So, our heroes are trying their best to figure out a way to fix things and save the day. Unfortunately for them, things aren't going smoothly at all. But the story isn't over quite yet. Maybe they can figure out something before they run out of time. This isn't the longest chapter ever, but maybe you'll like it. And once again, be aware that some of the actions are overlapping with other scenes. But it should be relatively clear when that happens.

A danger of using reality warping tools or powers is that they require an incredible amount focus or control. The creation, alteration, or destruction of anything involves thinking about the required result. At times, it is possible for subconscious thoughts, fears, fleeting fancies, memories, dreams, or other unwanted ideas to manifest themselves along with more conscious decisions. Without focus and control, reality might be warped in ways you did not intend or expect. You may create something without meaning to do so.

-Excerpt from "The Reality Gauntlet and Other Ghostly Myths" by Frederich Isak Showenhower

Maddie didn't really know what to make of the wild, unpredictable changes to the park around them. She, her husband, and Roger were hiding within the RV alongside Jazz and the ghost woman. Jazz and Juno were in communication with Danny and the others using the Fenton Phone in the teenager's ear. The installed Ghost Shield on the vehicle wasn't as large as the Livingston's cobbled together monstrosity of a machine, but it covered the RV and a little bit of the surroundings at least. It kept most of the strange effects at bay. Most, but not all. Maddie could see the grass outside shifting into different colors and textures, the effect getting closer to the vehicle slowly.

There was a lot about the current situation that she didn't know, but Maddie had determined that this was the result of Betelgeuse's moderate reality warping abilities being affected by the artifact they were talking about earlier. It was the simplest explanation and Juno and Jazz's conversations were confirming that. What really concerned Maddie was that what little she overheard from the discussion was that Danny was in trouble. Even only half the conversation was enough to realize it. And there was almost nothing Maddie could do about it.

"Everything that's happening out there," said Roger slowly, "is because of my dearest Melinda, isn't it? The necklace she wore is somehow causing this."

"From what the ghost said, it is partially responsible," Maddie said with a nod.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this is happening."

Jack said, "You're not responsible for her choices. And you're not responsible for what is happening now."

"Doesn't change the fact I wish I could have done something to prevent this. I never imagined that trying to help her destroy ghosts could lead to something so terrible."

Thinking about how their own ghost-hunting brought them repeatedly into conflict against their own child, she said, "You'd be surprised."

As Juno muttered something that sounded like a curse before quickly passing on a message to Jazz, Roger turned towards Jack and asked, "Now that you took apart the modified version, how long do you think this Ghost Shield will last?"

"Normally, I would say an hour and a half," said Jack. "We've been working on it for a while."

"But it isn't completely stopping the effects," Maddie continued. "The changes are still getting through slowly. And the energy consumption isn't consistent. We might have more time or we might have less. The bigger question is if the changes outside will start affecting us before the Ghost Shield falls or not."

He hated the vague, blurry figure. It said something, a distant and barely audible sound he couldn't make out properly. Just as his surrounds were too bright, his ears were filled with the roar of the power that burned so intensely. He just knew the sounds the shape made grabbed his attention like nothing else and infuriated him. And then it tried to take the intense, burning, overwhelming source of power from around his neck. Fury burned and boiled. He hated the blurry figure. He should destroy it. Get rid of it and it'll stop. No more. Destroy it.

…no…

He lashed out with his power, sending the blurry figure somewhere else. He didn't really pay attention where. He just sent the figure away. It didn't lessen his fury. His anger burned nearly as hot as the power that he tried to control. He hated the blurry figure. He hated it and wanted it destroyed, but he sent it away instead.

…something…

It didn't matter. The annoying, blurry, troublesome figure was gone. The vague distraction was gone. He didn't need to think about. He couldn't think about it. The sheer power burned it away. Even as it filled him with energy, the power exhausted him. It hurt so much. He couldn't hold the power, as bright and hot as a raging inferno. He couldn't hold the power and he couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

…wrong…

The pressure and burning inside him hurt. Too much, far too much. The pain kept getting worse, but the addicting rush of pleasure it brought meant he couldn't stop. He couldn't let it go. He wanted the power that flooded him beyond his capacity to contain. He just burned as he tried not to shatter.

Destroy. Destroying him. Destroying everything around him.

Destroying would take up some of the power. Destroying would leave less power to contain. There would be less to burn him from the inside out. Less pressure trying to burst and shatter his skin open. Destruction, creation, transformation, and illusions. Anything and everything. Just keep using the power. Just keeping going.

