It's Showtime : Dreaming Reality
A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Did you guys not like the last chapter or something? I mean, don't be afraid to yell at me for doing something that you didn't like. Oh well. Oh, and I wrote a little one-shot called No Words Were Needed... just selling myself because I thought that you guys would be interested. It's complete, and for Beetlejuice (BJ/Lydia). Read and Review!
I
Lydia Deetz tried not to look at the creature that was Michelle. She lumbered past, her skin smacking together with a sickening pop. Brown eyes gazed at Vincent, his form still human, though Lydia was sure he was anything but. He smirked when he caught her gaze, a snake-like tongue flickering out from between his teeth. Refusing to shiver with revulsion, Lydia merely smiled.
"So, what's your story?"
The attractive young man sauntered up to her, jumping up onto the platform she was confined to. Lydia couldn't move as he hissed, licking the outside shell of her ear.
"I, my dear, am an incubus."
Forcing bile back down into her stomach, Lydia feigned confidence and indifference.
"Oh. How nice. What's your stake in all this?"
Vince's eyes pierced hers, pressing his body against her. Lydia broke, gagging with disgust and thrashing. He grinned, her attempts useless against the restraints. He ran his slimy tongue over her lips, grinning at her empty threats and screams.
"My stake? Nothing much... just the sweet taste of a virgin."
What little blood Lydia had in her face vanished as Vince purred, backing away from her so that the words sunk in. Lydia blinked rapidly, her stomach churning and gurgling at the realization that he was planning on raping her. Her soul was going to be stolen. And... it didn't matter if she called Betelgeuse or not... her fate was set in stone.
A grunt brought Lydia back to the present. Michelle set up a video camera, pointing it right at Lydia. The succubus closed her eyes, slowly returning to... what a human should look like. In a matter of seconds, Michelle went from a creature from a John Carpenter film to a willowy woman. She pressed record, the red lights turning on.
Michelle walked up next to Lydia, Vincent too. Michelle grabbed Lydia's hair, yanking it.
"Speak now, brat. This is your last chance to say goodbye."
The camera hummed. Lydia stared at the lens, shaking when she realized that this was the last time that anyone would see the real Lydia Deetz. After all of this... it would be some thing that looked like her, talked like her, but it would never, ever come close to being her.
"Dad, I'm so s-sorry that this is the last time we could talk. I know that you love me even if I sometimes disagree with you, and I do love you, d-daddy." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she took a deep breath. "Delia, you'll never replace mom, but you made dad happy, and I'll always love you for that. A-Adam, B-Barbara... if I hadn't met you... if you hadn't loved me... I wouldn't be here today. You are both the most wonderful people I have ever met. I love you two so much..."
Her voice cracked, her face soaked, her eyes leaking and bloodshot. Vince grabbed her arm, digging his nails into her skin roughly.
"What about your fiancé?" When Lydia didn't verbally respond, he slapped her, hard, across the face. "Now."
Brown eyes turned away from the incubus and stared at the red recording light. What should she say? What would he want to hear, need to hear? Vince snarled, his nails puncturing her skin. Lydia gasped, trying to jerk away from him.
"Alright!" Her voice screeched as she turned back to the camera, her breathing quickening. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, chewing it before speaking. "Thank you... for showing me a whole new world within this one. I asked for nothing... and you gave me everything and more. I won't forget our fights, but I'll never forget the great times we had, and I know you'll find another. Please, leave me to your memories, I'm sure you'll find another girl just as... lively as me." Her eyes left the red light for a few seconds before returning. "Whatever happens, Beej, this will be the last time you'll see me. Goodbye."
Madame Michelle and Vince stepped in front of Lydia as she sobbed quietly.
"I'm not interested in money. The FBI can try their best, they'll never find this place. All we want is Teluse Beeg. I know he's listening, so... come and chat with me. Every second that you don't," she motioned to Vince so that he moved off screen, "she'll suffer more than any human should."
Vincent came back on screen with a syringe full of dark liquid. He smiled charmingly at the camera.
"You'll find us if you truly want to." He turned to Lydia, pushing up her shirt sleeve. "Lights out, love."
