After the events in the human world, Beatrice was lovesick. She was floating and swaying to her own beat, happier than ever, while Octavia was a worried mess. She could see how this human boy (who was miraculously the ghost Phantom) made her feel. Like her heart swelled and beat for the first time after seeing him. Like the first bite of a chocolate cake, how it warmed your stomach with chocolaty goodness. She could see how Beatrice fell, for she had fallen hard. So much so that Octavia was worried that Betelgeuse would find out sooner rather than later.
But he was clueless...for a while.
One day, a few weeks later, Beatrice was giggling at the mere thought of Danny. His icy eyes and his raven hair, how they glimmered in the sun's light. His lips were so perfect and pink. How she wished she could...her blush would be present every time she thought of how soft they would be to kiss. His soft skin...she could still feel it on her fingertips.
"Beatrice, calm down," Octavia said, worry in her voice. "Your father is in the next room over!"
"Oh, get a grip, Octavia!" Beatrice said. "He'll never know."
"And how are you so sure?!" Octavia yelled. "He could be listening in on us right now!" Now, with this said, Beatrice let her smile fall, thinking this over. Octavia had a point. Her father was one to snoop on her conversations a lot. So, chances were...
She took a breath and plopped back on her bed, looking at the ceiling above her. She remained quiet for the majority of this time, though a smile kept tugging at her mouth. Her brain, still thinking about Danny. And in return, a giggle left her mouth, making Octavia sigh in defeat.
"I'm sorry, Octavia! I just can't stop thinking about him!" Beatrice said as she perked up at the idea that came to her mind. "I have to see him again. Tonight! And I think I know where he lives."
"What?! No! Beatrice!"
"What?! I'll just go out to the Human World, see him, and tell him everything! Maybe..."
"No!" Octavia yelled, making Beatrice stare in wonder. The silver-haired ghost girl sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation as her round glasses moved from her hand.
(SONG: "Under the Sea" - The Little Mermaid, 2023) [Lyric change and shortened]
OCTAVIA: Okay, okay! Just…listen to me: the human world is a mess. Life in the Ghost Zone is better than anything they've got up there.
BEATRICE: Oh, yeah!?
OCTAVIA: Yeah! The ghoul-fish is always greener/in somebody else's lake./You dream about going out there/but that is a big mistake./Just look at the world around you/right here on the ghostly floor./Such wonderful things surround you/what more are you looking for./In the Ghost Zone/in the Ghost Zone./Darling, it's better/right where it's creepier/take it from me./Out on the land they work all day./Out in the sun they slave away/while we devoted, full-time to floating/in the Ghost Zone.
In an instant, Octavia took Beatrice out to the main hub of ghosts, showing her everything that she has in this world.
BEATRICE: But, Octavia...
OCTAVIA: Nope.
BEATRICE: But...
OCTAVIA: No. I'm trying to protect you.
BEATRICE: I don't need...
OCTAVIA: Down here, all the ghosts are happy/as off through the worlds they roam./The folk on the land ain't happy/they sad cause they're in-disposed./But folk on the land are lucky/they're in for a worser fate./One day when destiny calls them/they're going to the golden gates!/Oh, yeah!/In the Ghost Zone/in the Ghost Zone/no body beat us/harm us and eat us in fricassee./We're what the humans love to "cook"/in the Ghost Zone we're off the hook!/We got no troubles/life is the bubbles/in the Ghost Zone.
BEATRICE: In the Ghost Zone
OCTAVIA: In the Ghost Zone/(BEATRICE: In the Ghost Zone)/yes, child, since life is sweet here/we got the beat here/naturally./(BEATRICE: Naturally)/Even Skulker and Ember/they get the urge and start to play./We got the spirit/you got to hear it/in the Ghost Zone.
Beatrice watched as ghosts and ghouls alike danced and floated around the Ghost Zone, showing her that her home had some wonderful residents. Old and new. But, her mind was made up. She wanted to be in the Human World, with Danny by her side. She NEEDED that chance. And she knew how to get it.
