Spencers13 2001-2002
PG-13 — Sci-Fi/Fantasy — Action Drama
Story concept, Endri & Kyle © Spencers13
Chapter Nine - No One Is As Bad As They Seem
Beetlejuice dove and swooped between tumbling asteroids, searching for the one that contained the Star Gate. He was certain he would find Endri there. That man wasn't one to trifle with. The ghoul certainly hoped he didn't have another one of those force field balls to shoot at him. If he ended up in one of those again, the consequences would be dire for the Neitherworld, as well as all the people inhabiting it.
Fortunately for him, Beetlejuice could fly by propelling a small amount of his energy away from his body in the vacuum of space. He also didn't need to breathe, throwing his need of a spacesuit out the window. Endri, however, would need such a device too keep him alive and breathing up there. A suit like that would reduce his reaction time by more than half. It would be an easy fight if he was fool enough to try. Beetlejuice smiled to himself. He would be done with all this business in less than five minutes. Maybe this day would only be remembered by him and a select few others?
That would be good.
He stopped suddenly when he caught sight of something up ahead. Endri stood before the great Star Gate embedded into a huge asteroid at its key console. His black trench coat flared out from his waist and was held motionless in the space around him. His long blonde hair also swirled about his head and moved as if he was underwater when he shifted his pose.
Endri wore no spacesuit.
He reached down and unbuttoned the black leather pouch on his right leg and pulled out the last of the keys that needed to be put into place. When he twisted the two ends of the key away from each other, a spark of light issued from within, and it opened, revealing a floating metal sphere inside.
Beetlejuice wasted no time. Pushing away his surprise, he blasted forward and spun his body around just as he reached Endri, kicking him in the back and sending him and the Star Key tumbling away from the console. The tall blonde was only disoriented for a moment. He stopped his forward momentum and spun around without the aid of any thrusters, knowing full well who had attacked him.
"Well, well! Isn't this a surprise? I honestly thought you would have tried to stop me long before now," he said smugly.
Beetlejuice returned his smug grin. "I didn't know you had a map of where the gates were. If I did, I would've stopped you the minute we came to the Neitherworld last night."
Endri's grin did not waver. "Aren't we confident? Well, you're too late! All I have left to do is put the last key in place" He glanced from side to side, his smile fading by the second. "Damn where did it go?"
"Looking for something?" Beetlejuice asked innocently, dangling the Star Key in front of himself.
"Rrrr! Give it back!" Endri spat, extending his hand, palm up.
"And let you destroy my world? I don't think so."
The man shook in rage, closing his extended hand into a fist. "Arrrgh! I will kill you again!" he screamed, bursting forward with incredible speed. His fist caught Beetlejuice across the jaw, and the ghoul lost his grip on the key. It spun wildly deeper into the asteroid field.
An all-out brawl ensued. Punching, kicking and even hair-pulling, anything that would give the other an edge. Beetlejuice dove toward his opponent extending his elbow to catch him across the face, but Endri swerved to the side just in time to let him pass, then followed up by slamming his fists into his back. The ghoul landed face down on a small asteroid, but immediately picked himself up and shot upward to connect his fist to Endri's stomach.
"How is it you can survive up here, anyway?" Beetlejuice asked, dodging Endri's fist.
"Let's just say" he said, bending over backwards to avoid Beetlejuice's kick, "I'm not that different from you."
The ghoul paused for a split second. "You're dead? Ooof!" he huffed as Endri's foot collided with his stomach.
The blonde laughed at him. "You're not as stupid as you look!"
"Why are you doing this?" Beetlejuice asked, delivering a round-house blow to his adversary.
Endri balled his fists together and smashed them against the ghoul's head, knocking him to the side. "All right, I'll tell you."
Both fighters paused and glared at each other across a small distance, both knowing that fighting would be useless when trying to talk.
"I was born hundreds of years ago. My father, when I was only a baby, murdered my mother and me then led a revolt against his own village. I was far too young to know to travel here, the Neitherworld, so I remained on Earth. As soon as I was old enough, I vowed I would get revenge on my father for killing me and my mother. So I traveled about the world, learning how to fight, how to defend myself. I spent over one hundred years in Japan alone, learning their fighting styles. It's beautiful there in the spring time."
"Get on with it!" Beetlejuice shouted.
Endri stifled his rage for a few minutes longer. "Then I found some ancient scrolls in my teachers' dojo. They described of six keys that could be placed into consoles near gates in the Realm of the Dead. They also told the story of how and why the keys and gates were created. I realized that I had found my answer. I would use these creatures to exact my revenge for me! So the rest of my existence was devoted to finding the keys on Earth then finding a way here."
Beetlejuice balled his hands into fists. "But don't you realize if you open all these gates, the Neitherworld will be destroyed?! Your revenge on one person will wipe out every other person on that planet down there!"
Endri shook his head as if trying to clear it. "No no, I don't care about that! I've been waiting all my afterlife for this moment, and I won't let a bakayaro in a bad suit get in my way!"
"Whatever you said, I don't like it!" Beetlejuice shouted, enraged. He lunged for Endri, cracking him across the face and shattering his black sunglasses. His body flew backwards and smacked into a passing asteroid.
