WARNING: Mature/DETAILED content ahead.

Okay, people... this was a very difficult chapter to write. Nothing nearly as crazy as other stuff I've read right here on FF so, I hope you can all enjoy this chapter. I've never written smut before so cut me some slack. Although my beta, The Art of Suicide, who is a wonderful writer versed in smut gave this the green light. I think it's safe to say its good enough lol.

I'm still writing chapter 12, which will go into some of Beej's past. Needless to say, trying to translate stuff into middle English is a nightmare. Probably all wrong, but whatever I think it'll be worth it. teehee

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beetlejuice. I'm broke AF.

It was torture. Lying naked on the ground while the woman he had recently come to realize he loved, who kissed him willingly, initiated it no less, was lying next to him and he couldn't do shit about it.

He was scared to move more than an inch of any part of himself. She was so close. Talking her pretty little head off about Annie whoever-the-fuck and college and traveling and god knows what. All he could think about was how to roll over on top of her and fuck her right through her clothes.

I can do it. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

His mantra was interrupted.

"Beej?"

"Huh," He gruffed.

"If I'm borin' ya, just tell me," she said in a gruff voice trying to mock him.

He made a noncommittal sound and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry. I'm driving you crazy, aren't I?" She said, embarrassed.

"You have no fuckin' clue," he replied seriously.

Lydia turned toward him and propped herself up on her elbow.

"Well, fine! I'll shut up then," she incensed and gave him a shove.

"OW!"

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" She apologized and started softly stroking where his shoulder met his chest.

This is hell. I'm in hell, he thought as she caressed him.

Lydia eyed his muscled chest. She imagined running her fingers through his chest hair and wondering what he'd do if she did. I mean, he can't move, she thought deviously.

"So, where'd you get these muscles, Beej? From that muffin top you're sporting, I thought you'd have more of a StayPuff Marshmellow Man thing going on."

She watched, amused, as he fluttered his eyelids in annoyance.

"Liftin' bodies of my victims who were dumb enough to point out my flabby physique." Her eyes widened in alarm. Then, he slowly turned his face to her, looked into her eyes, and gave her a warning grin.

"I wouldn't put it passed you," she said cautiously. "So you were a grave digger? EMT?" she joked.

He chuckled at the thought of himself driving an ambulance.

"Why the sudden curiosity?" He said as he eyed the small, pale hand still lightly caressing him.

She shrugged and removed her hand from his person. The downward pull in the corner of his lips did not go unnoticed. "You know more about me than I do about you."

"Yeah, don't think I didn't notice you talked about everything under the sun except that boyfriend you said you had," he grumbled.

Lydia raised her eyebrows in surprise. I think someone sounds jealous.

"I never said I had a boyfriend," she replied coyly, full of mischief.

He tried and failed to disguise the victorious smirk that was forming on his face. No boyfriend. Good. Not that it'd matter anyway.

"Tell me about your wife," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Betelgeuse flinched. Yep. That was as good as a cold shower.

It was obvious how she guessed he had been married. Shit, he pulled the wedding band off her cold, dead finger right in front of Lydia.

"Blech," he grunted in disgust, avoiding her gaze "why?"

"Fine," she responded dejectedly, "I just wanted to get to know you, but whatever." She pushed herself up to standing and he immediately felt the emptiness at his side.

"Carny." He said dryly.

She looked down at him with a furrowed brow.

"That was her name?"

"No, dumdum. I was a carny." He offered no further explanation.

The thought of him dressed as a clown inspired a bout of muffled girlish giggles.

"I was not a clown," he interjected as if reading her mind. "I mean, I did fill in for the guy every once in awhile but-"

She started laughing in earnest now. His bored expression never wavered as he waited for her to work through her hysterical fit.

"Okay," she calmed herself. "Everything's coming together now. If you weren't a clown, what did you do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he smiled mischievously.

"You're such a pain."

"Tell me about your not boyfriend, and I'll tell ya."

She bit her lip and wondered how much she should say. He was obviously not going to divulge much. Thinking of Chris now felt so odd to her. It was like she was remembering someone from a distant past.

"Okay, well, he's twenty."

"Cougar." He chuckled.

"Says the would be cradle robber?" His mouth dropped open ready to defend himself but she didn't let him. "You know exactly how old I am! Did you know then?"

"Uh, yeah?" he said, not sure he should have been honest.

"You would have sullied a young maiden," she said with a horrible British accent.

