Chapter Sixteen

Lydia Deetz (now Juice) had never been one easily reduced to tears, but the moment Beetlejuice had left her alone, she had been completely overtaken by them.

When the young woman had knocked upon the door of her newly acquired in-laws she hadn't exactly been in her right mind. With the worry over what Beetlejuice was up to, and the weight of everything that had happened to her during the space of the last week she had been somewhat out of it. So when the Juice family door had swung inward, the young woman and flung herself at the person who had opened it without a second thought- for she had believed it to be either her Bea or Gnat. But as she held onto the person tightly and cried her heart out, she noted that the body didn't feel like either of her in-laws'. Bea was a portly woman with soft motherly fat, and Gnat was a stocky, muscular ghost due to his heavy lifting duties for his job in one of the many Neitherworld factories.

The person she was hugging now, was quite skinny and smaller, and didn't have the soapy smell that Beetlejuice's parents always seemed to have wafting around them. This person smelled of earth and something very familiar.

Finally after a long moment, the young woman pulled herself together and looked up. Upon doing so she gasped in surprise, for the person she was hugging wasn't at all who she had expected. Bright yellow eyes gazed down at her curiously, from beneath a long white and green mass of hair and a somewhat pointed nose.

She knew that nose . . . those eyes . . . that smell. . .

"Un-Uncle Lester?"

Great Uncle Lester had been the only person at the wedding reception who had made Beetlejuice smile- save for Lydia herself. And though the young woman had only had a brief conversation with the ancient ghost, she easily recognized the kinship between Beej and his great-uncle. They were obviously close- closer than the rest of the family.

"Yep, it's me, chickieboo," the ghost in question replied in his croaky old voice. "Same ole creaky bugger ya gave a hug to earlier!"

Lydia wanted to smile but instead began to cry harder than before, when she heard the similarities to her best friend in Lester's voice. He honestly could have been an elderly twin of Beej. This old prankster was so much like Beetlejuice that Lydia had to remind herself several times that it wasn't him. Though as she took in Lester she couldn't help but memorize the things he had in common with BJ. The unmatched cadence in his speech, the mischievous glint in his eye, the slightly strange sense of something more powerful beneath his surface; all so familiar, and yet so different. It was comforting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

"Why did you answer the door, Uncle Lester," Lydia wanted to know as she finally pulled away from the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, young'un." Lester replied calmly, taking the time to guide Lydia further into the house before shutting the front door behind them. "I decided to stay with Bea and Gnat for a couple days, for the sake of family ties. Thought I could come visit my nephew again before I left. . . But why in Yippy-Skippy's name are you here, chickadee? I thought you'd be with Beetlejuice, seeing as ya just got hitched to him and it's yer wedding night."

Lydia ignored the explicit thoughts of what a wedding night consisted of, and shook her head as more tears ran down and stained her pretty, heart shaped face.

"S-Something's happened-"

"Let me guess, Beetlejuice played a nasty prank on yeh?"

"No, that's not it-"

Lydia glanced around her, her beautiful dark eyes taking in the familiar décor of the Juice's living room, as she followed Uncle Lester further into the room where they both sat on the large coffin crafted couch. Here they sat silently together for a long moment.

Though Lydia had only met Lester earlier that day at the wedding reception, the young woman knew that she could trust him. Besides, if the old goat was the accomplished prankster that Beej had said he was he might know how to help her stop this madness with the King.

"What has the little scoundrel done now," Lester asked, leaning forward on the couch cushions with interest, his tone full of affection for Beetlejuice. "Did he blow up the reception hall when you two left? Scare the bee-geebers outta someone? Start an unnecessary fight?"

Lydia was surprised how well Lester knew his great-nephews' way of doing things, but quickly pushed it aside. There would be time for stories later. Right now, there needed to be action and self-control.

"He's in trouble, Uncle Lester," she explained between sniffles, while whipping at her red rimmed eyes.

At Lydia's admonition the old poltergeist grew solemn, his yellow eyes showing the slightest sign of worry as he focused on the young woman's face.

"Tell me everything, Lydia."

So she did. The young woman quickly described to Lester the details of Beetlejuice being framed, her agreement to marry him to save him from going to prison, her meeting with King Mephistopheles, her being offered the job as an Enforcer because of her ability to travel between the world of the living and the Neitherworld, and finally how Beetlejuice had gone off to find Mephistopheles.

