Welcome To The Neitherworld

London

Disclaimer: This is a fictional story based on the movie and the cartoon version of Beetlejuice. I'm going to try to stick closer to the movie though. All BJ things belong to Tim Burton or someone….we'll stick with Burton for now. The language may be a little discretional.

Chapter 1: Boo

Riding her bike home from school, Lydia Deetz found herself thinking about her recent mishap with Beetlejuice. Would she ever meet with him again? She pushed the thought away and rode a little faster to her house. The sky roared a little, urging Lydia to go even faster before it started to rain. A car whirred past her and it was then that the sky let out…it rained.

Lydia groaned and rode past the cemetery. She stopped and gazed into its depths. She knew the cemetery and the entire town by heart. Adam Maitland, one of the ghosts in her attic, kept an updated version of the entire city. Lydia gave a sigh and went back to riding home. Just as Lydia had known, Delia, Lydia's stepmom, was in a panic rush when she got home.

"Oh! Lydia, please wipe your feet!" Delia ordered. "Did you wipe your feet? Look at you, you're all wet! Go change right now, we wouldn't want the house to get all soggy."

Lydia tromped upstairs to her room. She couldn't stand Delia's constant ragging. She shut her door and fell back onto her bed. The rain had increased and it made a comforting noise. Lydia decided that Delia was right about one thing, getting into some different clothes would be good. She got up and looked in her closet. She pulled out a basic outfit that consisted of: a black tight shirt, a black vest, and a black a-line skirt. She put the clothes onto her bed and started taking her school clothes off.

"Whoa" a voice said from behind her. She spun around and saw nothing.

"Hello?" Lydia asked. "Who's there?"

No answer, no owner of the voice, no nothing. Lydia turned back around and undid her shirt. She placed her black shirt on. She looked behind her, not sure of the voice coming back. She put her skirt on, under her school skirt. She took the school skirt off and looked around the room. Still nothing.

"This isn't worth anything!" The voice yelled again. She was quick to turn around this time.

"Who's there?" Lydia asked. She spotted the mirror and saw a familiar face there.

"Hey babes" Beetlejuice said. In the mirror, he was lounging in the red tuxedo that Lydia remembered him wearing during their supposed 'wedding'.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you" Lydia said. She turned around and put her vest on.

"But, I want to talk to you" Beetlejuice replied. Lydia opened the door, grabbed her camera, and left—allowing the door to slam shut. "Hey! We had a deal you slimy, no-good, mortal!"

Lydia was up the stairs to the attic faster then she had ever gone up them. She knocked on the door and entered without the Maitland's consent. She shut the door and sat down on their cloth-covered couch. Barbara and Adam (the Maitland's) gathered around her.

"Lydia?" Barbara asked. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Adam asked.

"It's Betel—you know, that guy" Lydia said trying not to say his name.

"Him!" Barbara gasped. She looked at Adam.

"When I left my room he was screaming something about a deal" Lydia replied. "You don't think he meant that marriage thing, do you?"

"Most likely he did" Adam replied. He adjusted his glasses. "I don't know how to help you with this."

"Would the book know?" Lydia asked. Barbara retrieved it and skimmed through it.

"Where did you see him?" Adam asked.

"In my mirror" Lydia replied. Adam pulled up a stool and sat down.

"Oh, here, look at this!" Barbara pointed. "It says that when ghosts are banished to the Neitherworld, they can only watch the living through reflective objects….like the mirror in Lydia's room….or, they can be emancipated (set free) by having their name called three times or marriage to one of the living."

"Oh no. You kept him from being set free" Adam replied. "He was a nuisance when he wasn't angry."

"What does it say in there about mad ghosts, Barbara?" Lydia asked peering over the book. Barbara flipped through the book and handed it to Adam.

"Can we get back to you?" Adam asked searching the book. Lydia nodded and stood up.

"Yeah, just try to find the answer soon ok?" Lydia replied. Adam was more into searching for the answer then saying good-bye to Lydia, but Barbara did it for him. "Thanks."

Delia was in the kitchen getting some type of vegi tray ready. Lydia came down and stared at the odd shaped tray. It was odd imagining the time the food had turned into hands while Delia sang "Day-o".

"What are you doing, Delia?" Lydia asked.

"Your father and I are going to a special dinner tonight and I'd appreciate it if the house doesn't burn down while we're gone" Delia replied. Lydia nodded and walked down to her basement. Well, actually it was more like her dark room. Lydia flipped her red lights on and started developing some of her newly shot film. Lydia ran the previously half done film through the chemicals and waited for it to develop.