He groaned in pain again as a laugh ripped through him.

"Don't make me laugh. It hurts. Like your maidenhead ain't already been popped."

Lydia was horrified. "How'd you know that?"

"I didn't," he waggled his eyebrows.

"You fucker."

Another wave of chuckles had him grimacing. Lydia shook her head, annoyed with herself. Then a thought occurred to her.

"What would my wifely duties include after we get married?" she asked.

Betelgeuse went still. He hadn't thought she actually, truly meant to go through with the deal. Trying his best to remain nonchalant, he cleared his throat and sniffed.

"Well-ah, you know, the usual. I expect dinner and foot rubs after a hard days work."

Lydia sat cross-legged next to him. "I'm serious. We've never talked about what happens… after."

He gave her a leer. "What would ya like to happen?"

She rolled her eyes. "Could you give me a straight answer for once?"

He grew serious for a moment. "Nothin'. Nothin' happens," he sighed.

"Nothing? I have a hard time believing that."

"Marriage of inconvenience. I meant it. In name only. I mean, you already told me what touching the likes of us feels like. Imagine what fucking would be like."

Lydia pursed her lips together trying not to react to his blunt revelation. The thought of him on top of her, thrusting away, made her want to jump his bones right then and there. The numbing sensation she remembered from hugging Adam and Barbara made her frown.

While Betelgeuse had been asleep healing, she tried to decipher what she felt for him. Lust was certainly the dominant emotion. When she thought about how little she knew of him, she reasoned that her feelings stemmed from the wondrous feats he was capable of performing. Being dead made him the most interesting man she had ever crushed on. Not to mention his completely uninhibited nature; never hiding who he was, always saying what was on his mind, his overly inflated self-confidence- all qualities that were as maddening as they were sexy.

"You're actually thinking about us fucking?" he wondered aloud, stunned.

This brought Lydia out of her reverie.

"You never answered my question," she deadpanned.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Hold on here!" He argued. "Answer that question!" he yelled.

She stood up and he lunged for her as she backed away from him. He dropped onto his side curled in the fetal position as his muscles visibly spasmed in agony.

"So, you're telling me," she mused aloud as he rocked himself gently on the floor, "that this might be the only chance I get to know what the ghost with most is like in the sack?"

His eyes shot open and he whipped his head up to meet her gaze. There was strange glint her eye that made him gnaw at his lower lip.

"Witch," he shot out, "get your perfect little ass over here and I'll show you what I got the most of."

Lydia could feel her heart quicken at the lurid threat. "Answer my question."

He growled in frustration. "What question?! I can't fucking remember!"

"What was your wife like?"

"Oh. My. Fucking. God! She was some chick I knocked up. It lasted, like, a month. Left me after she lost the kid. I can't even remember her name right now! There! YA HAPPY?!" He slammed his head back down on the ground and snarled.

For some reason, Lydia felt relieved. It saddened her that he had been robbed of a family in life, but was glad that he had told the truth when he said she meant nothing to him. Lydia definitely didn't need a scorned ghost wife haunting her for what she was about to do.

It took everything in her to stand her ground and torture him just a little bit more.

"Too bad you're still in pain. Guess we can't do much now anyway," she teased.

"Lydia Deetz," he cautioned, "Do not. Fuck with me."

"What if that's exactly what I wanna do?" She admitted very quietly.

The confession did not go unheard. When he examined her again he noted that her breathing was somewhat erratic, dark eyes glazed over with something sultry and promising. He shook his head slowly and a lazy, predatory grin cut across his face.

"I warned ya," he said with a dangerous sweetness in his voice before mentally bracing himself for the discomfort he was about to feel. He ripped the blanket off, exposing his naked form, and pitched himself forward onto all fours.

Lydia only had enough time to gasp as Betelgeuse snarled again and pushed himself up from the ground to a standing position. The holes were mostly closed by now but still looked serious. He swayed a moment and looked like he was about to faint, but the madman regained his balance. Lydia's eyes were locked on his erection that was pointing right at her.

"Oh fuck," she breathed. Just when she was about to make a run for it, Betelgeuse went in for the kill. He slammed himself into her making them fall against the wall of dirt behind her. She screamed from the exhilaration of it all as he hoisted up her legs around him and chomped down on her neck.

Pain from her neck and pleasure from her solar plexus met in the middle causing her to moan into his hair.