"He was so angry when he left," Lydia finished anxiously. "I'm sure he's going to get into trouble with King Mephistopheles."

"I'd bet a pretty nickel that yer right, young'un," Lester agreed. "Beetlejuice got his infamous temper honestly. Our entire family tree is lined with mischief. I'm sure he's wreaking havoc on the Neitherworld Palace by now."

"I need to stop him before he makes things worse," Lydia said. "But I can't do this on my own."

Here she stopped and pleadingly looked at her new family member. "Please Uncle Lester . . . will you help me?"

The ancient poltergeist's glowing eyes softened and he reached out his paper-thin hand to grab Lydia's.

"'Course I will, child. Though I can't promise to be much use ta yeh when we get there!"

Lydia smiled for the first time in what felt like years, and leaned forward to plant a kiss to his wrinkled and weathered cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Lester."

Together the two stood from the couch, and the poltergeist let a hoarse cackle rear up from deep within him. A true, honest to goodness ghost laugh- even Beetlejuice would have been proud.

"Don't thank me yet," he crowed loudly. "Not until we've gotten Beetlejuice outta there!"

Then, having said this, Lester Juice snapped his fingers and both he and Lydia disappeared from the Juice household- instantly traveling to the Neitherworld Palace where they would do their utmost to rescue the Ghost with the Most.

King Mephistopheles was an entity without age- for he had been in existence for longer than any singular person's memory could serve. Even he could not remember when his reign of the Neitherworld had begun, but he did know that he had done so for far longer than he had ever wanted.

Having been born the youngest of five siblings, Mephistopheles had automatically been dealt a short stick in the scheme of things. Seeing as his parents were Eternal Beings- the High King and Queen of the Cosmos- Mephistopheles and his siblings had all inherited different realms in the universe. There were six realms, apart from the Land of the Living. The Upper Lining (where the High King and Queen ruled), Heaven (the kingdom of Alastar the oldest), the Second Teer (belonging to Morliana the second born), Narmility (the middle realm, ruled by Jan'shush the third born), Hell (belonging to Lucifer, the fourth in line), and the Neitherworld (ruled over by Mephistopheles the last born).

In truth, he had never had a chance to rule a normal or fair kingdom. But as the centuries had passed, Mephistopheles had learned to enjoy the simplistic strangeness of his realm. He was a just and noble King more often than not, carried good favor with his subjects, and had even fathered a son of his own. Vince wasn't always what Mephistopheles wanted him to be, but he was a kindhearted soul who would properly care for the Neitherworld when it was his turn to rule, so the King had no reservations.

Well, until young Lydia Deetz had turned up.

With her forthcoming, and Beetlejuice's reappearance from his self-imposed exile, King Mephistopheles' retirement was pushed farther away from him than he thought acceptable. He would have to settle this newfound problem before he could reach his final rest- before he crowned Prince Vince as the rightful monarch of the Neitherworld.

So as he watched Beetlejuice charge at him with his magical powers glowing from his red-tipped fingers, the King made a decision. Though it was indeed a waste to destroy such boundless, amazing power, it was also impossible to preserve it any longer.

In that moment, as Beetlejuice threw his first batch of 'juice' at the calm monarch, Mephistopheles was decisive. If he couldn't control the infamous Poltergeist, he would break him- piece by piece until there was nothing left.

When King Mephistopheles' was through with Beetlejuice, the accursed wretch would beg him for mercy. Or better yet . . . to be exorcised.

A/N: Seeing as this story was one of the first fanfictions I ever started, I've decided that I'm going to finish it no matter what. I honestly have lost the spark for this story several times, but I love it so much that I know that I can't discontinue it. My writing style has grown throughout this story, and I'm proud of my humble beginnings.

Though it might take me a while to finish it, I'm going to wrap up this story and give it a proper ending. I'm thinking another 5 to 6 chapters, perhaps more. Don't worry, it'll be good. ;p

I have taken many liberties with this story, and I'm excited to see what you guys think of what's coming. ^^ Also, Uncle Lester is my favorite part of this chapter. I just love the thought of an older version of Beetlejuice with creaky bones and loads of old fashioned pranks! XD

Thank you all for being so amazing and sweet, hopefully the chapter isn't too shoddy.

~Lyn Harkeran