The red light still glowed, capturing the needle sliding into Lydia's skin. All of the liquid was deposited inside her body. At first... there was nothing. Lydia blinked, frowning. Then she blinked again, her vision blurry. Then faded. Finally... black though she felt that her eyes were open.
Terrified screams rose up from the core of Lydia's soul as she was plunged into darkness. Her body jerked, her chest frozen in desperate, primal fear. She couldn't see. She was blind... in the dark and all alone.
Michelle chuckled, looking into the camera.
"She's blind, Teluse. She'll be waiting in the dark. Until then."
The monster turned off the camera, the last thing the lens captured was Lydia's face, forever helpless and terrified.
II
Juno stared in horror at the screen. Lydia Deetz was finished to her goodbyes to her loved ones when a sharp slap made her continue. The social worker felt Betelgeuse's teeth grind together.
Lydia's lips moved, but Juno wasn't listening. She focused on the trembling lips, the sad smile, and her eyes. Her eyes shone with... with a miserable happiness as she spoke of the times she spent with Betelgeuse. Juno's body shrank when she realized how far Lydia had fallen. She wasn't friends with the poltergeist... she was in lo—
"Idiot... summon me, dammit!" Juno jumped out of her skin as Betelgeuse bellowed at the screen. Lydia was blocked, and the woman called out Betelgeuse with his false name. The bio-exorcist felt sick... so sick at her voice. Then... Lydia was injected... and she was screaming... "LYDIA!"
His voice reverberated in the air and the screen shattered. Juno stared at her former co-worker and current menace. He was hunched over, his hair sending off sparks and his eyes burning brighter than one thousand suns. Juno had seen Betelgeuse out of spite, and she had seen him scream in rage. But... she had never seen him lose control...
Good God... could he...?
"Come on, get up." Juno pulled at his jacket. "We've got to go to the Council."
Betelgeuse gazed up at Juno, his mouth slack.
"She's afraid of the dark, Juno." He didn't notice his surroundings as Juno pulled him through corridors to the Council. "She's afraid of the dark and they blinded her." He sat under white lights, but he saw nothing. "I'll kill them. I'll fucking murder them."
The Judge turned to Juno, his thick brow furrowed.
"How do we know that he'll come back? That he won't run?"
Juno narrowed her eyes, nodding towards the poltergeist that kept clenching and unclenching his fists.
"If that's not enough proof, sir, then make him sign a contract. If he strays from the specifics, sentence him to an exorcism."
The Judge cast his gaze down on the bio-exorcist.
"Did you hear that?"
Betelgeuse stared right back.
"Sure did."
"You will retrieve the girl and preserve her life." The ghost leaned forward. "You will be given a rather hefty portion of your power back for this. One fifth."
They expected a laugh and demand for full power. All they received was silence. Juno sighed.
"Those people... the woman and man, they seemed sure of themselves." Juno folded her hands in her lap, resisting the urge to take out a cigarette. "Did Lydia say anything to hint at who or what they are?"
Lydia's fiancé shook his head, glaring at nothing.
"Nope." He leaned back in his chair. "The only thing I heard was her tellin' me to find another gal. And her screams." He took out a cigarette. "Give me the damn papers."
III
The shivering teenager had no idea who saw the video. She had no clue that it was aired worldwide even in Time Square. She didn't have the faintest notion that celebrities were donating money to find her, that countless of reporters were searching for her fiancé.
All Lydia knew was that she was in the dark and the only thing she could hear was her heart pounding in her rib cage. If Michelle or Vince were there, they didn't move or say anything. Lydia lowered her head, her tears dripping onto her toes.
Her eyes drooped... and she fought down a yawn but—
White light blinded her. Lydia opened her eyes, squinting and stumbling in her high heels. She was on stage... back in her highschool... but she couldn't see the audience, only darkness. A sharp yank whirled her around. Lydia gasped when she saw Betelgeuse glaring at her.
"Betel—" She clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. "What... what...?"
The poltergeist pulled her close like a father would pull a misbehaving child.
