldn't help thinking to himself, Wasn't always like that.

Lydia stood there holding her shampoo and a change of clean clothes, watching him curiously. He was an alien to her. His bouts of rage and lecherous behavior made these rare moments where he acted like a human almost special. It was as if any second he would turn around and tell her he would set the Maitlands free and let her go home.

That was just silly to think, though.

"Go ahead and take your shower. Kise is getting us all set up and I'll get you settled in." Betel told her over his shoulder.

Lydia worried her bottom lip, knowing she should try to keep up with her plan but when he acted like a human it was harder to treat him like a pig.

"You could uh... join me. If you really want to. I guess." She said nervously.

That made him stop. Abruptly.

Her socks fell from his hand and she saw his back get rimrod straight. It was obvious just what was going through his head, Lydia thought it was something like Naked. Soapy. Lydia. Being wet. While Naked. Must. Touch.

Betel turned to her and he wondered if she really was up to something or if his manners towards her was actually giving the impression that he just had a sudden change of heart.

Doesn't she know how dangerous I am? Betel thought. A little guilt won't change that.

Indeed he had automatically thought of her wet and naked and all the things he would do with her, but he made himself stop. As Kise had earlier pointed out, giving in to her wiles was a ridiculous thing to even consider and if she did think he was having a change of heart that did not change the fact that he didn't trust his crazy, evil planner wife.

Bracing himself, he walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Lydia, don't take this the wrong way. You're really good looking and bendy and I will admit that I like kissing you and your skin is all sorts of soft and you smell damn good, but that's it! I just think to make all this go aces we should keep our relationship strictly a business type one. Which is why I'm going to be sleeping in the guest bedroom and Kise will be... I dunno, somewhere else I guess. Well no definitely some where else because he won't be with you or me. I mean, look." Betel shook his head with a sheepish look on his face. "We can't give into temptation Lyds."

Then he was gone.

And Lydia was left standing there gaping like a fish out of water.

I just got turned down by Betel Geuse. How in the hell does that even happen?

Her daze was interrupted when her stomach emitted a loud growl. Oh fuck that, I am not limping all the way down the stairs and the all the way back up...

Instead Lydia limped all the way to the door and shouted, "Kise! The lady of the house is STARVING!"

That should do it... now for a shower while I wait for food. Mmmm showers...

---

There had been no food waiting for her when she got out of the shower and Lydia had tried her hardest not to pout.

"Sorry Mrs. G. There's no food in the house." Was all Kise said in response and tried to walk away.

"My hunger isn't just going to disappear!" Lydia told him with her hands on her hips. It had been a long time since she last ate and she was afraid if Kise kept saying no she might start to cry and end up begging him to get her food.

"Kise, go get food." Betel shouted up the stairs. Then as an afterthought, "And beer!"

The thought of getting beer seemed to stop Kise's reluctance and he was out the door before Lydia had time to wonder how he would manage to pay for the food... or what kind of food one could get in Neitherworld.

"And would you go lay down and get off your ankle?!" Betel's lovely voice rang up from the living room. Lydia peered over the railway at him and intended to glare at him but instead her eyebrows rose in shock at what she was seeing.

"Have you taken up a new hobby?" She asked, eying the dust rag in his hand suspiciously.

"I just... it was dusty and not right... And I don't think I need to explain myself so stop looking at me like that!" Betel was trying his hardest not to look like he had just been caught doing something really bad but that look on Lydia's face was making it hard. "Just go lay down and wait for your food."

"Alrighty, I'll go back to being useless. No problemo." Lydia saluted him and limped away.

Betel went back to work all the while muttering about crazy wives and their big noses full of crazy.

The time passed quickly for Betel as he dusted and rearranged, trying to find a way to make his surroundings seem less intimate to him. For Lydia, however, Kise seemed to be taking an eternity to get back. At this point she hardly cared what kind of food he brought back, as long as it was food!

She thought maybe she could read a few of those handbooks to try to take her mind off her hunger but then she remembered the bag of books was downstairs and that was a long journey to limp.

When she tried to limp down the hallway to explore, Betel heard her and shouted at her to get back in her room. He was regaining bastard status... weird caring type bastard status but still.

So when she finally heard Kise bang open the door and Betel yell at him for his muddy shoes an odd emotion ran through her. She was happy.

Kise came to her room and she looked at him expectantly from where she sat on the bed she now got to call hers. Until she went home that is.

"I swiped - uh... got you these diet type things. And water, just cause I know you aren't really getting outta the house much and wanted to look out for the boss's misses." He handed her a plate of steaming vegetables and rice... a tiny tiny plate. Then he handed her the water and stepped away with a look like he expected her to start bouncing up and down with joy.

It was funny how his tone could sound so caring and she still wanted to murder him at the moment. I wish I could kill you. She was sure he did this on purpose, he had been rather cranky towards her all day.

"It's tiny." She stated, her tone a bit condescending.

"And you're welcome." He left quickly which was good because she was starting to get the urge to throw her shoe at him.

Kise's good mood disappeared once he left Mrs. G's room. Sure he thought it was funny how irritated she just got considering all the work he was having to do because of her, but he had something on his mind that was kind of ruining his mood.

Walking down the stairs, he saw Betel sitting in a chair and staring off into space.

"You'll never guess what happened to me." Kise announced, breaking the eerie silence. The look Betel shot Kise was a murderous one and he was starting to get the feeling Betel didn't like guessing games. "So I'll just tell you." He said quickly.

"Good plan."

"I got approached by Patch Binkley." Kise waited for the news to reach home. After a look of confusion passed Betel's face, a shocked one settled in its place.

"Did you do that thing we talked about? Where you pretend not to know English?"

"No, I think Patch remembers pretty well that I speak English." Kise said with a frown and took a seat on the couch not noticing how Betel's hands clenched when he did so. "He was there on behalf of Sheldon."

"'Course he was." Betel growled. "That fucking spineless twerp. Never any good for anything but licking the asses of crazy, creepy folk."

Making a face at that image Kise decided not to comment and just went on with his story. "He says Sheldon wants you to go to their place next week. Didn't say what for, just that you better be there."

Betel stood up abruptly and began to pace. "Shit shit shit, this is bad."

"It aint good." Kise agreed.

"You know I can't go. I can't go 'cause if I go he'll find out about my 'little condition' and then he'll turn me into his little pet or project or whatever the hell he does with people he's stronger than." Betel shuddered and stopped pacing.

Kise watched him, he could suggest he just go up and start sexing his wife but then the question was who were they afraid of more - Sheldon in power or Lydia in power?