Betelgeuse could hardly think straight. Everything he was doing was out of sheer willpower. The pain was excruciating but his need to have his way with her was greater.

It'll go away. It'll go away, he reasoned, just like this opportunity if you don't take it right the fuck now.

It wasn't often that his conscience was loud enough to listen to. Even when it was, he'd mostly ignored it. However, it was loud enough now and he knew exactly what sensations felt like while aetherial projecting.

Whatever pain or pleasure she felt would be amplified tenfold. Her physical and spiritual body where both feeling the effects of everything emotional and what she was understanding as physical. She didn't have a chance to stop him now and might certainly regret it later.

Don't you fucking say a word. Just fuck her senseless and deal with it later.

"Lydia," He rasped into her neck.

"Betelgeuse," she groaned.

He almost lost himself completely.

"Listen to me. Don't make another goddam sound or this," he thrust against her, "is happening. You understand me? You better hit me over the head with somethin' - real hard. Yer not in yer right mind."

He dug his fingers into the meat of her ass as hard as he could to get the point across.

Lydia winced as the pleasure was now being taken over by pain. It was unbearable.

"No," she whimpered.

Betelgeuse was shocked that he was able to freeze at the barely audible word. It had sent fear right through him and he was quickly regretting warning her.

"Keep going," she pleaded into his ear, " just fuck me already."

That was the end of him. "You betcha."

Her mouth found his and he savagely plundered it with his tongue. He thrusted against her, eliciting delicious moans from her again. She could feel his hard member bruising her through her jeans.

He bit her lower lip and she cried out. Pain and pleasure driving her wild, she grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back.

He gritted his teeth and she took a moment to look into his eyes. He was like a rabid animal, holding nothing back. She could see his madness in all its wild glory behind his expressive blue eyes and it set her on fire.

"Clothes," she demanded, voice hoarse with desire.

He spun them around and tossed her on the couch. She growled from the sudden separation but stilled when she got another eyeful of his naked girth.

When she grew impatient she looked up at his face, which was frozen in what looked like reverence. She looked down at herself and saw that her clothes had vanished.

She gave him an evil smile as she slowly got onto the balls of her feet and opened for him, arching herself against the backrest of the couch.

He hissed and shook his head slowly, then he dove right for her, buried his head between her thighs and clamped onto her eager clit.

Groaning into her as he lapped away like the manic mongrel he was, Lydia threw her head back as stars burst behind her eyelids.

Her fingers desperately trying to anchor her as she lost all sense of herself. A strangled cry escaped her as her climax overcame her all too quickly.

Unrelentingly, Betelgeuse plunged his tongue inside her, letting her clenching walls clasp around it.

"Fuck!" Lydia let out another guttural cry as another wave of pleasure crashed over her.

"Oh-fucking-shit," she groaned, "stop… I'm…" and another. She mewled as she fought for sanity, desperately trying to push the devil away from her.

"Stop-stop-stop," she panted in quick succession.

When he didn't hear or just wouldn't listen, she grabbed him by the hair again and pulled him up toward her. The force of his landing sent the sorry excuse of a couch toppling backward.

A dust cloud enveloped them as soon as they hit the ground obscuring them from each other's view. Worried he may have caused her pain from landing square on top of her, Betelgeuse pushed himself off of Lydia and started waving his arms in an attempt to clear the air. He could have sworn he heard her sniveling.

"Shit, babe, you okay?" he asked concerned. He bent over her and started to move her hair out of her face. He was sure she was crying, and as the dust settled he saw that she was indeed crying... from laughter. He exhaled in relief and collapsed on top of her, no longer able to keep himself up.

Her laugh was infectious and before long he was chuckling along with her. They stayed that way for a few minutes until Lydia found some sobriety and wrapped her arms around him. Gently, she raked her nails on is back and scalp. He groaned into the dirt floor then turned his face into her neck and nibbled away at her, leaving kisses over every bite.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, beginning to feel her libido rising again.

"Mhm," he returned, drunk on pain and desire.

"Still hurting?" She inquired, hoping the answer was, no.

"Mhm."

"You should rest," she said sadly.

"Nuh-uh. We're not done here."

"No, we're not," she giggled again. "Can you get to the bed?"