For the first time, Beetlejuice was able to look into his foe's eyes. They were sparkling emerald green with deathly, dark rings surrounding them. He would be considered quite handsome if his face wasn't contorted in rage.
Endri glared at him angrily, making his irises glow a menacing green. "Those were expensive!" He pulled his hands down to his right side. They began to glow bright blue as Endri forced more and more of his energy down to his palms and into a destructive ball he intended to hurl right at Beetlejuice.
"SHINE!!" he screamed, swinging his arms back and blasting the ball straight for him.
Beetlejuice was caught off-guard and the energy ball exploded against him, singeing his skin and leaving holes burnt into parts of his clothing. He regained his composure and was about to form an energy ball of his own, when a sound reached his ears from the planet's surface below. It was a scream a woman screaming.
"Lydia!"
Endri laughed at him. "Imagine that! Kyle must have gotten hold of your girl. You're not that bad after all I heard it too."
"She's not my girl!" Beetlejuice shouted.
"Nevertheless, she's in trouble. What will you do? Keep fighting me in our equally-matched battle for hours, or go save her?"
Beetlejuice looked around desperately, trying to find something that would aid him. His eyes came to rest on Endri, and he gave him a lopsided grin. "I'll teach you to kidnap me and my friend and try to destroy my world!" he howled crashing his fist against Endri's jaw, then backing away a few feet.
Endri only rubbed at his cheek a bit. "Hah! Is that the best you have?"
"No, that was just a distraction."
The young ghost stopped his laughing. "Why would you need to distract me?"
"So I could do this!" Beetlejuice shouted, pointing Endri's own gun at him. He fired the force field cartridge at Endri who ducked it just in time.
Laughing once more, the ghost gave Beetlejuice a wide grin. "You missed."
"Did I?" the ghoul smirked, pointing with one of his red-tipped fingers.
Endri glanced down to his belt and saw that the loop of cord the ghoul had hooked to it was rapidly unraveling. He looked back to Beetlejuice with only enough time to snarl his upper lip before he was yanked away.
Wasting no time, Beetlejuice dove back down to the planet while his opponent was occupied.
The force field cartridge blasted into an asteroid and exploded into a spherical field, clipping half of the floating rock off perfectly.
"No" Endri whispered, disbelieving. He fell straight onto the field face first, burning his skin and singeing his clothes. He acted quickly, placing his palms on the field and pushing as hard as he could until he tore away. Floating freely again, he took a few moments to heal the peeling skin on his hands and face. The cord attached to his belt had been severed as soon as the field exploded outward from the cartridge, and now that he had free mobility again, he dashed around the asteroids until he found the Star Key.
"Let me go!" Lydia shouted, struggling with her captor. He simply held her at arms length by her throat, so her meager attempts at striking him fell just inches short.
"Sorry, but I need you to make sure your ghost friend is distracted enough for Endri to complete our mission," Kyle apologized. He looked up just as a lone figure dropped from the clouds and hovered a good twenty feet away.
Beetlejuice saw his friend in the fierce grip of Kyle's hand and boiled with fury. "Lydia!" he called out. "Let her go! It's me you want!"
Kyle laughed. "Actually, no. I think your girlfriend is kinda cute I think I'll take her for myself!" He pulled her close to his body and tried to kiss her, successfully distracting Beetlejuice even further.
"Nooo!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He raised his hands and pointed his palms at Kyle sending a shock wave of energy blasting down towards him. The man released Lydia's neck instantly and fell face first to the ground. He struggled as best he could to get up, but his center of gravity was too strong, and he remained pinned down.
Lydia ran toward Beetlejuice, crying. He landed on the ground in a crouch, then stood up and trotted up to her. "Are you all right? He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked, inspecting her body carefully.
She shook her head, wiping away some tears. "No, I'm fine. But but look what he did to Doomie!"
Beetlejuice looked over to where she had pointed and saw his convertible mangled against the rocks. An angry scowl spread across his face, and he glared over at Kyle still pinned to the ground by his power.
"This ends now!"
"Exactly what I was thinking!"
The two friends looked up to the sky and saw Endri sailing down and landing with ease next to his fallen friend. He stared down at him for a few seconds, curiously.
"Kyle? What's wrong with you?" he asked.
The pinned man couldn't see beyond two inches of dirt and did his best to speak under all the pressure. "He's got me Do something"
Endri turned an angry gaze toward Beetlejuice. "Let him go. Your fight is with me."
"He tried to hurt Lydia."
"But he didn't. Let him go," Endri coaxed.
Beetlejuice raised his clenched fist into the air, then spread his fingers open. "You'll stay to fight me?"
Immediately, Kyle felt the weight leave his body.
"Of course. I've finally found a worthy opponent in you. This is the most fun I've had in over four hundred years!" Endri called across the small distance between them.
Kyle stood up next to his partner, dusting himself off. A look of shock struck his face. "Four hundred years? Wait a minute!" He stared hard at Endri's face. For the first time in over eight years, he saw his eyes without the sunglasses covering them. " You're one of them?!"
"I'm sorry, Kyle," Endri said, truthfully.
"You never told me Why did you lie to me? I thought we were not only partners but best friends too!" Kyle shouted, trying his best to mask the hurt on his face.
