Shattered Mirrors

Chapter Four: Consider Yourself Fired

Beetlejuice sat in an armchair in the Roadhouse, the chair seeming to be covered in spiderwebs. He had a pile of books next to the chair, and more piles thrown across the room. "Exposing ghosts to humans, close but no. Learning how to scare, the basics, no. Oh, here we are. Scaring someone until they are insane. Damn, that can't be good." He said...as he read over the article.

"In the instance of scaring a human to the point they become insane is against the Neitherworld law, as stated by the prince, anyone found to have scared someone that much is to be fed to the sandworms." He read it out loud. "You think they'd have something like this in bold print...or at the beginning. Or with a huge warning side next to it." He griped. Then there was an undernote in small print that he couldn't make out. He poofed up a magnifying glass and moved to read it.

"In the case that a ghoul is hired to scare someone, and they scare someone insane. That means you, Beetlejuice. Both the person who hired the ghoul, and the ghoul himself will be punished, although the human shall be killed before fed to the sandworm." He read it out loud. "Why doesn't anyone tell me about these rules?!" He said as he moved to go out of a portal back to the human world.

He needed to tell Aya. Because he was scared. He couldn't use his powers when sandworms were around. At least not very well. Plus the prince had it out for him, so of course there wasn't a big way out of this.

Only she was able to distract the prince to get him out of trouble. Only she would've been able to get him out of this. And she was nowhere to be found.

He sighed. He soon found Aya back at the house, sitting at a desk, working on the same essay she had been working on in the library that morning. She had four pages written, only one more to go.

"Um, hey, toots, we have a problem." Beetlejuice said immediately. He sounded serious, and that's what made Aya look over at him.

"What is it, pest?" She asked, a bit annoyed because she had lost her train of thought.

He handed her the book, pointing at the part he had read. "Read that." He said, as he waited on her to read it.

"Sucks for you." She said, only reading the part about him getting fed to sandworms. What was a sandworm anyways?

"Read the fine print." He told her as he waited, getting more impatient by the second.

"Um, okay, yeah this might be a problem. So what do we do, Beej?" She asked, without realizing the sudden nickname she gave him.

Beetlejuice blinked. She had called him Beej and she had called him Beej. He shook his head though. "I don't think there's anything we can do. He'll send someone after me or you when he figures it out...and after that well, we're sandworm chow." He said, being uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"I really don't want to die...or be fed to a sandworm, whatever that is." Aya said with a shake of her head. "So what's this prince guy like?" She asked.

"Prince Vince, ruler of the Neitherworld, he's a stuck up snobby brat. He really ticks my clock." Beej said, suddenly annoyed, turning into a clock. Beej took the book from her and flipped through the pages to the back where there were pictures of him and the rest of the rulers before him. "This is him." Beetlejuice said, turning back to himself.

Aya looked over him. He looked around her age really. Hm...that gave her an idea. "Well...can't we try to reason with him?" She asked.

Beetlejuice shook his head. "No one reasons with the rules." Except her. "Besides, you'd be dead if you went into the Neitherworld." He said as he looked over her. She wore skimpy clothes, she wore bright colors and she was screaming with life.

She wouldn't stand a chance, and not everyone in the Neitherworld was going to just let her walk past without trying something.

Aya thought about it for a minute. "What if I make myself look all dead or something?" She asked, sighing at the idea. She hated dark colors, and she had a nice golden tan to her skin, not a deathly pale look or...anywhere close to the light blue tint of Beetlejuice's skin.

"That might work." He said after a moment. It had worked for her.

"Well...help me dress up then." She said with another sigh. But...she was thinking about seducing the prince. That was her plan. Giving a sob story, begging him, then offering him anything to make things better. The perfect test of her acting skills.

Beej nodded. "Fine." He said, although he didn't like the idea of taking her to the Neitherworld or of going back there himself. But he was guessing she had a plan. Just like she used to. And maybe Aya's plan would work. He didn't have any ideas himself.

They went upstairs and Aya went through her closet. Beej blinked at all the bright clothes. Really? Was it that possible to have that many neon outfits? He shook his head in distaste. No wonder people wouldn't talk to her. Then again, when he thought about it, he had seen other girls at school dressed similar.

There was a small pile of clothes next to him, most of them black or dark red. He went through them, until he found something he thought would work and he threw it over at her.

Aya caught it. She looked over her outfit for a play she had played in. It was a dark gothic dress, with a red corset and a black ripped skirt with thin material that had silver spiderweb designs on it. "I don't even know if they will fit anymore," She complained.

She grabbed it and retreated to the bathroom, slipping off her clothes and trying to pull it on. It fit fine everywhere, except for the chest part. It had no sleeves and was just held up by the top that was made to be snug over her breasts. Before she could wear her bra with it, but now she had to take the bra off. She couldn't reach the hooks at the back. Fudge.

"Beej!" She called. He came after a moment of hesitation, and saw her holding up the top. What was she wanting him for?

"Do the hooks on the back, please? I have short arms...and I can't reach them." She said.