Betelgeuse was half expecting her to call everything off, so he was elated to know she intended on continuing the sexcapade. That alone gave him the strength he needed to get up off the ground. His balance was still off, so he used the dirt wall to steady himself and extend a hand toward Lydia. She took it but didn't use it for support, afraid they'd go tumbling to the ground again. Once she was up he pulled her to him and crushed his mouth to hers, using his free hand to dig into the back of her head and press her closer.

His tongue licked her lips, requesting entrance and she opened for him instantly. She flushed her body against his, pushing him flat against the dirt wall. She pulled away leaving her hand on his chest so that he wouldn't close the space between them. She looked into his eyes as the hand that rested on his chest traveled downward painfully slow. Avoiding the dents still visible on him, she grazed her nails through his chest hair, down over his paunch, and still lower until she reached her target.

Keeping eye contact, he let out choked grunt as she wrapped her hand around him. His eyes fluttered closed as she began to stroke him, only for him to snap them open again, not wanting to miss a thing.

For once, he was glad for the pain because it was keeping his orgasm at bay. Still, he was dangerously close.

"Bed," he commanded, "now."

Lydia smiled as she bit her lower lip and shook her head slightly.

"Nu-uh. We're not done here."

Betelgeuse knocked his head against the wall behind him as soon as Lydia dropped to the ground. Without the least bit of hesitation, she took him into her mouth and he groaned in ecstasy. He was quickly losing control so he started repeatedly thumping his head against the wall, hoping the pain would keep him in check.

After a few moments of sucking and swirling her tongue around him, Betelgeuse felt her hand cup his balls.

"Fuuuck," he husked as he brought his gaze down. He immediately realized it was a bad idea. After her head bobbed before him for the third time, he nearly went cross-eyed as he fought down the urge to come.

"Okay-okay. Come back up here," he rasped. She picked up her speed instead.

She-devil, he thought as his vision started to blur. He couldn't stop her and he could no longer say anything coherent so, between his desperate grunts and thrusts, he dug his fingernails into the earth behind him. When her tongue slid into his slit, he shouted as euphoria took over him.

His knees buckled and Lydia released him as he slid to the floor. "Quick for you too, huh?"

"Yeah, well, it's been awhile," he muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Really?" she asked wondering what to make of that.

Looking at her now, he knew what her expectations of him were. It wasn't like he'd taken great pains into showing her he was something other than a handsy manwhore. Still, the look in her eyes made him feel… inadequate.

It was true that the Inferno Room was his last lay, right under her goddamn roof but not because he was holding out for someone special or anything.

"Yeah, you know, took a break. Women. They get a taste of this," he thumbed to himself, "they get too clingy." He didn't have the energy to sound very convincing.

The face she gave him now told him she wasn't buying it. What was he supposed to say? That he'd been celibate since he last saw her? That would give her the wrong idea. He also needed to protect his pride, so he did the next best thing and changed the subject.

"Now let's fuck already," he murmured "you're driving me fuckin' nuts."

The spark was back in an instant. Lydia gave him a feral grin. "I hear a lot of talking and not enough doing."

"Ohohoho… I'm gonna do your fuckin' brains out."

Lydia lifted her hand, opening and closing it like a hand puppet while she mouthed "blah blah blah."

Betelgeuse barked out a laugh, yanked them both to standing and threw Lydia over his shoulder. "Ah! You're insane," she laughed.

"You're a naughty girl," he purred, "gotta set ya straight." He gave her a swift spank on one cheek and walked quickly to the old twin bed sitting in the corner.

He threw her down on the springy mattress that caused her to bounce a few times before she settled. He looked down at her filthy naked body that was caked with dirt and was immediately turned on again.

"Dirty girl, too." He licked his lips. Lifting one of her legs out of the way and settling himself between her thighs.

Bracing his arms on either side of her, he started a trail of kisses over her abdomen.

Lydia couldn't help but smile. He's being so sweet.

Suddenly, he latched onto her nipple and ran his tongue over it with lightning speed. Her whole body jolted. Then, he gave it a little bite.

Okay! Not so sweet. Fuck-fuck—

She combusted again. "Oh god," she exclaimed breathlessly.

"You can call me that anytime, babe, anytime."

"Damn it!"

He could tell she was frustrated. "Was the matter?"

Lydia shut her eyes tight. "It's too much. I don't think I can do this."

Betelgeuse couldn't help but laugh at her confession. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Okay. I'll stop torturin' ya. Let's see." He got up on his knees and brought a hand down to her abdomen.

He closed his eyes and assessed her. Lydia's solar plexus was a tangled mess, pulsing in frayed and jagged edges.

