AN: In answer to your question, DragonEmperor, Lipscum is pretty much the annoying tagalong you see in a great many cartoons. You know, the little kid following everyone else going "Can I come too? Huh? Can I can I can I?". Whether it's the team of BJ's arch enemies known as SNOTRAG, or even Beetlejuice himself, Lipscum wants to be included. He's not much of a threat, but does manage the occasional successful bit of mischief, like when he nearly stole the proceeds from Beetlejuice's Smell-a-thon, or (as he mentioned himself) when he tricked BJ into saying "I'm coming apart at the seams" as part of SNOTRAG's master plan to get rid of him.


Lucy

"Alright...how exactly am I going to go about this?" Bartholomew Bat wondered quietly, sitting at the counter of a diner, a cup of cough-ee sitting beside him. He was looking through the folder with the profiles of the Loud family, a frown on his face as he tapped his fingers on the counter. "We need to keep Beetle-Brain out of the NeitherWorld...and this family is the key to that. However, with so many of them, if they really are here, I don't think any one of us could do anything with them...at least, not while they're together. I'd need to get them separated and pick one of them off...but how?" He picked up his cup, waited for the liquid inside to stop coughing, then took a sip.

"Do you happen to have blood sausage?" Lucy asked the headless waitress, whose head was resting on the counter.

"Of course, sweetie," She replied with a bright smile. "It comes with eggs and toast. How would you like them?"

"I'll just have the sausage, thank you. To go, please," The young goth replied, taking a seat not far from the cartoon bat person.

"Blood sausage, eh? You got good taste, kid," Bartholomew told her, not looking away from the folder.

"Thanks," She turned to look at the one who had spoken. "...you're a bat."

"Not just any bat," He responded, closing the file and turning to face her. "Names Bartholomew Bat, one of the greatest cartoon villains."

"You're a cartoon character?"

"Yeah...you mean, you never heard of me?" The bat man asked, looking somewhat downcast.

"I'm not much of a cartoon person, plus this is my first visit to the NeitherWorld," Lucy answered in her usual monotone.

"Oh. Well, that makes sense then," He said, a bit more relieved, turning back to his own cup. "So, how'd it happen to you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"How did you die?" He asked again.

"I'm not dead." She answered simply.

"Really? You look dead." Bartholomew told her, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you." The little goth said, taking that for a compliment. Meanwhile, their conversation seemed to have attracted the attention of someone near the front entrance of the diner: a small person covered with a hood and cloak turned slightly, listening in as the goth girl and the cartoon villain spoke.

"So, what're you doing here?" The fancy dressed cartoon bat inquired.

"Just visiting with my family." She answered vaguely. She wasn't foolish enough to tell a complete stranger she was currently exploring the NeitherWorld all by herself. Bartholomew's ears twitched when he heard that.

'Visiting with family?' He turned to look at Lucy again as she collected her to go container and paid, then hastily looked into the folder. 'She's one of them! She's one of the livies who crossed over!' A big, toothy grin appeared on his face, which was hidden by the folder. He watched as Lucy left the diner, just like the hooded spirit by the door.

"A little snack and I'll be ready to begin my search." The eight year old lover of the occult said quietly to herself as she emerged from the diner.

"That's what you think!" Lucy blinked and turned to see Ginger standing beside her, hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face.

"Ginger? What are you doing here?"

"I followed you, and for good reason!" The pink spider started waving her finger at her while scolding her. "Lucy, what are you thinking, going off without yer sisters!? The NeitherWorld is a dangerous place fer the living, especially fer a little kid like you!"

"My apologies, Ginger, but I need to find my Great Grandmother Harriet." She answered flatly.

"Not all by yerself, you're not," Ginger told her firmly. Lucy looked down at the little spider, the gears turning in her head before a tiny smile appeared on her face.

"Then perhaps you could accompany me," She suggested. "Lincoln told me about how you handled that big hairy monster when he first came to the NeitherWorld. He said you were incredible."

"Huh? He did?" Ginger asked in utter surprise, thrown off her game.

"He did. And if you can handle that guy, you could handle pretty much anything, right?" The gothic Loud asked her, trying to butter her up even more.

"Oh, well, it's all a matter of having confidence and letting them know yer not afraid. Doesn't hurt he's a friend of mine." Ginger said with a soft chuckle and smile.

"And those perfect teeth...I bet you give one heck of a bite."

"Hehehe. I don't like to brag, but kinda," The spider said with a giggle. "I'm a practicing kick boxer too," She added, showing off a few moves to Lucy, whose smile grew.

'Got her,' She thought to herself, before saying aloud, "Very impressive. With you with me, I'd be perfectly safe."

"Weeeeeell...ok. So, where can we find your Great Grandmother?" The eight year old aspiring witch flinched at this. Lucky for her, her hair covered her eyes, so Ginger couldn't see the panic in them.