OCTAVIA: Yeah, in the Ghost Zone/(BEATRICE: In the Ghost Zone)/in the Ghost Zone/(BEATRICE: In the Ghost Zone)/when all the ghouls begin to beguine/it's music to me/(BEATRICE: music is to me)./What do they got? A lot of sand?/We got a hot and undead band/each little ghoul here, knows how jam here/in the Ghost Zone./Each little slug here, cuttin' a rug here/in the Ghost Zone./Each little snail here, know how to wail here/that's why it's hotter, out in the "water"./Yeah, we're in luck here, down in the muck here/in the Ghost Zone!/Yeah.
(End of the song)
"So you see, your home is..." Octavia turned around, stopping the moment she saw that Beatrice was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, gosh darn it! Beatrice!" She flew after her friend, searching high and low for where she could be. But surprisingly, she wasn't home, she wasn't with any of the other residents of this wonderful world they lived in. Well, that wasn't too surprising. Octavia knew where Beatrice would go if she felt cornered here. She knew where she would end up.
So, with a breath, she went to leave to meet up with her friend when...
"Octavia!" She stopped, gulping down the fear as her eyes widened. "Where's my daughter?!"
...
Oh, boy...
Meanwhile, we find Beatrice out in the Human World, dusting and arranging her collection in the basement of the abandoned Townsend Place. Some of it clattered and clanged, while others just thudded against other wooden objects. And she didn't mind the noises. It kept her mind away from the trap of her home life. Having the Ghost with the Most as your father wasn't what it was cracked up to be. He was strict and careless about her feelings. Yes, he showed her he loved her multiple times, but the one thing she wanted from him...was to live here, in the Human World.
"Some collection you got here," Beatrice perked up, looking to the shadows as a woman poked her head out. Her poker-straight black hair hung off her shoulders and her red eyes gleamed in the dark lighting. "Is that a Victorian fork right there?" She gestured to the utensil in the candelabra on the table in the center of the basement. "Very fascinating."
"Jada?" Beatrice asked with surprise, setting the stuff in her arms down. "Where have you been? Octavia and I were..."
"I know," The woman, Jada, said, sighing as she stepped forward. "I just needed some time to myself."
"I've heard some awful things about you, Jada!" Beatrice said. "Ghosts around the Zone are saying you've become a sorceress ghost, one of untapped power."
Jada stared at Beatrice, her emotionless eyes showing no signs of the rumors being true or false. But, her mouth upturned into a sly smile as she walked more into the light. "So, what about that?" She asked. "If you believe the rumors and lies, well...that just shows your character."
"Jada, I..."
"I know what you meant, Bea. And I understand why you would think they were true."
"It's been years," Beatrice said. "How have you been?"
"Eh, can't complain," Jada said, picking up a figurine of a ballerina. "I've just been thinking."
"Thinking? About what?"
"Those hunters who took my mom," Jada gritted her teeth, the memory vivid in her brain as she slammed the figurine on the table, surprisingly not shattering it. "They took everything from me. I had no one else after her destruction."
"Jada, I'm so sorry," Beatrice said, floating over and placing a hand on her arm. "I had no idea you were hurting from that still."
"Yeah, well...hurt and grief heal in different ways," Jada sighed. "But that's why I came here. I understand you like coming to this world a lot."
"I do, more than anything," Beatrice sighed. "And there's this...boy, I sort of..."
"Oh, Beatrice Shaggoth, are you saying you've fallen for a human boy?" Jada teased, making Beatrice giggle in response.
"Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"Oh, scout's honor," Jada smirked. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could..."
"BEATRICE!" Jada jumped back into the shadows, going invisible as Beatrice spun around to see her father, eyes crazy as he stared at her. "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO COME TO THIS WORLD!"
"You can't keep me away from this world forever!" Beatrice yelled back. "You don't know how my longing to be a part of this world hurts!"
"Well, you shouldn't want that! Humans are mean and cruel and will strike you down without a second thought!"
"But they haven't! I've been flying around. They don't notice me," Beatrice tried to reason with her father, but his mind was clouded with anger.