"Hey Toots" Beetlejuice said. His reflection was in the chemicals.

"Go away, Be—" Lydia said stopping herself. "What do you want?"

"Well the last I remember, we were supposed to be married! But, hey, I get it. You were nervous. Probably your first time gettin' hitched, right?" Beetlejuice yelled. He put his hands up and slapped on a grin. "Here's the deal. You just say my name three times, I'm out, you're happy, and no one is bothered. What do you say?"

"No" Lydia replied. Beetlejuice's face turned from happy to sour.

"C'mon! What do you want from me!" Beetlejuice asked. "God! You'd think I'm starting to be reasonable!"

"Why do you want out so badly?" Lydia asked. Beetlejuice turned to her.

"Why? Why! You want to know why? I'll tell you why!" Beetlejuice yelled. "I can't do a damned fucking thing in here! That's why!"

"Well, Adam and Barbara told me that I could say your name three times and you'd be able to go" Lydia replied.

"Yep" Beetlejuice replied in agreement.

"But what happens if I say your name three more times?" Lydia asked him. "You'd you go back like last time?"

"Why would you even want to say my name three more times?" Beetlejuice asked.

"What would happen?" Lydia asked him. He made a face at her. She shook her head and took the now developed pictures out of the chemicals and placed them in a water bath. "What would happen?"

"Hmmm…let me think about it for a sec, Babes" Beetlejuice replied. His reflection had moved to a silver crab pot in the corner of the room. She watched him. "Well, I'm not sure. I think that I'D PROBABLY BE RETURNED BACK TO THIS HELL HOLE!"

"Why do you want out so bad?" Lydia asked starting to clean up her mess. A knock from upstairs led to Delia screaming to Lydia that she and Charles were leaving. When Lydia turned around, Beetlejuice wasn't on the crab pot. "Beetlejuice?"

"Uno" Beetlejuice counted. "Two more times, Babes."

"Leave me alone" Lydia replied. Beetlejuice showed himself again. This time he showed his whole body instead of his upper portion.

"C'mon, Lyds! Oh, oh I know! It's the suit right? Makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. No problem" Beetlejuice replied. In a flash he was changed into his usual striped suit. "How's this? Better?"

"Barbara" Lydia yelled.

"Barbara" Beetlejuice mocked. "We can strike a deal, Babes."

"Stop calling me that" Lydia replied. Barbara entered through the door and saw the two talking.

"Calling you what?" Beetlejuice asked.

"Babes" Lydia replied. He crossed his arms as Barbara approached.

"Beetl—" Barbara began.

"No!" Lydia squealed. "I already said it once."

"I could put a curse on you if I really wanted to" Beetlejuice threatened.

"Why don't you just go away?" Barbara asked.

"Why don't you? Look, I need to be free. If you don't say the words, I'll get someone else to say them. I don't need you" Beetlejuice replied with large arm movements. "You already said my name one full time!"

Barbara took Lydia upstairs leaving Beetlejuice alone in the basement. He disappeared after giving them a few gestures of the fingers. It was then that Beetlejuice got the brilliant idea of kidnapping.

Beetlejuice returned to his humble abode in the Neitherworld. His humble abode was mainly an apartment, like anyone else's…..except that it was crawling with insects and it was filthy. He sat on his couch and put his feet up on a skull table.

Beetlejuice flipped on the television for a little noise. Kidnapping one of the living could get him in a whole lot of trouble. The living weren't supposed to be brought to the Neitherworld.

"I have to be clever about this" Beetlejuice replied. "This would be a good time to actually follow that stupid book." He grabbed a passing insect and popped it into his mouth. "I can get her to set me free."

"Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, cinco, ceas…" The radio blared. It was playing "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)". Barbara and Adam danced while Lydia cleaned her camera. They were up in the attic. Beetlejuice appeared in the miniature town.

"I'm pretty fly for a white guy!" Beetlejuice yelled. They all stopped and looked at the miniature town. Beetlejuice sat posed on a tombstone. "Whoa, the two dead people and Lyds."

"Go away" Barbara said.

"Hey! I got something to tell you FREAKS!" Beetlejuice yelled at them. He clapped and the tv popped on. It had Beetlejuice standing with his striped suit on. He said "Have you ever gotten the feeling that you just aren't a normal human being? Seriously. You're not dead and you're still alive. Well I've got some news for ya! You'll be spending some time with me in the Neitherworlds! HA HA! See you there, Babes."

Lydia turned to Barbara and Adam, but was already starting to fade away. The look on her face was one of a frightened girl.