…help…

Even when all the power overwhelmed and buried almost every aspect of his identity and his mind, a small spark of subconscious reached out with a piece of the limitless power. And that tiny fragment of who he used to be did something within the chaos and insanity before being swept away further.

Lydia spared her surroundings only the slightest attention. The dark and twisted place reminded her of the Netherworld, unusual and strangely beautiful in a physics-breaking way. She couldn't appreciate the endless staircases, the asymmetrical structures, and the way shadows fell across the place even when there was no source. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her best friend while panicked voices filled her ears.

"Danny? Answer me, Danny," Sam's voice shouted over the Fenton Phones. "I swear, you better be all right."

"Blech," he coughed. "Ugh, why is there a swamp? Why am I in a swamp?"

Tucker, sounding very relieved to hear his voice, said, "Dude, don't question it. Just be grateful he didn't kill you."

She shivered, both from her still-damp clothes and the idea. Tucker was right. Betelgeuse could kill them. He had enough power to do it easily and his normal morals (however limited) were not in place. She didn't want to consider it, but her best friend wasn't really around at the moment. And she might never get him back.

Lydia knew the others didn't want to say it, especially to her, but Betelgeuse might not make it. They may have already lost him. And in order to save everyone else, they might have to do something permanent.

Tucker had the knife, but that wasn't the only way they could… stop Betelgeuse. She still had the candle and more matches, currently tucked away in her pocket and out of sight. And his ring was on her hand. They couldn't let him burn himself out, destroying everything along with himself. But would it be kinder to end him with a cursed knife or an exorcism?

If it came to it, Lydia would do it. She knew it would hurt. She'd lost so many important people from her life already and her heart would shatter if she lost another. But he was her friend; he was her responsibility. No one else should bear the guilt. If anyone needed to make that decision, she would do it. She would do it as quick as possible and with as little pain as she could manage. She would deal with that and the rest of the emotional fallout of the last couple weeks when it everything was over.

But even if Lydia was reluctantly willing to make the hard choice when the time came, she didn't want to. She hoped they would find another way. She didn't want to kill her best friend.

"What do we do now?" asked Tucker, his voice quiet over the line. "I don't know what we can do. I don't even know where anything is."

Movement from the corner of her eye compelled Lydia to turn. She expected one of the giant bugs or snakes. The place was crawling with them. But what she saw turned out to be far more unusual.

Lydia stared at the translucent figure, standing among the shadows and chaos calmly. She looked old-fashioned, wearing wool garments of hand-woven cloth. She also looked young, like eleven or twelve. In addition to her dark hair and pale skin, Lydia noticed some rather familiar facial features. Not a mirror image or anything, but she could easily pass as a younger sister or cousin.

A quiet thought murmured at the back of her mind. She looked like she was the same age that Lydia was when she met Betelgeuse.

Whatever the girl might be, she wasn't a ghost. Not really. Lydia knew ghosts. The black-haired figure was too translucent, everything easy to see through her. She seemed more like the ghost of a ghost. She was a shadow. An illusion on the chaotic landscape. A memory. An echo of the past. And she knew who the likely source of the figure must be, though Lydia didn't know why Betelgeuse would create her even in his insanity or who the girl might be.

The translucent figure gestured for Lydia to follow her. Her mouth and her hand moved, but there was no sound. The girl still looked friendly and encouraging. Lydia found herself wanting to trust her.

"Uh, guys? I'm looking at someone in really old clothes that I don't recognize," said Danny.

Tired, stuck as a human for the moment, and standing knee-deep in muck, Danny stared at yet another strange sight. Of course, his life seemed to be a series of strange and weird events. He wasn't even certain what counted as normal anymore. It took a lot to completely shock him. And compared to the chaotic landscape around him, she was only slightly strange. But it was odd enough to mention to the others.

The blond woman wore very old clothes, her dress made of handspun wool and worn to a near threadbare state. She might be in her late twenties or so. She seemed tired, but still possessed a friendly smile. There was a certain maternal quality to her that reminded Danny of his own mother. And on top of everything else, the figure was translucent.

"What do you mean? Who is it?" Sam asked, her confusion clear over the Fenton Phones.

"No idea," said Danny. "I honestly don't know her."

Lydia asked, "Is she see-through?"

Blinking in surprise, he said, "Yeah, she is."

"Is she trying to lead you somewhere?"