"We're fucked."

"No, no you still have powers." Betel began, his voice urgent.

"Yeah, but - "

"Kise you gotta cover for me. I freed you from jail!" Betel was a second from begging on his knees and if Kise hadn't known what kind of things Sheldon was capable of he might have started laughing.

"I get it, got it. I'll go talk to him."

"What time?"

"Tuesday at midnight."

Betel didn't respond and just settled back into his chair. He really wanted something to be angry about again to replace this feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of his stomach. They were totally fucked.

---

The pain in Lydia's ankle woke her up in the middle of the night. Sitting up, she massaged it and noticed the swelling had gone down but it had decided to get a random cramp it seemed like.

This was welcomed, however, on account that it had woken her up from a very unsettling dream. Before the pain her dreams had been filled with green mist and roaring monsters. Betel was there and he changed faces like masks in a Halloween store. One moment he was angry at her the next he held her gently and whispered in her ear.

Words were forgotten but she remembered what truly gave her the chills when remembering her dream. She dreamed of Jack, dreamed he was there with her but the last place she wanted Jack was in the Neitherworld.

Her stomach growled, interrupted her thoughts and she began to think about what an asshole Kise was.

The walk down the stairs was a little easier but her ankle wasn't really one hundred percent aces yet. Although she was pretty surprised she had healed that quickly seeing as she could have sworn it had broke when she fell. At least that's what it had felt like.

Inspecting the hallway, Lydia found the kitchen from the light that shown in through the windows. It was a full moon out as it had been every night in Neitherworld. The nights were clearer there and for a moment she might have confused it with her world.

Eventually she found her way to the kitchen and when she raised her hand to open the odd looking fridge she noticed how quickly her hand was healing as well.

Maybe it was something in the air, being around dead people or something. Logic wasn't really concerning her at the moment, getting food was.

Opening the fridge she had bent down to retrieve her diet food stuffs.

"Hungry?"

Lydia jumped up with a shriek and turned around, she soon narrowed her eyes when she saw it was only Betel Geuse.

"Wha?!" She asked breathlessly, speaking over his snickers.

"Wondering if you were hungry." Betel said with a shrug.

"No I was just doing my hourly inspection of the fridge." Lydia rolled her eyes and grabbed a pack of food. "This is gonna be gone by tomorrow night I bet."

"Kise would get you all the groceries in the world if it meant he got to steal them and get beer too." Betel said, flicking on a light.

"Isn't stealing kind of considered an average day thing when you live in a world full of thieves?" Lydia asked idly as she read the directions on the back of the food pack.

"Well sure but I don't have the heart to tell him."

Lydia smirked at him from over the package in her hands and noticed he had brought his book with him. The one he read the most often, the one about their marriage.

Popping the food into the hazardous looking microwave, Lydia drummed her fingers on the stone counter top and sighed. Microwaves took too long but at last it was done with an obnoxious ding and she took her steaming food out and carefully made it to the table next to Betel.

As she took a seat she noticed him glance at her out of the corner of his eye and tried to bite down her smile.

Resistance is futile little man. Especially when I possess your only weakness. A female body. It will soon be my turn to laugh evilly!

Her ridiculous and possibly sleep-induced thoughts made her giggle softly as she blew on her food.

"Got a joke?" Betel asked not looking up from his book.

"No." Lydia said and realized she did so a little too quickly when he fully turned his head to look at her. "Don't judge me, humor isn't a strong point with me." She said and took a large bite of food to shut herself up.

"Liar." Was all he said before turning back to his book and if Lydia didn't know any better, she thought his tone sounded pretty light. Perhaps she should try that sexy time thing again.

After I finish my meal just in case it works.

Oh God what if it works?

The time passed in a comfortable silence and when there were only a few bites left she began to get a little nervous.

"Uhm..." She began nervously and when Betel looked at her abruptly she felt like she was losing her nerve. Usually his back was to her when she got the nerve to say something to him, looking him in the eye wasn't such a great way for her to try to work the moves on him.

"If you're done you should go to sleep, you got bags under your eyes, babes."

"It's freezing in my room." Lydia began, fighting the nervous stammer threatening. "But maybe if you would - "

"I'll get you another blanket or something." Betel said and stood up quickly. She watched him walk away feeling like the Neitherworld's biggest freak.

As the days passed Lydia noticed the house get cleaner while furniture never seemed to stay in the same place for a whole day. Meanwhile, the tension was starting to suffocate her.

Was I too clumsy? Does Betel think I know?

That's crazy thinking. He probably thinks I fell in love with him and in his opinion how could I not? Maybe he's just put off that I took so long. I'll have to try harder.

Trying harder didn't really seem like an option, however, as Betel would hardly stay in the same room as her for more than a few seconds. Her days passed in mind-numbing boredom with Betel avoiding her like the plague and Kise too busy being either annoying or just downright insulting.

When she discovered that she wasn't told to stay in her room and the crazy people of the house hardly paid any attention to her, Lydia began to think it might be a good time to try the running away thing again.

However, Lydia only entertained the idea of running away for a couple of days. There were several reasons why she decided against it, and she felt that despite her kidnapped status they were very good reasons. For one, once leaving the luxurious house she would be in a world full of horrible gang members with no clue where to go and she would be defenseless because of the next reason. She had not done the deed with Betel Geuse.

The final reason, was that she was indeed locked in the house. She knew Betel had ordered Kise to lock the house so no one could get in but it was putting a bump in her little plan. There were actually several bumps in her plan but that was beside the point.

The point at the moment was that she was unintentionally locked in the house and had no idea how to unlock it and hated how easy Kise made it look when he left to go steal food for her and beer for them. After searching the walls for key pads or something of the like, Lydia began to grow frustrated.

Until she realized that Kise probably had some sort of Super Secret Lab somewhere where he could control the security system. Betel told him to figure it out and somehow he did. Sometimes she really considered the possibility that Kise had a brain.

The next day Lydia had tried to stealthily follow Kise around in hopes of him leading her to his Super Secret Lab as she figured he went in there and played with it and probably spied on her like some sort of sicko.

She thought she was doing quite well, in fact, until he caught her and accused her of having a crush on him and said something about "wiles." After his little lecture that actually made her feel sheepish before she realized he was in no place to be giving lectures and acting stern, he realized he had something more to tease her about.

Lydia left quickly once he went on about her little crush on him.

And she had avoided him since, just as Betel was avoiding her.