"ENOUGH!" He yelled.
Beatrice stared, watching as Octavia flew out, hand outstretched to stop her father. "Mr. Shaggoth, stop! I..."
"Octavia," The silver-haired ghost looked at her friend, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "How could you?"
"She did the right thing!" Betelgeuse yelled. "I won't stand for this! You are to stay in the Ghost Zone for the remainder of your life! You are to never come out here again!"
"You can't do that!"
"Oh, yes, I can!"
"But if you do, how will I ever see him again!" She gasped, covering her mouth out of shock before Betelgeuse stared at his daughter. His angry eyes calmed in surprise, his lip quivering at this thought.
He just heard her admit she fell for a human.
(SONG: "The World Above" REPRISE - The Little Mermaid on Broadway)
BETELGEUSE: (Points to the portal) That is where you belong…
BEATRICE: You don't understand!
BETELGEUSE: For once, just listen, will you?!/That savage brute would kill you in this world above!
BEATRICE: He's not a barbarian…
BETELGEUSE: Don't try that same old song!/I'll have you grounded 'till next year./Am I clear?!/Don't go near this world above!
BEATRICE: I'm not a child anymore!
BETELGEUSE: No? Have you lost your senses?! He's a human…you're a ghost!
BEATRICE: It doesn't matter!
BETELGEUSE: I'm still your father/my word is law!/This filth you have here is the final straw./And push, my daughter, has come to shove!/I'll make you obey till you do as I say./I don't care, come what may/but I'll keep you away/from this cruel, harsh, cold, vile, world ABOVE!
(End of the song)
And with a flick of his wrist, the portal to this place was broken, shattered beyond repair.
"NO!" Beatrice screamed, flying toward it and pressing buttons. "No, no, come on."
"I'm going home," Betelgeuse said as he floated up. "I better see you there in the next fifteen minutes." And he was gone, leaving Beatrice alone with Octavia.
Beatrice tried to fix the machine, but nothing worked. It was trapped to be dead for the rest of time. And the hurt in her heart grew ten times more than before. The ache to be part of this world hurt her, crippled her, and kept her in place. She fell to her knees, tears falling down her face as she shook with silent sobs. Her one sanctuary, her place of escape...she'd never return if she left.
"Bea," Octavia began, "I'm so sorry. I..."
"Just go away," Beatrice said, causing Octavia to stare in worry and sorrow. She just hurt and betrayed her best friend. She wasn't sure if there was ever getting back to where they were before.
"I didn't mean to," She said, floating up to the first floor of the Townsend Place.
"Wow," Jada began, making herself known once more. "Last I checked, he didn't have that kind of temper."
"Please...I just want to be left alone," Beatrice said through sobs.
"Oh, I understand completely," Jada said. "But...I might be able to help you."
"Help me? How?" Beatrice turned to her old friend, seeing the smile she was wearing.
"You know those rumors?" Beatrice nodded slowly. "Well, some of them are true. I do have magic that no other ghost has."
"Really?"
"Really," Jada continued. "And I could help."
"And I ask again...how?"
Jada's smile faded into a sly smile, a smirk even before she gestured to a couple of figurines that looked like they were dancing. They were right in front of Beatrice.
"Honey, the only way to get what you want...is to become a human yourself."
Beatrice gasped, standing up in surprise. "You can do that?"
"Why of course! It's what I do," Jada began. "It's what I live for, to help unfortunate ghosts like yourself. Poor souls with nowhere else to go."
The offer, tempting as it was, swam around Beatrice's mind like a confused puppy chasing its tail. It intrigued her, telling her to take it as if it was the only chance she'd get. She looked at the time, why she didn't know. But it had already been 5 minutes since her father's warning. If she didn't go back, who knew what her father would do to her!
But she didn't care.
"I'm set up in one of the rooms on the first floor," Jada said. "Do you accept the help?" Beatrice looked back at the black-haired ghost, seeing the sly smile on her face still. It was now or never.
"Show me."