He sighed and slowly did the hooks. He didn't have practice with clasps like that, so he fumbled with it for a few minutes before he had it done. Aya sighed, remembering who had helped her in her outfit last time, remembering Leslie and his quick movements while sensually touching her skin. She shivered at the thought.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Um, just...cold." She said, lying. "Yeah, cold." She said again.

Beetlejuice raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. He looked at her reflection in the mirror. "We should put makeup on you." He said.

Aya whined softly. "I don't want makeup. I'll look pale and icky, like some weird goth chick." She said, whining.

Beetlejuice rolled his eyes. No, she wasn't anything like her. This girl was nothing alike. "Fine, get raped by a werewolf, see if I care. The only way you'll make it through there is looking damn close to dead." He said.

Aya sighed, and pouted. "Fine." She whispered, giving in.

Beetlejuice disappeared for a moment and came back with a bottle of halloween make-up, the white cream stuff that sticks to skin and is sweat and water-proof. The type that could only be removed by lots and lots of soap.

"Put it on." He said, throwing her the bottle and leaving the room.

"Douche!" She yelled after him, as she took off the dress again. She lathered the stuff on until she was white as a mime.

Beetlejuice suddenly clamped his hands over his ears, hearing a scream, louder then a banshee.

"Okay, you can quit with the screaming!" He said loudly.

Aya was screaming, loudly, because she had seen her reflection. She looked...dead, she looked like a goth. She looked absolutely freak-ish! She looked like one of those Twilight loving freaks at her school! Hell. Fucking. No. This was hell. This was worse then hell. She wanted to vomit. Ew, ew, ew.

Beetlejuice walked in. He saw her and let out a little whistle. She would look really good as a ghost, but she'd never lose the bright clothes, especially with the way she was screaming. He started counting. She lost her breath at almost 65 seconds, although she had been screaming longer from when he was in the other room. Finally, since she was out of breath, she shut up to catch it. "That was...a really long scream. Maybe you'll be a banshee when you die." He said, joking.

Aya shot him a death glare, and he was able to see her completely in the make-up. If he had breath, he would've lost it just then. Even with her glaring.

"Let's get this over with. This stuff is going to take forever to get off." She whined softly, her voice not even breaking from screaming earlier.

He opened up a portal to the Neitherworld, a green swirly portal. "Step on in, princess." He said sarcastically. She stepped through the portal and fell into a fountain. Lucky for her the make-up was water-proof, so only her clothes were affected.

The make-up just looked that much more real. She got out, her clothes clinging to her body and her nipples suddenly showing because of the cold water. Beej stood next to her, not landing in the fountain.

"Looks good." He said, giving another whistle.

But a few minutes after they were walking in the Neitherworld, guards arrested them both. Beetlejuice just went along with them, but the guards had grabbed her around the waist, and she didn't like the feel of the guard pulling her against him. She slapped him and twisted his arm behind his back, kicking him behind the knee. Before one of the other guards grabbed her, and wrapped her arms behind her back, gripping them in a tight forceful grip.

"Great job, toots. This is your fault for suggesting we go here." Beetlejuice pointed out.

"Oh, nice...like you didn't know about that damn rule, Beej." She said back.

"I'm sorry I don't read the stupid rule books." He commented back.

"I hate you." She said.

"I hate you too." He replied.

"I hate you more." She mumbled, before one of the guards grabbed a handful of her hair, making her whimper.

"Your voice is annoying when you yell, shut up." He commanded, pulling on her hair. She whimpered again, and Beetlejuice found he didn't like the guard hurting her like that.

Beetlejuice was let go in the cell, but Aya was thrown in after him. Aya landed hard with a thump on the ground. She whimpered softly.

"You're not supposed to throw a lady!" Aya said in a sharp whine.

"Oh shut up brat, or we'll kill you right now before the prince sees your sweet little face." The guard threatened her. Then he shut the door.

"You think he'll like her?" The second guard asked.

"Probably. She has a heartbeat, she looks dead. She looks like a whore, she'll do." The first guard answered.

Aya was about to yell something back, but Beetlejuice covered her mouth with his hands. She bit down on his hands, not worried about when was the last time he had actually washed them. But she couldn't get him to let go long enough for her to scream at the guards. They soon left her and Beetlejuice in the cell.

"What were you doing provoking them?" Beej asked her as he let go of her mouth. He was soon floating in the corner of the cell in a position on his side as he watched her. She really did look cute like this.

Aya picked up a rock and threw it right back his head. She was angry, not at their predicament. But at his comments and at the guard's comments. "I AM NOT CUTE!" She said in a yell, picking up another rock.

Beetlejuice blinked. He had only been thinking that. He tilted his head at her. How did she know that? He wasn't going to ask. She would make a very scary ghost. "Okay, okay, calm down, toots." He said doing a coaxing sound like he was coaxing a kitten out of the tree.

Aya sat down, but soon the cell door opened again. "The prince would like to see you, kitten." The guard grinned, it was a new one. She shivered at the grin...and at the pet name.

Soon enough she was pushed down on her knees. Looking up she saw a skinny guy with a crown on his head. His black hair was messy, similar to Beej. And he wore a black suit. There was a rain cloud over his head, raining away. He looked down at her. Just like what Beej had thought...she looked nothing like his Lydia.