The next chance she had to talk to Betel was the day Kise was fretting about the night he had his meeting with Sheldon. The only reason Lydia was even hanging around looking for something to do that late at night was because her boredom and being very inactive had wrecked havoc on hers sleeping schedule and some days it was late morning already by the time she fell asleep.

By now her ankle had healed completely, a fact that was puzzling her now that her hunger was gone and she had time to deal with logistics but at least it made the trip down the stairs easier when she heard Kise shouting about being late.

"You can't be late for my meeting with Sheldon, are you insane!?" Betel shouted, pulling his hair. It had been a while since Lydia had seen him do that and she couldn't help but smirk at how frantic the pair got. Sometimes she wondered who was married to who around here. "Get outta here! And be careful you moron!"

The door slammed behind Kise who was making a run for it.

"Where's Kise going?" Lydia asked Betel though she knew full well already. Betel must have been very worried because he had not left the room as soon as she opened her mouth.

"He's going for me to my meeting with Sheldon. Who should really be exiled to the Woods on account of him being creepy as fuck." Betel informed her as he looked out the window anxiously.

Not quite sure what exactly 'the Woods' meant she tried to keep the talk flowing as it was her only form of socializing for the past few days.

"Huh. Wonder why he wants to talk to you so badly then." Lydia thought she should be commended for how well that didn't sound like she was trying not to laugh at him.

"No idea." He told her over his shoulder. "But the less we see of him the better. I just want him to tell Kise what's what then leave our business forever. It blows my mind people even encourage his insanity."

"Yeah..." Lydia nodded and before she could stop the words she added, "Well then why don't you just go over there and blast him to the moon with all your powers you have?"

It was the second time that week she got to see her words make his back go that straight. He turned to face her and as he finally realized he was socializing with his wife he left the room without another word.

Betel wasn't a fool. Well all the time. If the words and tone weren't a clue that look on her face after she said that was all the proof he needed.

I do believe my wife is trying to get into my pants... To destroy me.

---

"Charles?" Delia asked the darkness, her voice shaky.

Whatever had been covering her head was taken off and Delia squinted against the light that was blinding her. Her hands and feet were bound and there was no one there with her, only shadows and the whispers that lived in them.

In the back of her mind it occurred to Delia that she may have finally gone crazy but she beat that thought down.

"You tell me where my husband is right now or I swear I will find whoever you are and murder you all for what you're doing here. You think I don't know this is wrong? This is not how it works when someone goes to the police! I want my lawyer! Where's Charles!? Lydia?"

Delia's shouts were frantic and eventually she didn't know exactly what she was saying but she needed to shout over the whispers to make herself heard.

"The victim is unsteady. Detain her."

"Sheldon's orders were for them to be awake while going through the door, so's he can watch."

"Do it."

Delia's world went black. Patch Binkley looked down at her curiously. The lady had already seemed to have lost it, along with her husband. This little experiment might prove interesting.

---

"Jack. Wake up."

Jack woke up thinking there was an earthquake as one of his cell mates shook him awake. Backing up quickly, Jack looked around at his dirty cell and slowly started to remember where he was.

Four other men were in there with him and Jack itched all over as well as ached from his 'bed' made of loose straw.

Since Patch had brought him to meet his buddies, Jack had been kept in the basement along with at least fifty other men from what he could see. The sounds of them attempting to hold back their sobs kept him awake most nights and Jack wondered what exactly he did to deserve to be sent to Hell. Sure, he wasn't perfect but he knew plenty of worse people and he didn't see them sleeping in cells and listening to fellow prisoners discussing the possibility of second deaths.

Jack had no idea what went on when the other men were taken upstairs. He didn't let himself imagine, that would simply drive him insane and when they brought him upstairs he needed his wits about him so he could escape.

Suddenly he wished he had told Lydia he loved her. Had she gone to his funeral, crying like she had when he shouted at her? Maybe that person with the freaky-ass name didn't make her cry like he did. Maybe she was happy he was gone...

Hell, he wished he had told Candy he loved her. Then maybe she would realize he had disappeared and might come looking for him. Of course women like Candy had men tell them that all the time then leave. If anything she was probably happy he was gone too.

Maybe that's why I belong here in Hell. I only make people happy when I leave.

"Jack, you're spacin' again." Chad told him, the one who had woken up.

"Sorry. Whatcha wake me for anyway? I was dreamin'." Jack asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He noticed the urgency in Chad's voice but decided to ignore it. By now, Jack had given up in trying to persuade Chad from believing in superstitions, but his cell mate held onto his beliefs firmly. The one bothering him at the moment, Jack figured, was that he had caught Jack "spacin'" again and according to Chad, that was what happened when forgotten souls tugged at your brain in hopes of getting a new body.

After the week or so Jack had been through, however, he wondered who the hell he was to tell Chad his beliefs were wrong. For all he knew there were forgotten souls tugging at his brain.

"Your turn." Was all Chad said in a soft voice before rolling over. Jack frowned at the back of his usually talkative cell mate. Before he could ask what the hell he was talking about now, a large shadow covered him.

Looking up, Jack was not happy to see the intimidating Vincent-ape-pit-bull-giant and hoped he had made a mistake and would soon walk on by.

"Harper. Your turn." Vincent grunted. Jack stood up on shaky knees wondering how Chad knew it was his turn and what exactly it meant to be his turn. He didn't want a turn, he wanted to give his spot up to someone else and go to the back of the line again. He liked his ignorance, he didn't need to know went on upstairs.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a bad day." He said and his comment earned him a growl from the large man before he grabbed Jack roughly at the back of the neck and forced him up the stairs.

Along with his knees his hands began to shake. Whatever they did up there was going to send him over the edge, he could tell already and he didn't want to go over the edge. Why couldn't he just grab Vincent by the shoulders and tell him he didn't want to do it? Jack had the image of him doing just that and in his little fantasy Vincent turned into his mother, took him by the hand with a gentle smile and a nod and walked him home, never letting go of his hand. He longed for that soft, comforting touch.

Vincent shoved him hard in the back, making Jack trip over the last step and fall out of his fantasy until he hit the grimy floor. He had hit his knee against the step and breathed in sharply through his teeth at the pain.

"Get up, ya fucking girl." The rough voice of Vincent was behind him, giving him barely a moments warning before there was a sharp kick in Jack's rib cage. "Fun hasn't even started, baby boy."

Jack stood up, trying not to rub his side or wince or show any sign that Vincent had hurt him.