"Say my name, dammit!"
"No!" She pulled away from him, nursing her wrist. "I'm over! Done! Go find someone else!"
He grabbed her shoulders, their noses touching.
"You're smart, Lyds, I know you are. Can't you see I—?"
"Don't." Lydia shook her head. "Just... don't find me. Please..." She let the tears fall, no longer embarrassed. "They'll do terrible things, Beej. I don't want that to happen... to you."
Shaking his head, Betelgeuse loosened his hold on her.
"Babes, I've been around for a long time. I'm not some wimp. I can take these guys on." Lydia shook her head, her breaths uneven and short. "You're too young, babes. Come on, just call me. We'll squash these guys and we'll have a night on the town, just you and me."
Lydia hugged him.
"Goodbye, Beej." She squeezed him tightly as a gun went off, a bullet sinking into her spinal cord. "Stay away."
Cold water washed over Lydia. She heard someone, and they threw more water on her.
"Who are you?"
"Vince. Quit screaming, it's hurting my ears." Lydia blinked, trying to stare at his voice. She must have been having a nightmare. "Change your mind yet?"
"No."
His shoes clicked, and he walked away. Lydia panted in the dark, her eyes darting back and forth, trying to see something but all she found was nothing.
IV
Dead fingers turned an envelope over. Green eyes stared at the wedding invitation. The paper still smelled fresh. Alive. He twisted his engagement ring around his finger.
She was practically ordering him to stay away. To leave her to suffer alone and in the dark. He was mean, but he wasn't a monster. Lydia Deetz was his fiancé and his friend. Funny, it would have pained him to say that before, but now it flowed like water.
Every smile, laugh, tear, and kiss flashed before his eyes as the wind blew in his hair. Juno blew cigarette smoke, letting it swirl into the air. Betelgeuse put out his cigarette, his dangling off the side of a New York City building.
"I can't believe this is happening." She croaked, her eyes tired and squinting against the morning sun. "You understand that if you run off after this that you will be exorcized."
"What makes you think I'll run?"
"One fifth of your original power will make anyone think they can run."
The two cigarettes flew down, spiraling into obscurity. Betelgeuse's boots clicked against the brick wall. He closed his eyes, the wind coming to a sudden halt.
"And if I kill the man and woman?" The breeze slowly began to spin around him like a lazy tornado. "What will happen then?"
Juno stared off into the horizon.
"Nothing as of now. I suppose we'll deal with them once they land themselves in the waiting room."
"If I do this, will you tell me what DSNY1007 is?"
His former superior laughed.
"Sure." Her eyes crinkled at the sides, a secretive smile growing on her face. "I'm not sure I'll need to, though." The sun hit the buildings, sending shards of blinding light everywhere. "Please get her back. Get her back safely, that's all I'm asking."
Betelgeuse stood, looking over the edge down to the street many stories below.
"I will, don't worry."
The wind stopped, and he opened his eyes, grinning as he jumped off the building, flying down the fate. To Lydia.
It was at that moment that he laughed, his power rising. He hadn't felt so alive in... in... ages.
"It's Showtime!"
With a maniacal wink, Betelgeuse burst into countless particles, casting New York City into a fog.
V
Lydia was on the stage again. The hot lights made it hard to breathe. Her hands moved up to her collar when she realized that her hands were not hers. They were someone else's. Brown eyes traveled down to them, widening when she recognized the slightly green skin.
"Betelgeuse!"
The teenager looked out into the audience to see... herself. One hundred clones of Lydia Deetz were crying, bleeding... and blind.
Lydia looked down and saw his boots. His suit. She reached up to his face and felt his lips.
"Hey."
Turning, Lydia saw Madam Michelle and Vincent. Vincent grinned and punched her, cracking her jaw. He towered over her as she scrambled backwards.
"So this is the Almighty poltergeist? Sniveling and crying like a little girl?" All the Lydias in the audience screamed, their eyes gone, bloody holes remaining. "Disgusting."
Madame Michelle straddled her, running her hands through Betelgeuse's frizzy, wild hair. Her snake-like tongue ran over her lips.