Endri balled his hands into fists and held them rigid at his sides. "If I had told you, you wouldn't have agreed to work with me in he first place. You hated my kind too much."
"I really thought I knew you" Kyle trailed off. "So that's why you wore those glasses all the time! Your eyes aren't light sensitive, you just didn't want me to see the rings of death around your eyes!"
"I'm sorry. We can talk later if you want, but right now, I have something I need to take care of." With that, Endri leapt into the air and tackled Beetlejuice to the ground.
The ghoul kicked with both feet, throwing Endri off, then stood. "I'd hate to pound in that pretty face of yours, kid. Why don't we just stop this nonsense before it's too late?" he offered.
Endri laughed wickedly, standing up as well. "You're already too late! I already unlocked the Star Gate! There's no stopping it! The Neitherworld will be destroyed, and there is nothing you can do about it! Hahaha!"
Enraged, Beetlejuice lunged for Endri, kicking him across the face with his thick boot. Their fight raged on the ground, punching and kicking so fast at each other that their movements could hardly be seen.
Beetlejuice kicked Endri in the stomach, and he sailed into the air. However, he didn't come back down. The young ghost taunted the ghoul by waving his hand for him to join him in the sky. Not wanting to be outdone, he flung his body into the air and just barely missed digging his fists into Endri's gut. Laughing, Endri swung his body around and landed his heel into Beetlejuice's ribs sending him earthward again. He landed on his hands and knees, skidding across the rocky ground. When he stood, he noticed a large hole in his pants that seemed to compliment the other rips and tears of his suit so far.
The second he looked back up, Endri was already on top of him, tackling him to the ground once more. They rolled in the dust and pebbles, struggling to overcome one another.
"Please stop!" Lydia shouted over to them. "This isn't doing anyone any good!" Her calls went ignored, however, as the two fighters continued with their brawl.
Beetlejuice crouched and back-flipped a few feet away from Endri. The young ghost pulled his leg back to the side and swung forward. Beetlejuice landed on his feet and swung his leg up as well to defend himself from Endri's attack. Before they ever made contact, however, a new voice rang out.
"ENOUGH!"
The fighters froze in their mid-kick and block stances and stared across at the newcomer. She floated a few feet off the ground in wisps of smoke and glowed an almost pink, translucent pale red. Only her upper body had any definable features, and they were quite beautiful.
"Who the hell are you?" Endri shouted, relaxing his pose to a normal stance.
Beetlejuice relaxed to a normal pose as well but stared disbelieving at the woman.
"No It can't be" he whispered.
The woman floated closer to them. "Yes It is I."
Beetlejuice swallowed his heart. "A Anóra? But how when? I've been looking for you ever since I died! Where were you?!"
Anóra nodded gracefully. "Yes, an explanation is in order." She floated closer still, and paused just feet away. "When I was killed in our village, my spirit appeared here, in the Neitherworld, right in front of a sandworm. No sooner had I died, I was killed a second time when the sandworm devoured me. What was left is what you see before you, only a mass of energy. I could no longer speak or be seen; I simply could float." She paused, saddened by the events. Looking into Beetlejuice's eyes, however, made a smile appear on her translucent face. "I have been following you ever since I found you one day, watching over you so you did not get into too much trouble." Her smile faded quickly. "But I could not stand by and watch father and son fight in such a fashion, so I have used up all of my energy to make myself seen and heard."
"Father?!" Beetlejuice gasped.
"Son?!" Endri shouted.
They stared at each other for a few seconds in complete shock.
Endri spoke up first. "You mean to tell me this-this idiot is my father?!" he shrieked, pointing at the ghoul.
"Watch it, kid," he warned, holding his fist up. "I don't believe it either." Beetlejuice stepped forward a pace. "Anóra" he pleaded, "he can't be my son. I've been faithful to you, even though we weren't together. I've never had any children here."
Anóra smiled down at him. "I know you have, but you do have a son, Nikulás." Beetlejuice gasped aloud. "He is our son. Conceived and born many hundreds of years ago," she finished.
"I haven't gone by that name since I died. You are Anóra! My wife!" he cried, trying to reach out and touch her, but his hands passed right through her.
Endri stepped up at last. "I don't believe any of this! He is not my father, and you are not my mother! My father murdered me and my mother!"
Anóra just smiled. "That simply is not true. Nikulás died while trying to protect us both, Eindri. I saw it with my own eyes now, you shall see it as well" The ghost raised her slender hand, pointing her palm at Endri. A wave of energy hit him in the face, and his vision went black.
Endri opened his eyes and blinked, staring with disbelief at his surroundings. He was in a forest village, complete with huts, horses and people. No one seemed to notice him, though, as they went about their daily business. The place closely resembled the village in which he spent the first thirteen years of his afterlife.
"Run! Run!"
Endri spun his head to see a redheaded woman carrying a bundle in her arms dashing as quickly as she could across the main dirt road in the village. In an instant, she was surrounded by dozens of rushing horses with iron-clad riders. She dodged the swing of one of their swords and stumbled right into the path of an oncoming horse-drawn wagon.
"Look out!" Endri shouted.