He opened his eyes and gave Lydia a smug smile.

"Nice ta know what I do ta ya, Lyds. Scrambled ya up real good."

Before she could retort, he put an index finger down and traced a clockwise spiral on her.

"That feels nice," she said languidly. Then she felt something shift within her. "Whoa! What was that?"

He kept going until he reached her belly button. "Boop!" He finished with a light tap.

Lydia felt good. She felt centered and more aware of her surroundings. She was also more aware of the ghost before her and blushed.

Betelgeuse was hoping against hope that she wouldn't come to her senses too much and end things before he could get laid. Still, he waited for her to speak.

"I feel… better?"

Aaaaaaaand… he thought, bracing himself for the rest.

"Um, I don't usually, uh, do this kinda thing."

There it is.

He wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Do what kinda thing?" Hoping to get her riled up again, he caressed her thigh.

"Sleep with guys I hardly know," she said quietly.

It didn't escape him that Lydia still hadn't asked him to move away, or put clothes on, or close her legs.

"I ain't judgin'." Leaning over her again and placing his hands on either side of her, he stopped a hair's breadth away from her lips.

Lydia knew he really wasn't judging. It's what made it so easy for her to do everything they'd done up until now. There were so many questions that needed answering. It was clear to her that Betelgeuse had no intention of wanting anything more from her once he had his freedom.

If I give him his freedom…

There was no way to have a physical relationship once she was back in her body. If she slept with him now, it'd be like one-night stand. Though it wasn't altogether clear what kind of relationship they'd have after it was all over, she also wondered what would happen if they failed their mission.

Everything he'd done for her was because there was a reward. Right? There was, however, something so open and honest about him. Lydia felt conflicted.

Betelgeuse was still waiting, watching as she deliberated her next move. The energy he was using to keep still was waning, however, and he would collapse on top her if she didn't do something soon.

And then things will really take a turn.

Lydia placed her hands on his chest and gave him a gentle push. He sighed in disappointment, but gave her a quick peck on the lips anyway and rolled onto his side, setting her free. It surprised him when she turned to face him instead of running like hell from the bed.

Now that his mind was not as occupied, he felt the pain more acutely. It wasn't as bad as it was, but he was glad to be still once more.

Would've been happier if I'd scored, though, he lamented.

The bed was small so they were still touching. He was in hell again. Lydia gave him a smirk as if she knew what he was thinking.

"I guess you're not mad," she quipped.

"Mad?" he scoffed, "I made out like a bandit! Gave some, got some. Now I'm in bed with a beautiful naked woman." Betelgeuse watched her light up at the compliment.

From what Lydia could tell, Betelgeuse seemed satisfied. Not at all like others she'd fooled around with whose attitude completely changed after realizing she wouldn't put out. His casual demeanor made her feel comfortable lying there naked with him. For a moment she was tempted to crawl into his arms.

"How cute," croaked a voice nearby.

Lydia and Betelgeuse shot up to sitting and faced the intruder. Juno was standing near the toppled couch and staring them down with annoyance.

Lydia backed into her bedmate and tried covering herself with her arms. Betelgeuse made no such attempt to cover his own nudity. Instead, he placed an arm around Lydia's shoulders and gave Juno a proud grin.

"Hey, ma!" He greeted brightly.

Lydia looked from Juno to Betelgeuse.

"She's your mother?"

"No," the older woman answered flatly.

"I clearly recall you saying you loved me like a son. The one time," he bantered and pointed a finger at her.

Juno looked like she was about to breathe fire. Instead, her eye twitched. "Here I was, thinking you were an intelligent girl."

"Hey," he barked, "leave her alone!" Betelgeuse snapped his fingers and clothed Lydia in her usual outfit. He left himself in the nude to irk his surrogate mother some more.

Juno quirked an eyebrow and shook her head. "Bart was apprehended for severely injuring civilians."

"Good. Hope they stick'm in a hole just like this one for three and half centuries."

"Don't think they didn't sing about who let loose a bunch angry swamp creatures on them."

Betelgeuse reclined back on the bed and got comfortable. "Oh yeah? Who did that?"

"A striped suit asshole!" She yelled at him.

Betelgeuse chuckled. "Good times."

"Are they okay?" Lydia asked concerned.

Betelgeuse flinched. Of course, his sweet dark angel would care if innocent deadbeats had been harmed.