"I know the way to her usual haunts...no pun intended. Climb aboard." She patted her shoulder. "I'll lead the way." This was a major bluff, but it seemed the pink spider bought it, climbing up to rest on Lucy's shoulder. As soon as the goth girl left, Bartholomew emerged from the diner, grinning ear to ear.

"So...the little girl is all by her lonesome, trying to find her way to Granny's House," He exposited as he snickered cruelly. "Well, she better be careful, because this city is the stomping ground of the Big Bad Bat. I'll take her prisoner and, through her, get Beetlejuice to swear to stay out of the hereafter forevermore." He was about to swoop off into the shadows when he paused and scratched his head with a finger as he wondered "Why do I keep stateing my plans out loud when no one is around?" He shrugged after a few seconds and faded into the darkness. Meanwhile, the cloaked figure had heard the whole thing from the door.

"Typical cartoon villain behavior...Under normal circumstances involving that punk Beetlejuice, I wouldn't give a bat's behind," An elderly woman's voice said as she left some money on her table. "...but threatening a little girl...that's not going to stand with me. Looks like I'll have to get personally involved…"


A few minutes later, Lucy is strolling down Slime Boulevard, trying to make it look like she knew where she was going as she passed by the undead citizens of the city. Up ahead, Bartholomew was painting a big, red X on the sidewalk. He grinned as he looked up at a large cage suspended over the X before creeping into the nearest alley. He was snickering as he waited when he heard a voice ask from right behind him "What are you up to, Bartholomew?" He stopped and turned his head. Lucy was standing right there behind him. He gave a yelp of shock and surprise, stumbling forward out of the alley. He landed right on top of the X, which caused the cage to fall right on top of him. He looked up at his predicament and frowned, steam rising from his head just as Lucy and Ginger came wandering up.

"Hello again." She deadpanned as she walked around the bat in the cage. The bat man shook his head in disbelief, looking at the little girl, then down the alleyway. He took off his glasses, quickly polished them with a rag (his pupils disappearing in the process), then put them back on again for another look. He didn't understand what just happened, but one thing was certain: he wasn't giving up yet.


The two came upon a store called Hazel's Pantry; a sizable grocery store for the discerning witch in need of quality ingredients, reagents, witchcraft equipment, and cat food (at least, that's what Ginger told her). This seemed a likely place to find Harriet in her greatest admirer's eyes. However, when she stepped into the shop, she immediately became aware of how big it was on the inside: it was like a warehouse packed to the brim with shelves upon shelves of everything a witch could need to work her magic. Finding her Great Grandmother wouldn't be easy in here. Fortunately, Ginger could see an employee up ahead sweeping around the herb section. "Excuse me." The tap dancing spider said, trying to get the worker's attention. When he turned, it was a bat in a tall pointed hat, a white shirt, black pants and shoes, a black apron, and a big old mustache.

"Good day. How may I help you today?" He asked in a youthful, high pitched voice.

"Have you seen a witch named Harriet around here today?"

"Why yes. I believe she went into the back, for the good stuff," He told them, gesturing toward the back warehouse.

"Thank you." Lucy gave a small nod of her head along with her thanks as she and Ginger headed for the backroom. Once they were out of sight, he smirked toward the fourth wall and pulled off his mustache, revealing himself to be Bartholomew. He winked to the viewers as he pulled a net from behind his back and slunk into the stock room. If the main store was packed, the backroom was a literal maze. As a result, Lucy and Ginger were wandering about utterly lost. As the two meandered between a palette of cauldrons and a palette of cat food, the bat fiend tip toed his way over, a maniacal grin on his face. However, when he got there, not only were Lucy and her arachnid friend gone, but he spotted the goth girl clear on the other side of the warehouse. He blinked and quietly ran in that direction to investigate.

"She's not over here...maybe she's over by the staves." Bartholomew skidded to a stop. That sounded like the eight year old aspiring witch, but it was coming from behind him. He turned around just in time to see a brief glimpse of the child and the spider.

'That can't be right...she was right over th-' He looked back to where he had been headed, but there was no one there. Three question marks popped up over the bat ghost's head before he went to go see where Lucy had gone. However, when he got there, there was no sign of her by the staves.

"Looking for someone?" Bartholomew screeched in fear, jumping forward and clutching his chest.

"What're ya trying to do? Give a vampire bat a heart attack!?" He snapped, turning to face Lucy, breathing heavily. "...Wait...how are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" The raven haired spiritualist asked with a slightly slanted head.

"You were over there…" He pointed to where he had thought he saw her before. "...then I saw you walk over yonder…" He turned his whole body to point toward the wooden magical walking sticks. "...and now you're-" He turned back around to look at...nothing. She was gone again. The cartoon bat's eye started to twitch. This went on for another ten minutes, with Bartholomew chasing after the fifth youngest of the sisters at one place, only to see her someplace else, go after her there, and see her someplace entirely different. It was driving him battier than usual, to the point where he almost didn't notice that she and Ginger had left the warehouse.