"Look out!" screamed a familiar voice. Surprised, the young ghost watched as a pale-blonde man dashed across the road, scooped up the redhead and her bundle and carried them both out of harm's way. He settled them next to a small wooden house. "Are you all right, my love?" Endri heard him ask.
"Yes, thanks to you, my darling," she smiled.
The man unsheathed his short sword striped with ebony and ivory at the hilt. "Quickly, get into our home. Hide there. I shall protect you out here."
"No, Nikulás, please!" Endri gasped as he heard this woman call out the same name that the female ghost called Beetlejuice. "Come inside with me! You will be killed if you stay out here!"
"No, Anóra, I must do my duty as a member of this village. I must do my best to protect you and everyone else. An enemy must be fought. Go now, take little Eindri with you, and take care of him."
Endri gasped again. They were speaking of him. The name was the same as what the female ghost called him, slightly different from the one his foster parents had given him, but it was him. The small tufts of pale-blonde hair that escaped the little baby's blanket only helped to confirm it. The child the woman held was him, and she was Anóra, the woman who just appeared to him and Beetlejuice while they were fighting.
The woman held tight to the man for a moment longer and kissed him deeply before she reluctantly released him and stepped backward into the doorway. Nikulás, too, stepped back and turned his body away, but still kept his eyes on the beautiful woman.
"Take care--"
"NIKULÁS!!" Anóra screamed from behind him.
He turned his head to face a man grinning down at him from behind a polished steel helmet. A sharp sting that made even Endri wince from a few yards away forced Nikulás to look down at himself. A sword stuck cleanly from his chest, held onto by the tall man with the helmet. Laughing, he withdrew the sword and allowed Nikulás' precious life to flow out of him. He fell to his knees clutching his mortal wound, praying that it stop bleeding, but the sword had penetrated his heart. His vision swayed and blurred. The pain, at last, began to numb itself away.
"Nikulás! No! Please, don't leave me!" Anóra cried from the spot she had taken next to his fallen body.
"An Anó" he tried to sputter her name, but the word would not come, only blood escaped his lips at that point. Endri watched in horror as Nikulás spent the last few seconds remaining of his life watching helplessly as the redhead was picked up by the tall soldier. He held her around her neck so tight that it snapped, and her limbs fell limply about her sides, dropping her bundle. The man laughed loudly as he dropped Anóra in a heap on the ground and kicked her crying baby out of the way. It landed on the dusty ground and rolled a small distance into a grove of bushes and stopped crying almost instantly its tiny neck also broken.
Endri stumbled over to the fallen couple and stared down at all three in disbelief. Their murderer simply stood before him, his laughter echoing in his ears. The ghost just didn't know what to do with himself after such a scene. The figures never disappeared, and that man's laughter was beginning to grate his spine.
"What's the matter, kid?" he asked after a minute.
Endri stared at him curiously. No one could see him could they?
"I said what's the matter?" his gruff voice asked again. "You're just standing there like an idiot after I killed you and your parents." The man looked down at Nikulás trying to struggle with the last remaining seconds of his life. "Look at how pathetic he is."
Endri lowered is eyes to his father.
"See how he tries feebly to attack me! He knows his life is over, yet he still tries!"
The young ghost stared down at Nikulás. He was trying desperately to grab his short sword that had fallen just out of his reach. Laughing again, the tall man swiped the sword even further away with his foot.
"You should be happy that I destroyed him. In doing so, I have created who you are now! Cold and ruthless. Willing to destroy millions in order to get revenge on a single man that did nothing but try to save you!" he laughed at Endri.
The ghost grit his teeth and cried out so loud that his voice carried about the whole village. Its people and the pillagers froze in their tracks. They stood, frozen in time as if paused on a television screen.
"I don't believe you!" he screamed. "This can't be real! I'm being shown lies! This is just some illusion for my benefit! You're just trying to distract me so you can stop the gates from opening! It won't work! Let me out of here!!" He backed away, staggering until he bumped into a warm body. Spinning on his heel, he came face to face with his foster mother and father. The two kindly people who raised him from a baby to the adolescent years of his afterlife stood side by side before him.
"O-Okasan Otosan" he stammered, forgetting all about what kind of language he should be speaking, slipping into the one he was most comfortable with.
"It is true, Endri. We came from the village that ransacked yours and destroyed it. You were raised by the people who killed your family."
"N-No" he drifted off.
"You've been living your entire existence in a lie," his foster father admitted to him. "We told you your father organized the strike on your village to take the blame from us. You assumed he killed you on your own, but that never happened. In fact, he did try to save you."
Endri shook all over. He tried to cover his eyes, but the vision of his foster parents walking over to stand side by side with the man who killed his real parents was burned into his eyes. Falling to his knees next to his father, he reached out and shook him.
"I-If you are my real father, get up!" he cried. "You must tell me! I have to hear it from your lips!"
"It is too late, son," his foster mother said, her voice caught in a lethargic, monotone state. "He is dead."
"No! It can't be true! I didn't know!" he screamed. Endri stood and turned to run when a piercing cry of a baby froze him to his spot. A few feet from the crumpled body of Anóra lay little Eindri crying. The baby's skin was ghostly pale, and out from his wisps of hair stuck two tiny pointed ears.