Danny glanced back at the woman. She nodded and gestured towards him. Even with all the shadows, he saw light briefly reflect off a simple ring on her hand. He didn't see much detail about it, but it seemed vaguely familiar. She also stood on the muck rather than sinking into it, which seemed extremely unfair to the boy stuck in it up to his knees.

"Yeah?" he said uneasily. "How did you know?"

"Because there's a girl in front of me who also has old-fashioned clothes, is translucent, and wants me to go somewhere," said Lydia.

"Are they ghosts?" Sam asked.

"No," said Danny and Lydia in unison.

He wasn't sure how the girl knew, but the woman didn't activate his Ghost Sense and he didn't feel like the Netherworld ghosts he'd encountered. There was just something about the woman that didn't seem like she was a ghost. Call it instinct or whatever, but Danny just knew she wasn't an actual ghost.

Quietly, Sam said, "And now I see one too."

Sam wasn't surprised by the translucent figure since Danny and Lydia were already seeing them. The outdated clothes looked like something from the middle ages. Not the fancy elaborate gowns of the royalty. This was something that the peasantry would wear. She would predict the others might be from a similar time period.

The young woman appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties, though Sam could be wrong. She was rather pretty, with her blue eyes and chestnut hair. Her hair was tied up with a red ribbon, the color rather intense even with the translucency. She seemed sad and regretful, but nice. With a short gesture, the figure indicated for Sam to follow.

"If they aren't ghosts, who are these women?" she asked.

"Illusions," said Lydia. "They're… I think they're more like memories than actual ghosts. A reflection of someone who once existed, but not really them."

"Wait, you guys are seeing people?" asked Jazz abruptly.

"Translucent women who want us to go somewhere," Sam confirmed.

"But not ghosts?"

"No," said Lydia. "The one I'm looking at isn't a ghost. She's an illusion, probably based on a memory of someone real. Illusions are easy."

There as a moment of silence before Jazz's voice came back over the line, saying uncertainly, "According to Juno, that would definitely be within his capabilities. And she doesn't think he's in the right state of mind for anything creative, so he'll be making stuff that's familiar enough that he wouldn't have to think about. Stuff his subconscious could handle easily."

"Well, if they're from his head, that explains why we keep spotting women," Sam muttered.

"Not mine. She's a kid," said Lydia. "She's younger than me."

"Gah!" Tucker yelped over the line. "Now I found one. I've got my see-through person now. But it isn't a woman."

Tucker held a hand to his chest as he tried to slow his racing, pounding heart. Having the silent, translucent, and tall figure appear out of nowhere was bound to scare a guy. And why did he end up with a man when everyone else was stalked by females?

He wore really old clothes, from at least a few hundred years ago. The tall, strong, brown-haired man appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties. His face seemed friendly, but he was also big enough to toss Tucker over the freaky upside-down waterfall if he wanted. The translucent man smiled encouragingly at the teenager as he gestured for him to follow.

"So we all have an illusionary tour guide now," said Danny. "Should we consider that a good thing or bad?"

"They aren't attacking us," Lydia said. "They're just trying to lead us somewhere."

Sam asked, "Should we? Do we trust the Ghosts of Betelgeuse's Past?"

"If they're the work of his subconscious, maybe," she said.

Tucker looked at the stranger uneasily. He might be translucent and silent, but he acted more helpful and friendly than he did scary. Honestly, he seemed nice. Once Tucker got past the heart attack of his abrupt arrival, he couldn't bring himself to fear the man.

"Look, none of us really know where we are or where he is at the moment," said Tucker. "We have no better options. Let's take a chance and follow them."

"Sure, why not? It'll give me time to muster up enough of a second wind to go ghost again," Danny said.

Tucker nodded and the translucent man returned the gesture. He started walking. And Tucker followed, walking over the forever shifting landscape.

Too much. Too hot and bright. Blinding, deafening, and overwhelming. If filled him. Consumed him. The power was breaking him apart. He could feel himself cracking under the pressure. The burning, bright, intense, unrelenting pressure.

…can't…

He couldn't keep moving forward anymore. It took too much effort, too much focus. He just kept forcing the power out, pouring it out into the environment. It wasn't enough to relieve the pressure and burning from the power. There was just too much.

The power that burned, the fury with no outlet, and the destruction and chaos he unleashed… That was all he could comprehend. Nothing else could make it through.

…hurt…

Pain. Pleasure and pain; he couldn't escape it. The heat under his skin felt white-hot, making him want to scream and claw at his flesh to get away from it. His skin was cracking under the pressure and baking heat. It hurt so much, but the power was intoxicating him enough and tiring him enough that he didn't even try to scream or move.