"I suppose no worse than this willful idiot is right now," Juno glowered. "You should be resting not fooling around."

Lydia had forgotten that Betelgeuse had been in agony only moments ago. Feeling suddenly guilty, she frowned.

"Are you okay, Beej?" She turned to look at him only to find him with his eyes closed and a smirk on his face.

"Peachy, babe," he responded suavely.

Juno charged right for them and grabbed Betelgeuse by the big toe, dragging him off the bed. He landed on the ground with a thump and curled up immediately, wracked in pain.

"ARGH! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Peachy, you say?! Wouldn't have been able to do that if you were peachy!"

Lydia darted to his side. "Stop it! Beej, you alright?"

"No," he whimpered. "Kiss it better." He puckered his lips at Lydia who only frowned.

"This fool needs to get back to a hundred percent and fast. If you're going to go through with this fruitless endeavor, it needs to be done soon! Bart is a tricky bastard. He's not going to let this go. He's been a problem for years and he has it out for you."

"But you said he's been apprehended!" cried Lydia.

"He'll just be reassigned. If he gets demoted… there's really nothing stopping him from coming after you again. He thinks it's his God-given duty to keep souls in line. Betelgeuse has been on his shitlist for centuries! Believe you me, Lydia, you're on that list now, too."

Juno stopped her tirade just to make sure they were both paying attention. "He meant to kill you back there," she said seriously. "If time and your parents won't kill you… he will."

Lydia felt something unravel in her midsection.

"He's not that stupid," Betelgeuse retorted dryly.

Juno looked down to meet his gaze. "Had it not been for Lydia's Banshee Cry and my transfer… you didn't see him, Chavi." She shuddered. "The look in his eyes... he was aiming for her. Not you."

Betelgeuse saw red. In a flash he was standing across the room from them in his striped suit, looking very dead and very dangerous. "Where is he?"

"Don't waste your time or your energy. You don't have much of either. I'll try to delay the proceedings. You get her to Saint Joseph's Hospital. How are you going to do it?"

Betelgeuse tried to look casual as he leaned against the dirt wall behind him. "Scuzzo's funhouse. Then, I'll find a crack and push her through."

Juno chewed her lip trying to find a flaw. It was a simple plan, which worried her.

"Scuzzo can't be trusted," she said warning him.

"Pft. Like I don't know that?"

"Fine. Seems like a decent plan. You have two more days, tops."

"I know."

Without even a goodbye, Juno faded from sight. Lydia collapsed onto the bed and buried her head in her hands.

"He's going to kill me," she whispered.

"That's not gonna happen-"

Lydia stood up and started pacing. "He would have! You heard her! We were sitting ducks! You wouldn't have been able to save me a second time! I need - I need to learn how to defend myself!"

Betelgeuse snatched her by the hand as she walked by and brought her close. Nodding in agreement, he placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Okay," was all he said.

In a dark holding cell, Bartholomew was sobbing. Everything had gone so terribly wrong. All of his efforts had been laid to waste. It was a terrible misunderstanding. He was the good guy. Yes, he inadvertently harmed others in the process but they were already dead and it was for a righteous cause.

"Why does this always h-h-happen to m-m-meeeee! I always do m-m-my b-b-best. And I get punished."

"Stop sniveling in there! You're driving us up the wall!" shouted another prisoner. A chorus of "Yeah!" and "Shut the fuck up!" followed suit.

Bartholow threw himself at the bars of his cell and yelled back. "You're all heathens! Filthy, filthy heathens and you will all pay! I am a caseworker! Know your place!"

The other prisoners started laughing. "You're nothin' but a slave!" one shouted back. "Didn't have the stones to make it as a breather! Coward!" The laughing erupted again.

"Always laughing," he seethed, "always laughing at me." A vision of Betelgeuse laughing at him filled him with rage. "I must stop them. Capture them. If they won't get punished, then I have to do it. There must be some justice! It can't all be for nothing!" Bartholomew fell to the ground and whimpered.

A whisper filled the air around him. "Bartholomew…" it called, "Bartholomew…"

Bartholomew looked around wildly looking for the source. "Y-y-yes?"

"Justice must be served. You are the hand of justice. It is your destiny."

"Who's there? Who are you?"

"Do you not know me? I've known you since your beginning."

"My… Lord? Is it you, Father God?" he whispered back.

"My son…"

Bartholomew laughed and cried with glee for his time had finally come at last.