The massacre around Endri resumed as if it never paused, and a horse and rider trotted up next to the crying infant. The man stared down at it for a long moment before climbing down from the horse and stooping to pick the baby up.
"Whose child is this?" the soldier asked the other who killed Endri's parents.
"Theirs," the man replied, cleaning his bloody sword off on Nikulás' body and using it to point at the fallen two. "You're not possibly thinking of keeping it, are you?"
"I've never been able to produce an heir It would be a shame to kill the child."
Endri took a closer look at the man who held him as an infant. Under the polished steel helmet was a face he recognized. His foster father! He spun back around, looking toward where the man stood just moments before. He and his foster mother were now missing.
The ghost's breath came quickly, and he tingled all over with the prospect of actually hyperventilating. His hands shook and his knees felt weak.
"Would you possibly know the child's name?"
"I think I heard to weakling say the name was 'Eindri'," the murderous soldier gloated.
Endri's foster father smiled down uneasily at the baby as it cooed in his arms. "'Eindri It will not do. I feel too guilty calling him the same name his dead parents gave him Perhaps a slight alteration is in order." The man paused a moment to think before smiling broadly. "Your new name is Endri."
The little baby cooed with delight and let forth a small giggle.
"He agrees!" the man laughed, making his companion roll his eyes and Endri shudder all the more.
This all seemed much, much too familiar for some reason.
"Come, little Endri. Your new home awaits! Won't your new mother be pleased!"
The baby squealed with the rush of its little stomach dropping when the man climbed aboard his horse again, steering it for the exit of the nearly destroyed village.
The grown Endri stood in the wake of dust the horse kicked up upon retreat, shaking until he could stand no longer. He fell to his knees, not realizing at first that he was right next to his murdered father.
It all made sense now all of it. He always had wondered why, when he asked his parents why he didn't look like the rest of the boys in his village or why he seemed different, they would suddenly become nervous and hesitate in their answers, always looking to each other for confirmation.
He cast his eyes upon the dead man lying on his stomach in a pool of blood, his head turned toward Endri, eyes wide open. The ghost gulped, seeing only now how much they looked alike. The same color hair and eyes, the same nose and his face resembled his real mother's.
His voice shook almost as much as he when he spoke again, talking but not really getting through to his father.
"F-Father G-Get up! Get up, please!" he screamed, reaching down to shake the man. "Please Don't leave me all alone all over again" he trailed off.
His surroundings faded to blackness. The only thing he was able to see was his father lying in front of him in the pool of blood.
"I honestly thought I was murdered by you but you really did try to save me," he whispered, not able to deny the truth that was so horribly shown to him. "I was wrong. Forgive me Father."
Then the blackness enveloped him as well.
Endri blinked several times before the bleariness subsided and the environment around him came to focus. He was kneeling next to Beetlejuice in the Last Place You'd Ever Look.
Had it all been some sort of crazy dream?
Beetlejuice smiled down at him from ear to ear. "Of course I forgive you."
Endri stood slowly and wavered back and forth for a few seconds as if he was dizzy. Smoothing his hair back from his eyes, he stared at the ground at his feet for several seconds before speaking. "I really am sorry I don't know what to say."
Beetlejuice rested his hand on Endri's shoulder. "I know. It's okay, but why didn't you come to the Neitherworld at all after you found out you were dead? I was searching for you too, but never found you, obviously."
Endri chuckled humorlessly and stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. "I didn't know how to get here. I couldn't get here no matter how hard I tried. Imagine my irritation when I found out how easy it really was."
"My love, my son," Anóra spoke up, "these explanations must wait for another time. My time is growing short, and you two must prevent the Neitherworld from being destroyed by those creatures."
Beetlejuice stared at her worriedly. "What do you mean, your 'time'?"
Anóra smiled. "I have concentrated all of my energy to appear in this form, Love. In doing so, I cannot go back to my previous form nor stay in this one much longer. Soon, I will be no more."
"No!" Beetlejuice cried. "I just got you back! Don't tell me I'm losing you already!"
"No, Love. I am going to give you a gift that will stay with you forever. Endri as well," she said weakly, looking at her son.
"What is it, Mother?" he asked.
"Me."
"I don't understand." Beetlejuice stepped up.
Anóra floated just a bit lower than before. "I am made entirely of energy. If I give myself to you, you will become stronger and will be able to defeat this new enemy."
"But!" Beetlejuice looked desperate, "I'll never see you again!" Tears welled into his eyes.
"I will always be with you, Nikulás," she whispered, moving closer.
"I need you, Anóra"
She stopped and looked at him sadly. "I love you, Nikulás, however I do not need you. Someone else needs you now, far more than I."
"Who?"
"I believe you know who I am speaking of," she replied, giving him a knowing look.
Beetlejuice lowered his eyes. He too knew who she was talking about. He just didn't want to admit it in front of her.
"I know you will take good care of your newest love," Anóra said to him, giving him reassurance that she sanctioned him in a relationship without her. She turned to Endri. "Come here, son."
He walked over and stood proud and tall before her.