"Move on." Vincent shoved Jack's back again and they continued walking. They walked past the door Jack knew led to Sheldon's odd office and they stopped outside a scuffed up metal door. Knocking three times, Vincent pushed the door open and Jack looked with wide eyes at all the freaky looking devices set up. He wasn't sure how to describe them other than they looked like something in that movie about the Jigsaw killer. Jack wanted to go home.

I don't deserve to be here. I don't.

"You belong in Hell Jack." Jack had been hoping he would one day forget what his name sounded like when said by that oily voice but it didn't work when the fucker insisted on doing it every time them met. Shuddering, Jack looked to the deformed man and said nothing.

"Strap him in that one." Sheldon pointed to a wooden chair that looked like it might break if Jack sat down but it held steady as Vincent shoved him into it. Jack was so thoroughly to it that he was forced to look straight ahead. Wiggling his toes, he felt a little better knowing he had control of something but didn't let himself think about how pointless that was.

"Jack, you're trembling." Sheldon said and Jack couldn't help but notice the obvious excitement in the gurgling voice. Jack noticed the pretty lady with the wides eyes was there and she was being all silent again. She was a nice distraction away from Sheldon's creepy looks and voice and he began to wonder if she was like Sheldon and Vincent, all creepy and violent? Or was she like him, scared shitless? Not really weak but not really a match for the likes of Vincent the bear-pit-bull-man-ape-person-giant.

"You belong in Hell Jack." Sheldon said, obviously feeling this was a fact that needed repeating. "And you know why."

"If I agree is this over for today?" Jack asked, pulling against his restraints.

The woman walked forward and slapped him hard across the face. He could feel the blood trickling out of his nose and he knew that was going to bug the piss out of him since he couldn't wipe it off. Narrowing his eyes up at the woman he noticed her eyes weren't wide because she was scared. They looked vacant, like a doll. Still, maybe she was like him but she was also a tool.

"Thank you Sally." Sheldon whispered. Jack noticed he didn't say her name the same way as his. Maybe Sheldon didn't like the ladies so much.... as long as he felt the same way about the guys too. Thoughts going away from Sheldon's preferences. I don't need to have puke all over my face as well as being scared.

Sally retreated back to the shadows with her head lowered as Sheldon stepped forward.

"When you make your cute little comments as if your trying to be funny it just makes it so obvious that you have something to hide, Jack. Not for long, though. This is Hell, Jack. There are no secrets here." Vincent was messing with something behind Jack and he strained to see over his shoulder to keep an eye on the man but there was hardly any room to struggle.

A grubby hand settled on Jack's shoulder, making him freeze and stare at Sheldon who was much too close. Jack could smell Sheldon's rotten breath and his stomach lurched at the pus running down his face from the open sores under his eyes.

Sheldon either hadn't noticed how green Jack was getting in the face or was used to this response for he went on, still invading Jack's personal space. "This is a brilliant little machine they showed me when I was a patient in the asylum on top the hill... it shows us all the things you've done with your life. It shows us where you belong, but I already know where you belong."

"How? I never took this little test thing." Jack's voice was barely working from all the emotions running through him at once.

"I'm Satan." Sheldon stated simply, standing up straight at last but Jack didn't breathe any easier.

"You're insane." Jack wasn't sure he had said it out loud since the other people in the room were ignoring this statement.

Vincent was rolling what looked like a projector screen to the area in front of his chair while Sally stepped forward holding wires and looking especially empty at the moment. Sensing he wasn't going to like whatever those wires did, he tried to flinch away as she came towards him but the straps were too tight.

"I'll make a deal with you, Jack. The Devil likes making deals." Sheldon said, watching his minions work with a smile that made the sores on his face open and close with a horrible squishing sound.

Jack tried to listen as Sally came closer to his face with the wires. They got within centimeters of his skin and he watched them in horror as they latched on and began to grow. The first one burrowed into the tear ducts of his eyes and he cried out. They were crawling on his face and under his skin. He heard them scratching into his ears and he bit down on his tongue to keep the cries at bay. It was getting difficult to pay attention to whatever the hell Sheldon was talking about. Something about deals.

"Would you like to hear it Jack?"

He knew Sheldon was asking him about the deal but he could hardly hear him over the scratching behind his eyes.

"Jack?"

"Yes." Jack groaned. "Tell me."

"You let us watch everything you've ever done in your life. If the tally for all the good things you've done stays high we let you go... but if you are too bad we punish you as we see fit."

What's the worst thing I've ever done? Harsh words? Said 'whatever' to my mom?

"Alright! Just - get it over with." Jack bit out as Sally guided the wires to grow under his nails

"Sally, that's enough. He's hooked up." Sally let go of his hand and walked to the wall where there was a switch and as his body was trying to repel the wires attacking it he watched her flip it and cried out as he felt the wires grow faster under his skin. He realized they were connecting themselves to every inch of his skin, so they wouldn't miss a thing.

I don't have anything to worry about. Torture me with your fucking wires all you want.

His eyes were trying to close against the wires digging themselves into his retinas and as he struggled he had an odd sensation forming at the base of his spine. It was hot and there was an image in his mind of a big ball of energy crawling up his back. He felt his skin morph and stretch to allow it clear passage. He rolled his neck as he felt the energy leak into the backs of his eyeballs and his eyelids were forced open as his life poured onto the screen before him going a hundred miles a minute.

Everything was seen through his eyes and he got a sense of nostalgia as he watched his tiny child hands play with monster trucks in the dirt. That memory wasn't interesting, they flashed forward. A kid taller and bigger than him was kicking sand in his eyes. Fifth grade.

Forward. He was staring at his Jr. High girlfriend's boobs. She had the biggest in their class and would let him touch them in the seventh grade. He was the coolest kid ever that year.

Forward. He was in the park at night handing over money to a stranger but he wasn't sure what it was for. He couldn't think of what age this was and the scenery surrounding them was blurry. A tiny bag of white powder appeared in the shadow man's hand and Jack's greedy ones snatched it from him before those same hands shot around the man's neck.

Forward. The girl he was holdin firmly in place distantly resembled Lydia and her face was distorted in pain as his hands held her in place. His own panting could be heard over her loud cries for him to stop but it sounded alien to him.

Forward. His neighbor's cat lay dead and mangled at his feet and he looked down at his hands, both bloody and a screwdriver in one.

A mangled cry escaped Jack's throat. Jack tried to tell them these weren't his memories but the wires were in the way.

They aren't mine. Don't judge me for what isn't mine!

Forward. The kid his hands were strangling couldn't be more than how old he was when he got to fondle his first breast but they weren't really his hands. They couldn't be.