"Your power is wasted on trivial things." The audience fell silent. "I will put it to much better use."
Her face drew closer, rancid breath washing over Lydia's face.
"No!"
The succubus laughed, clutching Betelgeuse's face in her claws.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."
Ugly, twisted lips slammed against Betelgeuse's. Lydia tried to wrench out of Michelle's grasp. All the Lydias shrieked, catching on fire. The smell of burning flesh brought tears to Lydia's eyes as a cold tongue slid into her mouth.
When Lydia came back into consciousness, she was sweating, hot, and nauseous. Not the greatest lineup. Her hair was stuck to her face, and she was sure that her eyes had sunk into her skull. Her mouth was dry and every nerve ached.
Days... years... Lydia had no idea how long she had been down in Michelle's concrete fortress. She couldn't tell what was reality and what was fantasy. Did she really talk to Betelgeuse? Did Madame Michelle already get to him?
Her shirt's button popped open. Then another. Vince's laughter echoed off the walls. Lydia's chest heaved, the air too thick.
"What are you doing?"
Another button came undone. His voice got closer, until he undid the last button with his claws.
"You're hot." He pushed her shirt apart, exposing her. "You know.... you're not that bad in a human's eyes. But... in my eyes... you're nothing but a fat, stupid cow—"
Then, just as tears were about to gather behind her blind eyes, cold air washed over her. Vince gasped, falling away from the teenager. She lifted up her head as the breeze, real air, caressed her face tenderly. A choked sob lodged in her throat.
"No... go away..."
Vince fell over, coughing.
"What the hell is this?"
Lydia turned away, her trembling body raw and frayed down to the bone. If she was lucky, this was just another nightmare. Just another dream. Any minute now she'd wake up, breathing heavily and crying. Any minute now Vince or Michelle would start laughing at her.
Any minute now.
Familiar dark chuckles bubbled around her. They were everywhere. The breeze sucked itself away, the heat returning, and the air was stale again. Lydia's eyes were wild, searching for a sound, struggling to see.
"Damn, this party sucks." Goose-bumps danced over her skin. Her ears burned when she heard that familiar rasp. "Miss me, babes?"
VI
Betelgeuse was spread over all of New York City in the form of fog. All the people stopped, praying, wondering if something had happened. Betelgeuse heard their frightened whispers, questions others if it was another terrorist attack.
He drifted through the streets until he heard a scream. Lydia's scream. Retracting, the fog moved to the outside of the Rykeil building. Police, fans, and investigators were crowded around the doors, searching for Lydia Deetz.
Pressing against the windows, Betelgeuse shattered the glass, causing the people to jump back. He moved forward, silent as he searched every crack until she screamed again.
It was done. He was there before he even knew it. The first thing he saw was that prick Vince was opening Lydia's shirt. Betelgeuse flew past him, pushing him away like the ghost he was. He touched Lydia, feeling slightly sick when her blind eyes moved frantically.
Smiling, he pulled back, allowing his body to take solid form in the center of the room. He felt young again, his powers so fresh and... good. For now, he didn't pay attention to the swearing Vince. That loser could wait.
What mattered, the only thing that mattered, was Lydia. She kept shaking her head, denying him. Her voice was dry, tired from crying and screaming. He smiled weakly.
"Miss me, babes?"
She coughed, miserable tears rolling down her cheeks.
"You shouldn't have come." Her body went slack, her wrists being held up by her restraints. "I... I... I didn't do anything. I didn't c-c-call you... but you s-still came..."
Betelgeuse was about to speak, to tell her how stupid she was, how much she made him worry, but was pulled down to the ground. The walls glowed, his energy rapidly declining. He blinked, pain shooting though his dead veins.
He let out a low, agonized groan, falling to his knees, his hands reaching for Lydia.
"Mm..." A feminine voice slithered from behind him. "It's been to long since I've sensed a power like yours."
VII
A/N: Well, what did you think? OOC? Lame? Boring? Hate the cliffhanger? Be honest! Oh, and please, if you guys have the time, please check out No Words Were Needed :D. Read and Review!
-mia