"You have grown strong and true, my son, and so I give you this small gift." Anóra touched Endri's chest near his heart with her fingertip. "I give you a piece of myself to make you even stronger." A silver pendant with a beetle etched onto its surface appeared around his neck and gleamed a brilliant blue, then passed the power it collected from his mother into his body. Instantly, Endri felt a burst of power course through him. His muscles increased a bit in bulk as his physical strength multiplied as if he had been working out with weights for months.
Anóra turned to Beetlejuice. "My time is at an end, Love. Come to me, and I will give you your gift."
He hesitated for a long moment, but had no choice but to go to her. "Anóra" he whispered, "I'll never forget you my love." His voice trembled as well as his lower lip, and for the first time since Lydia left him, a tear slipped down his cheek.
His wife smiled at him. "And that is why I shall continue to exist forever. I will be alive in your memory." She began to drift in wispy circles around Beetlejuice's body. "Take my energy and become more powerful than ever before" Her voice began to fade to an echo as she spun faster around him. His body lifted from the ground and the wind she generated whirled around him and scattered his tears through the air. "When we are joined you will nearly be invincible" She swirled closer and closer, then entered Beetlejuice's body.
He cried out in anguish as she vanished into him. He didn't want her to be gone forever, but it was far too late now. His body glowed bright yellow as he felt an unbelievable power course through him. His muscles bulked up just as Endri's did, only slightly so. His physical strength also intensified to an unbelievable rate. He also felt a new kind of energy surging in his still veins. With this new power, he truly felt he was invincible.
Beetlejuice's glow slowly faded as he drifted back to the ground. He felt something in his clenched hand and spread his fingers open to see what he held. A small beetle pendant, identical to the one Anóra created for Endri, lay neatly in his palm. He gently turned it over in his hand and noticed a small inscription on the back. As he read it, more tears stung at his eyes.
Love Never Dies
Endri sidled up to Beetlejuice and rested his hand on his shoulder. They both took a moment of silence as Beetlejuice hooked his pendant around his neck.
"You know," Endri said quietly after a minute, "I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me for what I've done but maybe if you let me help you, I can make up for it."
His father smiled and shook his head. "No, kid, I don't blame you. You grew up thinkin' I was something I wasn't. It's not your fault that you were told those lies." He extended his hand toward Endri. "I forgive you, if you forgive me."
Endri stared at Beetlejuice's hand for a moment, then looked up to him. He extended his own hand and shook his father's, nodding.
"Oh, please. Stop before I throw up."
They both looked over to see Kyle and
"Lydia!" Beetlejuice screamed.
She was back in Kyle's strong grip, but this time, a gun was pointed against her head.
"Enough with the family reunion!" Kyle shouted, visibly tensing his trigger finger. "I'm getting out of here, and I'm taking the little wench with me. If either of you try to follow me, she dies way before her time!"
"Kyle, wait!" Endri called. "Don't do this! It's wrong! You can still help us stop the gates from opening completely."
"I would rather watch you eaten and shit out the ass end of one of those worms before I ever help you, Endri! You betrayed me!"
"You hated my kind too much! I couldn't tell you who I really was, and I needed your help to get here! Face it, Kyle. You needed my help too!"
"I don't need your help anymore!" Kyle spat, backing away with Lydia.
"Kyle, listen to me!" Endri pleaded, jogging forward another few steps to keep the same distance between them. "Not all ghosts are like the one that killed your family."
Kyle's face contorted in unbelievable rage. "You-you shut up about that!"
Endri took another few steps toward Kyle and his hostage. "You trusted me once and you remember how we got along. We're partners, Kyle and I even consider you my best friend. I haven't had that many, believe me. And just look around you!"
Kyle glanced between Beetlejuice, Endri and Lydia.
"This ghost has been friends with that human for years right?" He looked to Beetlejuice for confirmation. The ghoul nodded. "You can't blame all ghosts for what one has done. I found out just now that it's pointless! If you want revenge so bad, why don't you go after the one that you hate so much not everyone."
Kyle's grip on Lydia and his gun began to tremble, and he grit his teeth together. Sweat poured down his face and dripped off the tip of his nose.
An explosion shook the ground, and everyone turned to see a small town in the distance. A few of its burning buildings crashed to the ground in huge billows of dust and debris as a fireworm reared its two ugly heads above the dirty clouds. It roared gleefully with one and chomped down on some ghosts with the other.
Endri whipped his head back in Kyle's direction. "Kyle, your wife and child are here somewhere! If you let all this continue, they will be destroyed as well! Please" he begged walking forward a few steps more. He held his hand out for Kyle's gun. "Stop. You're not alone, Kyle not as long as you don't want to be. You can have me your friend. And Beetlejuice and Lydia as well I'm sure they'll forgive you." Endri noticed his friend shaking violently. "Please give me the gun. Your wife wouldn't want this."
"LIAR!" Kyle exploded. "My wife could never be here! She would never turn into a ghost! A murderous pack of wolves is all they are! And you're one of them! I can't believe I let you in! I confided everything in you!" Tears glistened in his eyes, and he shook so violently, one of them shook loose to slip down his cheek. "You you were like a brother to me my only remaining relative I should have figured that everyone I care about is dead!"
A small smile caressed Endri's lips. "You admit you care about me."