I'm in the twilight zone. Make it stop make it stop make it stop.

It did stop.

The switch was flipped and the wires pulled out quicker than they wentm in, making Jack feel blessedly empty but he couldn't think. He couldn't see and he felt like his body might explode.

"Those aren't mine." His voice was harsh from his throat being so abused.

"It never lies." Sheldon was coming closer as were Vincent and Sally. "Your punishment will be painful and long but after what we viewed we cannot be blamed. It's what you deserve."

"No no no. You can't. It's broke. I swear." Jack pleaded as Vincent began to undo his straps.

Sally was walking towards the wall of stranger looking devices and Jack began to pray for the first time since he was a child.

A small knock came at the door and Jack opened his eyes in surprise.

An angel?

Vincent opened the door and Jack frowned when he saw Patch Binkley there with a heavily scarred man.

"Where's Sheldon?" Patch asked.

"I'm here." Sheldon said, his tone making it obvious how unimpressed he was at the moment. "Did you forget that I'm not to be disturbed while I'm in this room?"

"Yeah, but it's time for that appointment with Betel Geuse..."

"Is Betel Geuse here?" Sheldon asked, eying the scarred man.

"No. He sent Benjamin Kise in his place. Somethin' 'bout a honeymoon." Patch said with a shrug.

"Fine. Take Jack back downstairs." Sheldon barked at Vincent and led Kise to his odd looking office.

Jack went without struggle, the trip to his cell passed in a daze all the while thinking, I'm innocent. It wasn't me, there's no way I could ever do those things.

Kise stood nervously before Sheldon's desk and fidgeted with his baseball cap as Sheldon surveyed him over his glass of whiskey. It was making Kise's mouth water and had Sheldon not been incredibly insane he might have told him how rude that was but he would rather keep his tongue.

"You're Kise." Sheldon stated and Kise nodded in agreement. That he was. "I scheduled a meeting with Betel Geuse. Not Kise."

Kise swallowed loudly. "Yeah, uh he wanted to come... Meant to really but his new misses was just crazy."

"Crazy?"

"I mean wild." Kise covered quickly. "Not crazy, she was just going wild. 'Cause it's their honeymoon and all so she wants them in bed the whole time know what I mean?"

"No. Not really."

No, guess you wouldn't. Kise thought with a small nod.

"I'm irritated Kise. I had a patient I was trying to help, very troubled you see? We were going through therapy when you walked in and now I think I'll just have to start all over from the beginning with him next week."

"Oh." What the hell kind of therapy... "I'm very sorry."

"I know." Sheldon sipped loudly from his whiskey and Kise tried to refrain from licking his lips.

"Tell you what, because I'm so interested in talking to Betel on business matters I'll let it go without getting offended this time."

Kise visibly relaxed as Sheldon said that but immediately tensed up again when he added, "However... if he sends someone else other than him again I think I'm bound to go a little... crazy."

The smile he gave Kise was all manners of creepifying and Kise had to beg himself not to shudder.

"I understand and I'm sure Betel will too."

"Good. Have him here tomorrow night and we'll see where we stand. Now get outta before I decide to practice my therapy on you."

Kise ran.

---

Betel was lounging on the couch, taking up most of it so that no little wife of his could sneak on in and snuggle on beside him. No matter how much he wanted her to do that - if she was going to be doing it with out evil intentions and plans on revenge.

He held Juno's Nox Box and turned it idly, watching as she sat there like a statue refusing to look at him. She was probably aware of how helpless she truly was at the moment but Betel wondered if she could hear through the green walls surrounding her. If she could she would be aware of how helpless he was as well and what his stupid actions had done this time. If Lydia got his powers and forced him to set them all free, he was going to get yelled at so badly.

I deserve it.

The door crashed open and Betel scrambled shove the Nox Box back in his pocket and stand up expecting the worst but was relieved to see it was just Kise.

"Good news!" Kise exclaimed and Betel looked at him without even bothering to try and hide his confusion. "There was a 'sale' on beer! In which I mean they were stocking beer and I just stole half a truck load. And made 'em fit in a bag this small with my powers!"

As Kise held up the bulging bag Betel realized his sidekick had been drinking. If he went to Sheldon's like that I swear I will take him right back and offer him up to the bastard.

"And the meeting, Kise." Betel said slowly. "How did the meeting with Sheldon go?"

"Oh, that." Kise's face crumpled and he set the bag of beer on the dining table. Betel cringed at the very loud thud it made. "He's very angry and never wants to see me again or he'll put me in therapy."

"Really?" Betel asked. "What kind of therapy?" Is it painful? Let's sign you up!

"I dunno, but he says you gotta come tomorrow night for a business meeting or he'll go oogly boogly on all of us. Or maybe just me. And you. And your wife."

Betel pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to swallow down his irritation. "Kise, go drink in your room or something. Or, you know what, just stay there I don't care. I'm going to bed."

Betel walked up stairs to where his room was and didn't even glance at Lydia when he passed her in the hallway. She tried to mask her hurt but when the only two people in the house acted like you were the ghost it got kind of tiresome to pretend you didn't care.

---

Lydia tried to sleep but she kept thinking about what Kise had told Betel. His meeting was the next day and she knew if Betel made him mad the way he made everyone mad he might not be coming home.

Which meant she might not get another chance to get his powers.

Throwing her covers back, Lydia got out of bed and tip toed out of her room. She had not yet been in Betel's room and her hands were beginning to shake as she turned the door knob slowly.

Thankfully the door opened silently and Lydia tip toed in before closing it just as slowly behind her. The bed seemed to be as nice and big as hers and in the middle in a large clump of blankets Betel was sprawled.

Carefully she pulled a small section of the covers back and crawled in.

This is it. It won't be so bad. Sex is just sex. It isn't love or mushy feelings. It's our bodies touching and being... close and oh God just do it!

Scooting a little closer to him, she gently ran a hand through his crazy hair amazed yet again at how warm he was. It made him easier to touch, that warmth he seemed to have stolen from her was incredibly tempting as it made the ice that filled her up seem to melt away.

He was still under her finger tips and she leaned forward tentatively allowing herself to hesitate once more before she grazed her lips along his forehead. It was not slimy or grimy like she feared it would be. Bodies tended to remain in the same state they were when they died in the Neitherworld and Lydia wondered if he hadn't gotten back to his state from before because he didn't have his powers to make the disgusting stuff stay on.

Realizing she had let her lips linger longer than she originally planned, she pulled away and studied his sleeping form. No response yet.