Still...she was a lot more mature physically then Lydia had been.

"Come here." He told her, in an almost bored voice.

Aya stood up, and tried not to stumble again. She walked up to where he was sitting on his throne.

His head was suddenly against her chest, the cloud faded and his ear was level with her heart. He gave a sigh as he heard her heartbeat.

Ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump.

"So you are alive. Very well then, why are you with that scoundrel and why, did you and him make two mortals insane?" He moved back and sat up, waiting on the story she would give.

The cells were in view of the throne, and Beetlejuice was watching, growing more aggrivated every second.

"They were my parents, your...highness." She said, saying the last word softly, as if she was scared of him. And she was. But she knew saying it like that would appeal to him. She had pinned his type as soon as she had seen him.

"Why would you want to make your parents insane, kitten?" He asked.

Although, he was just a figurehead in the Neitherworld, Aya didn't know that, and Beetlejuice hadn't told her. So she automatically thought that the Neitherworld was a monarchy. "This is why." She said, softly. Playing the pity game, he was already depressed and she doubted he'd feel for her, but she could try. She lowered her dress, showing a stab wound above her left breast. She then showed her right arm and left arm, where there were random nail marks and cuts. Some scabbed, but most scars.

"They almost made me insane first." She explained.

She also would have no way to know that Judge Mental was the real person who sentenced the people of the Neitherworld, or that they were already sentenced.

He seemed intrigued by her story but not very sympathetic. "That explains a bit, but that doesn't make you or that scoundrel above the law." He said.

"I understand that, your ghoulish-ness, but...it was all my fault. I made that thing agree. I offered him money to make them gone. To get my revenge on them. It warned me about the rule, but I didn't care. So please, don't punish that creature for what I did." She said. She had noticed his contempt for Beetlejuice and she was playing on it, wanting him to listen to her. She leaned forward a bit to bed, her corset falling just enough to show cleavage.

Beetlejuice was clinging to the walls of the cell, his head sticking out as he watched her. She was giving a pity story, and flirting, and insulting him...all at once! "Why you – " He shut up though. He knew she was joking.

"Please, I'll do anything I can do to make up for what rule I've broken. I'm so terribly sorry, and I'll accept any form of punishment." She said softly. She looked up at him with her pretty puppy dog eyes.

Beej's mouth dropped open, falling to the floor and his tongue rolling out. She could flirt, she could act like she wasn't an angsty teenager. She could flirt. She could be attractive. Woah, he so hadn't expected that from her. Of course, with the way she looked and the teacher/boyfriend, he had guessed it. But..that was different from seeing it. Hell, if he was the prince he would – forget that thought.

He knew that she'd probably just kick him and call him a perv if he had ever mentioned that to her. If he ever got to mention that to her. He kind of sat in the back of the cell at both of his previous thoughts.

The prince's gaze was magnetically attracted to her cleavage. "Well, there is one way to bend the punishment a little." He said, voice suddenly interested.

"If you stay here with me, then I'll let him go." The prince promised.

Aya blinked. Suddenly, she wasn't sure why she wanted to agree. She nodded. "Alright." She gave in, with a flirty smile.

Then suddenly, something metal and heavy was snapped around her neck. She blinked. A collar.

"Dammit Aya!" Beej said. He was being dragged towards what seemed like a castle outside of the window. He was loaded up into it. "See where your plan got us!" He exclaimed as he was shot straight towards the desert.

Uh oh.

She looked up, as one of the guards dragged on the chain. "We'll lead your kitten to your bedchambers." The guards said with a grin. Slowly they forced her towards his bedroom and she winced a bit.

What did she get herself into?

"How dumb can I get?" She whispered, hoping Beetlejuice was okay...wherever he was.

Beetlejuice ran for it, as a sandworm chased him through the desert, shivering with fear. He needed to get out of there, fast. Before he was sandworm food.

A/N: Wow, this chapter was pretty long. It is 7:31 AM and I haven't been to sleep yet. I was too busy updating this and my Ouran High School Host Club fic. Both are on chapter 4, yay.

Okay, so this is a major turning point for a few chapters. The next chapter WILL contain M rated content. That's why I rated it M, cause I had already was planning this to happen. I won't be as descriptive as I could be. If you don't like it, then skip over that chapter, but you will be missing some important turning points.

So, in case you didn't read that. CHAPTER FIVE WILL CONTAIN M-RATED CONTENT! BE WARNED!

Okay, thank you. I honestly planned on putting in more Beetlejuice comments in here, and I might later...but I'm too tired to think of witty comebacks to what she says.

When I planned this out, I planned on making her flirt more. But I did add a bit more to the scene, and rechanged it.

If I wasn't so lazy I'd dig up my yahoo archives where Kirbypuff and I played a scene similar, and changed up a bit of stuff.

I'll come back and fix it later.

REVIEW PLEASE! I want 4 reviews before I update again.

P.S. Anyone get what the chapter name is meaning to? I 3 the cannon. And the thought of Beej like jaw-dropped watching her flirt.