Kyle tensed again, adjusting his grip on Lydia and the gun. "No no, I care about the Endri I thought I knew! The one who worked with me for nine years toward this goal the one who came to me in that bar and told me this was all possible! And I want my revenge" he growled.
"I'm still the same person as then, Kyle! I swear to you! You just never realized I was a ghost, so I never told you. I knew you'd hate me for it, and then we never would have worked together!"
A screeching roar alerted everyone to the approach of the fireworm. It had finished destroying the town and was now racing toward some new morsels to devour. Them!
Endri whirled on Kyle, extending his hand with authority. "Give me that damn gun and stop being foolish! Nothing has changed! I am still the same. Can't you see that?!"
Kyle wasn't paying attention, however. His eyes were too glued to the two-headed fireworm almost on top of them already. Upon its screech, he dropped the gun and released Lydia, then turned and fled. The worm wasted no time, ignoring the prey that stood as still as possible and rushing for the one running away.
Beetlejuice released a held breath as the worm breezed by, almost setting his clothes on fire. The worm's body was hotter than he could have imagined, and real fire licked up its back forming an inferno fin. That was all he could take in before blurs of motion made him close his eyes against the dizziness.
Lydia rushed into his arms crying, and Endri rushed away from them, determined to catch his friend.
The ghost wasn't covering enough ground on foot, so he pushed off and took to the air, zipping past the fireworm. He extended his arms and grabbed Kyle up, then darted off to the side, landing on the ground and rolling to a stop in the shade of a huge rock.
"NO--!" Kyle began, but Endri's hand clamped over his mouth to prevent anymore screaming.
"Shhh! It will hear!" he hushed. He looked out from under the lip of the rock to see the worm swinging its heads about in frustration, wondering where its meal had disappeared to. He removed his hand slowly, but kept his friend pinned down with his body weight and both hands to his shoulders.
"Why did you do that?!" Kyle half whispered, the anger in his voice trying to slip through and be more vocal.
"I couldn't let you get killed."
"Why would you care if I was killed or not! You're just a bloodthirsty ghost, you bastard!"
"Enough!" Endri almost shouted at full volume. After a quick check to see where the fireworm was, he said, "Kyle, do you remember what I told you that once? When we took some time off to rest from our searches?"
The human nodded reluctantly.
"I meant every word of it. I could never hurt you or let anything else hurt you for that matter. I swore to you then, and I back it up now! You are my best friend, and I would do anything for you!"
Kyle winced at the hurt in his old friend's voice, but still, he remained silent.
Endri sighed deeply and dropped his forehead to Kyle's chest for a moment. "Fine then" he mumbled before looking back up. "Go back to the Real World, Kyle. You don't need to be here anymore. I don't want you in danger."
Finally, the human opened his eyes and looked up. "Why?"
"You want revenge you'll get it. I swear that to you."
"I I don't understand."
Endri sighed again. "The worms are here. They are going to destroy the Neitherworld and I will help them. And when the last ghost has been eaten, and the last structure destroyed I will follow."
Kyle's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"
A smirk graced his friend's lips. "You wanted every last ghost destroyed since I am a ghost I must also be destroyed."
"But"
"No! I promised I would do anything for you, and I will."
"That's suicide!" he shouted, only to be rewarded with Endri's hand cupping across his mouth again.
"Shhh! You idiot!" He quickly glanced around to see if the worm's attention was grabbed. The thing was searching about more frantically, but still couldn't find them. The ghost sighed with relief. "How can it be suicide if I'm already dead?" he whispered.
"II won't let you."
Surprise pulled Endri's eyebrows up. "Why not? It's my choice. I thought you didn't care about me anyway."
Kyle gulped, his eyes darting to the side to see the fireworm lumbering closer. "M-Maybe I was a little hasty," he whispered.
The ghost smiled, full and bright. "So does that mean you trust me again?"
Kyle's eyes darted back to his friend's face. Their eyes locked, and all he could do was stare at the brilliant swirls of green facets in Endri's irises. They sparkled much brighter and faster than when he first saw his friend without his glasses just a short time ago. It was calming, but at the same time, frightening. The human squirmed beneath Endri and pushed up on his shoulders.
"L-Let go! I can't--I can't trust you I'm sorry. I just don't know this you," he whispered, his voice wavering. "Let me go! Get offa me!"
Endri did as he was told and released Kyle. The human shuffled out from under the lip of the rock and stood up.
Big mistake.
The fireworm roared with glee, having spotted its fast food from earlier. It reared back and dove forward with both heads, ready to snatch Kyle with both of them and rip him in half. He screamed for all he was worth before taking a nosedive toward the dusty ground. Endri had grabbed him by the ankles and pulled back, tripping his friend up and making him fall just in time. The worm's teeth gnashed just above the human's head and pulled away in a flurry of flames.
Endri ducked back out of the little cove and pulled Kyle to his feet by the lapels of his trench coat and shook him. "Bakayaro! Don't you ever think?!" Without another word, he grabbed his friend around the waist and lifted them both into the air. They flew back to where Beetlejuice and Lydia still stood, worrying over their survival.
With Kyle's view over his friend's shoulder, he could see - past the whipping tendrils of the ghost's hair - the fireworm closing fast.
"AHH! I don't wanna die yet! Fly faster!!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
The human's stomach dropped when Endri took evasive action, dodging down and to the side to avoid the licking flames of the fireworm's breath.