After they had abandoned Hazel's Pantry, Lucy told her eight legged guardian that the next place they could try to find her was a fair distance away (mostly to give herself time to think of where to go), so she rented a bicycle to get them around faster. The young goth's mind raced as she pedalled through the NeitherWorld, nearly having a panic attack when she saw her brother and Lydia across the street. Fortunately, it looked like they hadn't seen her. "Where did you say we was headed again?" Ginger asked as she rode in the front basket of the bike.

"Oh...uh...we're looking for a popular witch's club," Lucy fibbed as she kept on pedalling.

"Oh! I know where that is. Turn right down this side street. It'll get us there a little faster" Ginger pointed at a small one way road just ahead.

'How lucky can I get?' The girl in black thought, sighing with relief. From up on the rooftops, Bartholomew was watching them as they rolled along. He had a toothy smirk on his face as he dashed and glided along the rooftops to get ahead of them, landing on the other side of the way, where the road curved to the right. From his cape, he pulled out a large paint can labeled 'Tunnel Paint'. He quickly popped it open and hastily painted what looked like a tunnel through the building before him against the wall. He snickered to himself as he hid the paint can, and then himself, in a trash can nearby.

"Alright. We're gonna need to go around this-oh. Wait. No we don't," Ginger said as she spotted the newly painted tunnel. "Looks like someone put in a tunnel here. Isn't that convenient?" She added with a smile. Bartholomew had to cover his mouth to hide his guffaws as he heard the bike approach. Closer...closer...closer…further? He blinked, his laughter dying almost immediately. The black and white cartoon fiend poked his head out of the can and what he saw made his eyes pop out of his head. Lucy had ridden her bike all the way through the tunnel. Now he was getting fed up. He sprang out of the tin can, backed up for a running start, then surged forward right at his own creation. He ran as fast as he could until SLAM! He ran right into the solid brick wall, flattened like a pancake. Watching him as he peeled himself off the wall, 'Lucy' snickered behind her hand as she snapped her fingers. A car horn suddenly blared, snapping the bat man out of his daze. Reflexively, he leapt out of the path of the tunnel.

"Ha!" He laughed, looking quite smug right before he was run over from behind by a NeitherWorld Taxi. He had forgotten that there was another road there; another road that he was now kissing as little batties flew around his head.


"Alright, Lucy. You might want to wait right here." Ginger said as they came to a stop outside a building that was shaped like a giant witch's cauldron, complete with something bubbling and steaming up top. The sign over the door said 'Toil and Trouble Club'. "I don't think kids, even witch kids, are allowed in here. I'll just pop in and ask anyone if a witch named Harriet is in, or has been in recently."

"Understood," Lucy answered flatly, standing with her arms behind her back on the sidewalk. While the little girl in black waited patiently for the tap dancing spider to make inquiries inside, Bartholomew was leering at her from the rooftop of the office building opposite to the Toil and Trouble Club. He had steam billowing from his pointed ears. Enough was enough. He was going to get this kid if it killed him again. He spread his wings and jumped over the edge, diving toward her like a hawk, his bloodshot eyes locked on her. As a result, he never saw the rope tied to his coat tail. A rope tied to a large, heavy, cast iron cauldron, and a smirking 'Lucy' supervising this all go down from the sideline. Bartholomew was mere inches from the supernatural savvy sister, who had her back to him, when he came to a sudden stop, causing him to jerk forward before swinging back and impacting the wall of the office building. He groaned in pain for a moment, taking a single step from the wall before a horseshoe hit him on the head. Then another. Then two more. Each one left a big black lump on his head, causing him to stagger around a little...just before a horse landed right on top of him. The very confused steed just whinnied before trotting off, leaving the battered bat to scrape himself off the pavement.

"...see you at the races…" He moaned in confusion as he reeled in place before looking up. His pupils suddenly shrank as he spotted something alarming. He pulled out a little umbrella and held it up over his head seconds before he was crushed by the cauldron. Hearing the clang of the iron and crack of cement got Lucy's attention. She spotted the large metal pot in a crater it created in the sidewalk. After making sure the road was clear, she ran over to help the flattened bat get the cauldron off him.

"Bartholomew? Are you alright?" She asked in concern as the villain reinflated himself and took a moment to regain his senses. He took one look at the goth girl and screamed.

"Get away from me!" He screamed, jumping back away from her in terror. It was around this time Ginger had stepped outside of the witch's club, bearing witness to this strange scene from across the street.

"Is something wrong?"

"Stay back!" He held his arms out between him and the confused child. "I don't want anything to do with you! I don't even want to kidnap you anymore!"