Gently, she planted a few small kisses just below his ear and was pleased to at last hear a sleepy "Mmmm."

His arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his hand splayed across her back sent warmth up her spine that she needed more of.

"Betel." She whispered into his ear, her breath causing him to stir a little more.

"Hmm?"

"Touch me." She hadn't meant to sound like she was begging but it seemed like it had been so long since she had felt that sort of warmth. I'm just saying what I'm sure he wants to hear, that's all. That's really... nice...

Her eyes fluttered close when she felt him return her kisses along her jaw line as he pulled her body flush against his. After a moment, however, he buried his face against her chest and mumbled, "Sleepy."

"Sleep later." Lydia told him, curling a leg around his waist. That got him moving again. He lowered one of his hands to grab her bottom through her pajamas as his lips sought out hers.

He tasted like cigarettes and home. The way he intimidated her as he pulled her body underneath his and deepened the kiss made her feel safe and secure. When they pulled apart and she got his powers she would see him for the bastard he was but at the moment she wanted him to over power her and do all the things he promised.

Simply because of how he tasted.

Betel pulled away and let her catch her breath. Looking up at him, Lydia recognized the look that was in his eye but she could also see he was thinking hard about something.

Having had enough of the no kissing thing, Lydia sat up to get the taste again before pulling on his shirt. She knew her hands must have been like ice as she smoothed them up his chest but he didn't even shudder. Maybe she was getting warm again.

His chest was fuzzy, not smooth. Not like Jack's.

That was good. He wasn't Jack.

His hands explored her body, wanting to touch as much of her as she wanted of him. They had to break their kiss again as they both pulled at each others clothes. Lydia let him pull her night gown off before tossing it away carelessly.

The feel of their chests touching was causing Lydia to make small noises of desire in her throat as the delicious fire spread throughout her body. She was feeling more alive than she had since he forced her to marry him but it was not love. There was no love, only need. There had never been love during this act, not for her.

Betel was caressing her breasts and when he decided he needed to taste them any thoughts of hesitation stopped as her head rolled back.

The noises Lydia was making were out of her control and she was only midly annoyed when he pulled away and laughed softly. Mostly, though, she was suddenly very horny and wanted that laughing mouth to get back to what it was doing.

In the back of her mind she realized she was probably enjoying this a lot more than she should have, she knew she should have been disgusted and her hands should not have been caressing as much as they were but in the context of things she found Betel's proximity intoxicating. Perhaps it was the Neitherworld's laws of their marriage taking affect now that they were finally being intimate with each other. Whatever it was it was a heady thing that was clouding Lydia's thoughts and her ability to give a good goddamn.

Making a noise of irritation, she pulled at his stupid button down shirt and his soft laughter turned into a loud guffaw when she cried out in frustration and pulled at it, sending a few buttons flying.

"You're absolutely right. Color was all wrong for me, I have no idea what I was thinking."

"Shut up and kiss me." She growled and he was glad to obey. Where once she had been talkative during this act she found that there was no time for it, only for kissing and touching and feeling so damn wonderful. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she ran her hands through his hair and savored the comfort of his embrace she sought out.

Laying down, she pulled him with her and she let her hands wander again as he did the same. Her hands smoothed down his round stomach, enjoying the feel of it compared to his fuzzy chest. Betel trembled as her hands went lower and he mimicked her movements by pushing at her underwear. Rolling her hips up to meet his, he groaned and pulled her panties off.

The warmth had seemed to center into her stomach and was fueling her moans and caresses. Lydia felt her Betel's hands travel lower and gasped when he nipped her earlobe and touched her just there.

She pouted when he stopped kissing her but she was pleased to watch him slid down the length of her body to taste her most intimate area. Fingers gripped flesh and bedsheets and Lydia's moans were getting louder. Betel had been telling the truth about what he could make her feel and in her state she wondered why the hell she had not taken him up on that offer the first time he mentioned it.

The pressure was building, she could feel it in her stomach as she heard the blood rushing in her ears. Arching her back, she cried out and held onto the headboard to keep herself steady from the things he was making her feel.

When she had settled back onto the bed, breathing a little harder than normal, Betel crawled back up to lean over her body and had that crazy looking smirk of his looking especially devilish. She could not help but smile back a little sheepishly, knowing she had gotten a little loud.

"Thanks." She said breathlessly.

Betel covered her mouth with his and she could taste herself on his lips. Without thoughts of evil plans or kidnappings and lost parents, she wanted him to make her feel like that again and soon.

"No problem, babe." He growled into her ear when he pulled away. Reaching up, he pinched her nipple teasingly before saying, "Now maybe you could return the favor?"

Trying not to look confused, Lydia looked at him in silence and didn't quite get it until he pulled his pants down over his waist. Smirking, Lydia smoothed her hands down his chest before reaching down with one hand and stroking his length. His arm that held him up trembled and it only got worse when she wrapped her hand aroung him.

Betel groaned, and Lydia found that she enjoyed the feel of his hand gripping a handful of her hair just on the line between gentle and unpleasant. "Nice. Not what I meant, though, Lyds. But close."

Lydia's eyes widened as she realized what he meant. Touching with her hands was fine, whatever. But her mouth? On that? His that!?

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "But that's been places!"

Betel's hand tightened in her hair, "Lydia." he groaned her name out as Lydia's hand that was still around him tightened slightly. "I hope you can understand that I really don't have the patience to try and explain what an idiot you're sounding like right now."

Lydia narrowed her eyes up at him. Suddenly all thoughts about sleeping with him for her own evil little plans came back and she remembered why exactly she was doing this. And she remembered her parents and the Maitlands and the fact that he had waltzed into her house and forced him to marry her and acted like she should be eternally gratfeul for the prize husband she just got.

You fucking bastard.

Lydia was aware that more than likely he thought she was childish for not jumping up and down at the thought of sucking his cock despite the fact that he had just done a very good job pleasing her... Despite all that, it was just kind of gross and dammit it didn't matter what her reasons were. Being called an idiot wasn't nice!

"Do you think it's wise to start calling me names and treating me like your subordinate when I have a hold of you like this?" She asked, her voice low and dangerous. Lydia moved her hand up the length of him and watched his arms that held him up tremble. She was smirking despite how harshly he glared at her.

"Dammit Lyds." Betel growled, dipping his head to get a taste of her creamy neck once more. "You selfish tease."

Maybe another day she might have thought his words were light and meaningless but she could feel the anger behind them that night and it terrified her. That fear flooded into her stomach and made her abdomen feeling warm, intensifying all the feelings he was creating in her.