"Faster! Must go faster!" Kyle shrieked, almost getting singed.
Endri grunted, trying his best to expend more energy and increase his speed. He never had to put his powers to this kind of test before.
A column of fire roared past on his left and he dodged to the right to avoid it. He could feel the soles of his boots melting under the heat and swore his clothes were smoking at that point. Instead of panicking, however, he tightened his grip on his friend and pushed forward, rocketing back toward Beetlejuice and Lydia.
"Did I mention that your best friend's life is at stake here!?!" Kyle shouted, trying to reach down into one of his pants pockets.
Endri's speed picked up again, and he dodged to the left to avoid another column of fire. "Did I just hear you correctly?!" he shouted above the roar of the wind rushing past them, not to mention the frustrated roars of the fireworm.
"You heard e-exactly what I wanted you t' hear!!" the human yelled, straining to reach further into his pocket. Finally, his fingers wrapped around the object he was looking for and pulled it out. Taking aim over Endri's shoulders with his force field gun, he pulled the trigger. The ghost darted to the side at that exact second, jolting Kyle's arms and bouncing the gun up, making him miss the still rapidly approaching target. The force field cartridge exploded into a sphere somewhere behind the worm, clipping a perfect bowl shape out of the hard ground.
"Hold still, jackass!" he scolded, reaching back into his pocket to pull out another cartridge. He loaded it into the gun and cocked it, then took careful aim again sputtering and blowing, trying to get his friend's hair away from his face and mouth. "You need a haircut!"
Endri smirked, doing his best to fly straight. "Never Never bothered you before!"
"Quiet!"
The ghost held his tongue and breath as Kyle took aim again and pulled the trigger. This time, his aim was dead on, and the cartridge smacked right off one of the worm's heads. Immediately, it exploded, a force field expanding outward, severing one of the heads and taking a clean chunk from the neck of the other. The worm barley gurgled a squeal before stopping dead and dropping to the ground. The field containing one of the heads floated down a few seconds later and bounced twice before coming to a rest and rolling a bit to the side.
Endri slowed their retreat to a halt and lowered them both back to the ground. Kyle stumbled before finding his balance once more and glanced back at his handiwork.
"Not bad," his friend admitted. "I must say, I was stumped as to how we'd ever get away in one piece."
Kyle chuckled. He reached up to clap a hand on the ghost's shoulder, but hesitated at the last second. His friend did nothing to hide his hurt and made to turn toward the approaching figures of his father and Lydia. He was thoroughly shocked when Kyle not only moved to finish his gesture, but took it even further to wrap the ghost in his arms and squeeze roughly.
Beetlejuice and Lydia stopped their approach abruptly when they saw the human embracing Endri. They figured the two would like to be alone for just a moment more and hung back for a while.
Kyle slowly relaxed his grip on Endri and pulled away, almost laughing at his confused face. "Thanks partner?" he asked, holding a shaking hand out.
Endri smiled another full, bright smile and clasped the man's hand giving one solid shake. "Partners."
Across the way, Beetlejuice turned to Lydia and worriedly looked into her eyes. "Lyds you gotta get away."
"What about you?" she asked just as worriedly.
"I have to stay and fight. We have to stop those worms somehow," he said, casting his gaze back toward the demolished town then in the other direction to see the dead fireworm, no longer ablaze.
Lydia wrapped her arms around his stomach and held him close, resting her head against his shoulder. "I don't wanna leave I'm scared for you."
The ghoul held her by her shoulders and gently pressed her away. "Please, Lyds. I couldn't go on existing if I let somethin' happen to you."
"But--" she began to protest.
Beetlejuice leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead, shocking her to silence.
"We have a lot to talk about, Babes. I want you safe, sound and around so we can talk later."
"And what about you?" she asked stubbornly. "Will you be around later?"
Several explosions rocked the ground beneath their feet, followed by a terrifying roaring. Beetlejuice, along with everyone else, turned his head to see a rockworm gliding across the surface toward them. He turned back to Lydia quickly.
"There's no time! I'm sorry, Lyds. Don't worry I'll come back to you when this is all over," he promised.
"What do you--?"
Beetlejuice waved his hand in front of her, and before she knew it, she was standing in her apartment in New York. She stared around the living room for a few minutes and finally sighed.
"Okay, BJ, I'll stay. Please, be careful," she whispered to herself.
***************
Holy Crabcakes, Batman! O_O Well, doesn't that beat all?! BJ's wife came back only to have to disappear for good?! So she gave herself to him AND Endri as a power-up! And what's this?! Endri is BJ's SON?! WHOA! Hehe! I knew all along, what about you? I do hope that this long chapter plus the previous makes a nice Christmas gift for those of you out there who like this story!
Now you'll have to stay tuned until next time, when we join the battle between Good and Ugly! Will our two new friends plus BJ be able to take out these nasty worms? Or will they be gobbled up as mid-day snacks?! I'll answer one question. Yes! Someone DOES get eaten! O_O But WHO?! Stick around and find out! ^_^
Please review, review, review! And I'll love you guys forever! ^_^ *hugs* MERRY CHRISTMAS!! again.