"Kidnap her!?" Ginger gasped as she legged it over beside Lucy.

"Kidnap me?"

"Everytime I even went near you, it was nothing but pain, frustration and misery! It's not worth it! I'd rather deal with Beetle-Brain!" He screeched before he flew off like a bat out of hell, leaving an incredibly confused Lucy and Ginger behind.

"Now, what was that all about?" The goth child inquired, scratching her head.

"Oh, I think he's just gotten a bad case of karma, dear," A voice behind them had responded with a soft chortle. The lover of the macabre and the pink spider both turned to see an exact copy of Lucy standing right behind them.

"Huh? You never told me you were twins, Lucy."

"I'm not," Lucy told her, a smile starting to come to her face. Right before their eyes, the child before them seemed to age until she looked like an elderly version of the young goth. A tear trickled down from under her hair. "...Great Grandmother Harriet…"

"In the flesh, dear...so to speak. Now get over here." Harriet said as she held her arms wide open. Without hesitation, Lucy ran in and gave her a big hug, her gothic image completely forgotten.

"Great Grandmother, it's wonderful to see you in person...I've missed you."

"And I've missed you too, Lucy dear. You and all my great grandchildren," She said softly, embracing the eight year old for a couple seconds before holding her at arm's length, a serious expression on her face. "Now, you tell me what you were thinking, coming to the afterlife all by your lonesome and looking for me without someone to watch over you…" Lucy felt a twinge of guilt, with just a hint of fear.

"I...I didn't come alone...I came here with my sisters, my brother, and his girlfriend…"

"Ah...Lincoln and his girlfriend. I have questions about that," The elderly witch said with a bit of a grin, but her disapproving scowl returned in a flash. "But first things first. Ok, you came here with them, but what made you think it was a smart notion to go galavanting around the NeitherWorld without them!?"

"...Ginger came with me." Lucy answered, somewhat pathetically.

"Oh, because a spider can do so much…" Harriet replied sarcastically before looking toward the dancing spider. "...no offense intended, of course, Ginger…" She added in her soft, sweet voice. "...but you have to admit, with your size, what you could do is limited, should someone more threatening than Bartholomew have had dastardly designs for my great granddaughter."

"Uh...none taken, ma'am…

"And anyway, Lucy, not telling your siblings where you had gone...wandering around the NeitherWorld without a clue and hardly any protection...talking to strangers...you were raised with more sense than that." With each point in her deceased great grandmother's angry rant, Lucy flinched more and more, her tears now less of joy and more of sadness. Once the seasoned witch finished her tirade and took a few deep breaths, she placed a hand gently on the vampire lover's shoulder and her voice became calmer. "...I'm not saying I'm not happy to see you, dear. I am. Over the moon about it, because I care deeply about you. But that's why I'm so upset with you too. If I hadn't done my stuff to keep that whacko bat off your case, I don't even want to think what could have happened to you."

"I'm sorry, Great Grandmother Harriet...I just wanted to find you so bad, I wasn't thinking…"

"Apology accepted, dear. Now, how about you, Ginger and I start on our way back to...wherever you left your family? It would be grand to see them all again in person."

"Of course," Lucy replied, in a more happy deadpan than usual, taking her favorite relative by the hand before walking off with her and the tap dancing spider.

"Lovely...oh, and Lucy." The raven haired child turned to look at Harriet. "When you get back home, you're grounded. A whole month," She informed her, simply and sharply.

"...should have seen that coming. Sigh."

"Indeed you should have," Harriet agreed with a firm nod, followed by the sly grin from earlier. "But enough serious business for now...what's the story on the young lady Lincoln is dating?" Hearing this brought a smile back to the face of the young goth girl.

"Her name is Lydia Deetz," Lucy started to explain to her Great Grandmother. "A year or two older than Lincoln, but a really nice girl."

"Lydia, eh? I've heard of her. Some of the residents around here seem quite fond of her, though I've yet to have the pleasure of meeting her. About the only bad thing they had to say of her was the company she kept…"

"Well, I honestly believe Beetlejuice isn't so bad once you get to know him...though I do prefer Lydia's company over his," Lucy said in the pranking poltergeist's defense.

"Oh yes...Lincoln and the beetle breathed hooligan are bound, aren't they?" Harriet inquired sadly, to which the VOM fan nodded once. "A terrible thing to happen to such a nice boy…"

"Lincoln is getting used to it. In fact, he's even learning to cooperate with Beetlejuice...but I digress. We were talking about Lydia. Well, she's a goth, much like myself, albeit not quite as much as I am. And she's seriously talented…" As they continued to walk through the city, Harriet listened with patience and great interest. The more she heard from Lucy, the more she knew she had to meet this Lydia, as well as see Lincoln and congratulate him for courting such a wonderful sounding girl.