Moaning, she wrapped her legs around his waist as she continued to stroke him with her hand.

"Why don't you just fucking... fuck me?!" She whispered urgently, knowing how ridiculous and very un-wiley it sounded.

Anger was not the feeling she expected next, ecstasy was what she was expecting. Mind blowing, back-arching, I'm-making-obnoxious-noises ecstasy. Maybe better than what he had just given her too. But no, instead of doing what they both wanted Betel had to start laughing at her.

"Because I know what you're up to." He said, nipping her ear lobe. Lydia froze, happy toe curling feelings gone. "When did you become such a whore?"

At that Lydia pulled back with a stung look on her face. Betel's face was hardly visible in the dark but she could see that crazy smirk was back again in the moonlight and while she would prefer to get out of that bed and just run away from it all, her body had a different agenda.

The slap across his face was loud and stung her hand but it wasn't satisfying enough. She was just pulling her hand back for another blow when Betel grabbed her wrist to stop her and delivered a blow of his own.

Lydia squeezed her eyes up against the pain and brought a hand to her throbbing cheek in shock. Turning back, her eyes widened at him.

Emotionally he was a bastard to her any chance he got. Every time she was hurt on his watch physically, however, had been an accident. This was the first time he'd ever hit her and Lydia's hands began to shake.

This time, though, she did not know if she shook from rage or from fear.

"You slapped me." Lydia's voice trembled.

"After you slapped me, though that wasn't the first time you had slapped me around but you know damn well I had never raised a hand - "

"Liar!" Lydia interrupted him, aware she probably had a crazed look on her face but she didn't care. "After you forced me to marry you you tried to back hand me 'cause I kneed you in the privates! Like that would do any damage you - "

"Exactly, you kneed me in the privates Lyds!"

"You were going to rape me!" Lydia screamed at him and her words made Betel frown, though the moonlight made the harsh look seem softer than it really was.

"That aint true." He said softly, replaying those events in his head. That had been such a long time ago it seemed. That had been a Betel Geuse with powers, one who got his way even if it meant taking his disobedient new wife over her father's desk top.

"Don't even start that Betel. I know full well all the things you've done to me, they're etched precisely into my memory. You kidnapped my ghost parents. My real parents probably think I'm dead and I might as well be! And then you thought it would be fucking hilarious to rape me, show me who's boss. Lucky for me you realized you lost your powers just in the knick of time!" Lydia's tears were flowing freely now and she accented her words by striking him across the chest. Hard.

Reflexively, Betel grabbed her arms and pinned him under her while straddling her so she wouldn't knee him either.

"I hate you." Lydia's voice was hardly working from all the emotions in her as she told him this as if it was some well kept secret.

"Cut it out Lyds." Betel begged, watching another tear roll down her cheek. "Do ya have t'cry every time I look at ya?"

"You should see how you look before judging me so harshly." Lydia bit out, choosing to look away from him now.

Nodding softly, Betel looked down at her with his frown back in place. He was very aware of the fact that they were both naked but for once it wasn't enough to distract him from the fact that he had done something very wrong to the woman beneath him.

Watching her breathe in shakily he suddenly wished things could have been different. It occurred to him that maybe if he gave her his powers like he wanted she would think of him differently. As the man he was today, not the poltergeist bent on hurting her.

He couldn't quite make sense of it, but he felt in him that if she got his powers and he got his back he would go back to being that man and any hope of Lydia thinking he was being selfless would vanish after that.

Holding both her small hands in his large one, Betel brought his hand down to Lydia's face but hesitated when she flinched. Gently he wiped her tears away with his thumb and felt the shame rise in him when she avoided looking at him. She thought he would finally take advantage of her.

She thought he hadn't changed.

Releasing her, Betel rolled over with his back to her hoping she would stay but not willing to call her back when he watched her walk out of the room with a thin blanket pulled around her body.

---

"You are going to be late! Do you want to die? Again!?"

Kise was worse than Betel's mother. Well, he may have been, he could not actually recall any memories of the lady but he figured Kise was doing a fairly good impression of somebody's crazy mother.

"I know, I know, I know. I just can't find my fucking - oh there." Betel grabbed his coat off the floor from under the table. Putting it on he avoided Kise's stern glare and ran out the door.

He couldn't be late for Sheldon. That would be insanity and Betel knew enough about that particular subject.

Kise watched Betel dash down the road with a melodramatic eye roll. His boss had been acting strangely all day, spacing off and losing things. Important things, like beer. He hadn't listened to a thing Kise said - well he was worse about it anyway. Which was definitely saying something.

The man was going to get them all killed. Well, he would get Lydia killed and him and Betel turned into torture victims for the next few centuries.

The image of that kid strapped to his chair looking for all like he was made out of them wires coming out of him and sobbing uncontrollably wasn't leaving his brain anytime soon.

Well, Kise thought with a smirk as he headed for the fridge. The only cure is alcohol. I suppose I'll have to make the commitment to healing then.

---

Betel had been told to wait in Sheldon's office and he had been waiting for near an hour with only the sound of different pitches of wails to help him pass the time.

He was near to having a break down by the time Sheldon finally made his appearance, a bloody knuckled lady friend at his side.

Trying not to fidget with his hat he held in his lap, Betel smiled and leaned forward with his hand outstretched. "Good evening Sheldon, I can't say how flattered I am that you would invite me over for... a midnight snack?" He ended on a hopeful note.

Sheldon eyed the outstretched hand warily before nodding to his lady friend. She extended her arm, shook his hand firmly and left the room.

Betel sat back in his chair trying to stay calm under Sheldon's stare. It was Sheldon's turn to start talking now and Betel was not going to let himself start talking about random things that would somehow give any of his little secrets away.

"If you were so damned flattered you would have been here last night, Geuse." Sheldon had still not taken a seat, choosing to stand and look down on Betel. He didn't like feeling two inches tall. Even when he had been two inches tall in the Maitland's model thing he never really felt so ashamed. Not even when Barbara shook him and warned him to stay away from Lydia.

Well, Lydia maybe did have a little something to do with the shamed feeling in his gut.

No maybe about it. I know what's on my mind and this meeting with Sheldon isn't helping the fact that I suddenly want to give my own self the look he's giving me.

I deserve it.

"I promise I can explain - " Betel began, fighting back a nervous stammer.

Sheldon raised a hand to stop him. "No need. Your man, Kise or whatever, told me all about your honeymoon. Didn't think you were the type to get yourself hitched."