He hurt so much. He was burning and breaking apart. He couldn't give up the source of power that flooded him, but he couldn't last much longer either. He shuddered slightly, the reaction to the sensations and the effects on his body involuntary. His power was destroying everything around him and himself. There was just too much.

The ground had shifted from the soft and squishy materials to something firmer, the surface feeling like wood floors under her boots. Sam followed her translucent tour guide as she led the teenager through the chaotic landscape. The woman with the red ribbon in her hair took her around leafless trees, across a twisting stone bridge that involved walking upside-down in a way that ignored gravity, and past an empty building with a sign that declared it was supposed to be inhabited by "girls, girls, girls." She also walked towards a solid cliff that rose up ahead of them, but it turned out to be an optical illusion that masked the start of a giant maze where the openings blended in with the walls. But the woman led Sam confidently and silently without any hint of hesitation.

"Okay, other than the fun trip through a deserted town with no right angles and buildings that are bigger on the inside than the outside, anyone know where exactly they're taking us yet?" asked Tucker.

"Hopefully towards our poltergeist," Lydia said.

"And are we sure yet that these guys are trust-worthy? If they're from his subconscious, will they really want to help us? Because he didn't seem to recognize friend from foe right now," said Sam.

Quietly, Danny said, "I don't know, but I want to trust them. They're acting like they want to help."

"So who are these people supposed to be, Lydia?" asked Sam.

"I don't know."

"He's your friend," said Tucker. "Shouldn't you at least have an idea?"

"He's been a ghost for over six hundred years," Lydia said tiredly over the line. "That's a lot of time and he's probably met a lot of people. And he doesn't always tell me specifics about his past."

"Well, these people are from a long time ago. Based on their clothes, I'd guess they're from medieval times and definitely from the poorer end of society," said Sam.

She gave the translucent woman another look. She gave Sam a brief smile and waved encouragingly towards her as the girl studied the woman's appearance again. Sam felt her assumptions were accurate. Friendly, but definitely from the distant past and poor.

"Could they be from when he was alive?" Jazz suggested. "I would think people from his life would have an important place in his subconscious memories."

"They're certainly from the right era," said Sam.

"The one I'm following is wearing a wedding ring. Maybe she's supposed to be his wife before he died," Danny said.

"No," said Lydia shortly. "He never married."

Tucker said, "Then maybe these were friends, family, or even a girlfriend. He must have known people in his life that were close to him." He paused briefly before adding, "Though he isn't that great at social interactions."

"A pretty young woman with chestnut hair tied in a red ribbon? Yeah, I can picture my guide catching his attention," said Sam.

The translucent figure turned a corner in the maze, briefly disappearing from sight. When Sam hurried to follow, she almost bumped into Tucker. They were out of the weird wooden cliff maze. She hadn't expected to find one of her friends so quickly. Apparently their guides were proving to be effective at their task.

She saw the other translucent person, the man who was leading Tucker around. He stood next to Sam's guide, giving her a respectful nod. The woman returned the greeting with a polite curtsy.

"Hey, I just found Lydia," said Danny. "And her see-through kid. She looks a little like Lydia too."

"Maybe a little," she admitted.

"Well, Tucker and I found each other too," said Sam. "How much you want to bet that if we follow them long enough, we'll all meet up?"

"Sounds reasonable," Danny said. "Hopefully we'll find each other before we have to face him again. We need to figure out a better plan than last time." He was quiet for a moment before he continued quietly, "I might have an idea, but it would be dangerous and a little crazy. But we might be able to get the necklace from him."

"A plan that could save him instead of destroying him? I'll risk it," said Lydia.

Anyone want to make their guesses on the identities of the pieces of Betelgeuse's subconscious that are leading the teenagers around? I tried to make it relatively easy to guess, but it might still be a little vague.

I'm sorry it wasn't the most exciting chapter ever, but the next one should be a bit more interesting. It should hopefully be time to see what Betelgeuse's ultimate fate will be. Will Danny's plan, whatever it is, work? Will they manage to steal the necklace away from Betelgeuse before it is too late? Will Lydia have to take drastic measures to save the world at the expense of her best friend? Will the world (and the Netherworld) ever recover from the damage he's doing? Will Betelgeuse survive? Or will he burn out in a spectacular explosion of power that will dwarf the Tunguska Event? You'll just have to wait and see.

Remember, reviews are nice and I always appreciate them. I love hearing feedback on this and all stories I write. Thanks.