"Uh... I'm not really the type but she's, you know, out of this world or something." Betel muttered with a shrug.

At last Sheldon sat down. "That's interesting and all but I called you hear to discuss business." At these words, his lady friend re entered with a plate full of half baked cock roaches and a murky looking glass of beer.

These were his favorites, when he was a poltergeist. Humans, however, didn't eat this sort of stuff and he was starting to feel the same way.

"Discuss away." Betel bit out, knowing he couldn't refuse hospitality and accepted the treats.

"I'm not trying to poison you Betel." Sheldon said with a smirk. "Kinda pointless. Don'tcha think?"

"Right..." Betel picked up a slightly warm and lazy moving cockroach. Popping the crunchy insect into his mouth, he tried to recall the taste of Lydia to get through it.

"You are a hero. Widely loved in these parts nowadays." Sheldon told him and Betel could practically feel his head start to grow.

"Why for?"

"You freed them, ya dummy!" Sheldon slapped his hand down on the desk with wheezy laugh. "Did you forget already? The gangs are going to remember for a very long time who passed on the keys and who broke in in the first place. I told you you were a hero and I don't lie. About that."

Betel nodded slowly. "I never considered anything like this might happen." He admitted. "Figured they'd get out, cause a lot of headaches for Juno... and the rest of the Head of Carnage but they did a lot of this themselves."

"Maybe that's got some truth in it, but the fact of the matter is that I owe you one."

Betel looked at Sheldon in surprise having noticed that tone and the fact that Sheldon owed him something.

"Oh?"

"Yes, and I don't like owing anyone anything." Sheldon narrowed his eyes at Betel who took a big gulp of murky beer. It tasted like piss and Betel was hard pressed not to gag.

"I understand the position this puts you in." Betel said with a nod after clearing his throat, though he really wasn't sure what position that was just as long as Sheldon didn't try to torture him with insane magic voodoo.

Sitting back, Sheldon seemed to think over his next few words carefully. "A week ago I sent a scouting party to the Woods. I know, crazy but that's something I can deal with... Turns out that's where most of the so called 'good guys' ran off to." Sheldon leaned forward and took a sip from his very clean glass with some very fine looking whiskey in it. Betel was having a hard time concentrating on the conversation at hand between starving for something not disgusting and starving for ways to deal with his guilt.

"There are towns that my people found out there, towns that are a part of Neitherworld yet still completely apart. I know, again, crazy. My point is, the Carnage members and Policy Guards don't know about them and my men tell me they are nice and full of plenty of easily scammed wacky fun people." Sheldon continued and Betel nodded, wanting to get to the point and quickly.

"Is that so?"

"It is. Betel, because I owe you my freedom I want to give you an extended honeymoon to a nice place, not this dreary cloudy world of ours." Sheldon explained. "When I first came here and before I was locked away Neitherworld was green and alive which you probably remember. But we made it cold and dead to better suit us... They tell me once you go far enough into the Woods, the life comes back."

Betel stared across the desk at Sheldon, not quite sure what he was hearing or what most of it meant. A honeymoon with his wife. Sheldon was trying to get rid of him by sending him to some town in the Woods that probably didn't even exist.

"That means so much to me." Betel said slowly, weighing his words carefully. There was no way he was going to the Woods. That's where people went to forget themselves.

"No need, it's just business."

Nodding, Betel finished the rest of his beer in one gulp and sat there with Sheldon for some more idle chit chat until he was excused.

This is very bad.

---

Lydia wrinkled her nose when she walked into the kitchen and the strong smell of alcohol hit her. Kise was sitting in the same seat as the night before. Since he had stolen all that beer he had remained in the same annoying drunken state. Luckily, he was unable to make his feet cooperate so if you got sick of him you only needed to leave the kitchen.

But Lydia was hungry.

"Drink enough yet, Kise?" She asked, hoping he ignored her even as the words left her mouth. Making her way to the fridge, Lydia looked around the shelves for something to eat. Betel had told her to write up a list and made Kise get every single item after his little stunt with the diet meals.

"Not nuff ta be seduced by the likes o' you." Kise slurred and Lydia rolled her eyes. Why did she insist on talking to the man, especially when he got like this?

"Ya know, boss likes you." Kise continued, not getting the hint that she was not seriously interested in a conversation.

"He likes to look at me." Lydia corrected him as she watched her food warm up in the microwave.

"Same thing." Kise waved his hand carelessly, the small movement making him sway dangerously in his char.

Mentally urging her food to cook faster, Lydia decided the safest thing was to ignore him. At last that wonderful ding sounded and her food was done... but too hot to grab.

Lydia looked around for the dish towels since she had successfully ruin the oven mits the day before while making omelets. No one ever did dishes around there so she had no idea where to start looking.

"He jus' likes lookin' at purdy things." Kise continued.

Pass out Kise, just go ahead and pass out now.

"Are you calling me pretty, Kise?" Lydia asked with a smirk.

"Not you, dumbo!" Kise shouted and acted like he was going to stand up but thought better of it at the last minute and sat back in his chair. "He likes starin' at women sure whatever, but he also likes em statues on the thing out there in the livin' room or whatever the thing is like I don't know."

Lydia turned around, not really sure she was following him and figured it might help to make eye contact. "O... kay..." Is Kise in love with Betel or something? I mean I'm technically his wife and have been trying to seduce him but I was not aware of statue things on a living room thingy... Drunk Kise gives me a headache.

"Stones in the garden, boxes for prisoners, moon from the garden..." Kise continued, a happy little smile on his face as he recounted all the things his boss enjoyed staring at.

That settles it, Kise is in love with - wait what?

"Kise, did you say 'boxes for prisoners'?" Lydia asked very slowly, articulating her words clearly.

"Likes them for their green... dammit what are they fucking called?" Kise asked suddenly, slamming his hand down on the table in frustration. "Why can I never 'member what they're - Nox Boxes! That's it... yeah. Hmmm. Slamming the table makes the room stop spinning for a second. Mus' be a button 'round here..." Kise was beginning to grumble his words and was soon slamming his hand down on the table repeatedly.

Pausing, he looked up at Lydia who was standing there looking a little frozen. Smiling as he realized what he had told her, he brought a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound. "Don't ya tell 'im I said that now orrrr I'd be in trouble!"

"Yeah..." Lydia thought, suddenly losing her appetite. She was remembering looking a tiny green boxes curiously and how angry Betel had gotten when he saw what she was doing. They had been with her the entire time... "Wouldn't want anyone in trouble."