Chapter Seven:

She recognized the green light. The last time she’d seen it, she’d been trying to open the attic door with a skeleton key. Betelgeuse had yet to let go of her shoulder.

“One problem with letting a Breather into the Neitherworld is that they aren’t allowed. So,” he glanced down at her, “I’m gonna have to make you look dead.”

Lydia nodded. “Be creative,” she advised.

“Lyds,” he scoffed, “I’m always creative.”

With that, he snapped his fingers and Lydia felt her skin tingle in a not-so-unpleasant way. She turned to face Barbara and Adam and held her arms out. “Well? How do I look?”

She stood there in her pajamas—paler than usual (a feat in itself) and covered in blood. Adam looked like—had he been alive—he was about to be sick.

“You look… Stabbed,” said Barbara.

Lydia looked down at herself and saw the puncture wounds on her chest and shoulder. “Deadly vu,” she whispered. She turned to face Betelgeuse. “Hey, can you do this sort of thing for Halloween?” she asked.

Betelgeuse raised a brow at her. “Just as long as I don’t gotta sign autographs and shit.”

Lydia grinned widely, remember the last time he made that reference in regards to his “creativity.” “But Caroline would really get a kick out of walking around school looking like a zombie. She watches Dawn of the Dead like, every weekend.”

Betelgeuse just smiled back, hooked her arm through his, and patted her hand.

“Let’s scoot, babes!”

They headed through Adam’s brick door, the Maitlands just steps behind them with bemused looks on their faces.

No waiting room this time. Betelgeuse had concentrated on a certain destination in the Neitherworld and, pop, they were there. Juno’s office.

She was in with a client—a guy who looked like he’d been shanked to death (if the prison uniform was any indication).

“Look, I just want to know if I can, you know, screw around with the guards’ heads and shit. I mean…” the man trailed off as he noticed the arrival of four uninvited guests.

Juno, ever-present cigarette hanging from her lips like an appendage, frowned even deeper than she had been at the sight of the Maitlands.

“What’re you two doing here?” she croaked, “You didn’t get a number, I didn’t call you…”

Adam and Barbara stepped to the side and revealed Betelgeuse and a rather excited-looking Lydia Deetz.

A puff of agitated smoke escaped the gaping hole in Juno’s neck. “What the hell is this?” she snapped.

Lydia pulled herself away from the interesting images surrounding her and grinned widely at the cranky social worker. “Hi, I’m Lydia Deetz—the girl that Betelgeuse here,” she tugged on his arm, “tried to marry so he could escape this place and remain in the Outerworld. I’ve come to plead his case.”

The smile faded from her face and was replaced by a grim expression. “When I die, I don’t want him to be exorcised. It’s unfair. I forgave him.”

Juno scowled. She stabbed her cigarette in the girl’s direction and her lips pulled back into a snarl. “You shouldn’t even be here, Lydia.”

Lydia’s grim face darkened—the deep circles that Betelgeuse had zapped under her eyes practically glowed with her anger. “Well I think I should be here. If he’s being charged with a crime against me, then I should be here to exonerate him. I opened the ring. I forgave him.”

Juno took a drag off her cigarette. Her dark, calculating eyes flicked over Lydia and then she looked at Betelgeuse. “What the hell happened to you, anyway?” she snapped.

He shrugged and picked at a fingernail that was too clean for his liking. “Random act of kindness from a stranger, I dunno.”

Cigarette dangling from her mouth, Juno crossed her arms and looked him up and down. “You’ve never looked better,” she admitted. She then turned on Barbara and Adam. “Now you two, you’ve spent time with Betelgeuse since he’s been released… Do you also believe that he deserves another chance?”

The couple nodded.

Juno sighed theatrically—a cloud of smoke issuing out of her neck with a measured force. “Fine. I’ll go speak to Judge Mental to see if we can get you an acquittal.”

She vanished in her usual manner—with a choking puff of acrid smoke. Lydia coughed and waved a hand in front of her nose, her eyes watering. Betelgeuse clapped her on the back several times.

The fit cleared and Lydia smiled at the poltergeist in thanks.

Betelgeuse opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Juno’s sudden return. She looked even more unhappy than she had when she left. It seemed almost impossible for her to appear any more pissed off or cranky, but she pulled it off somehow.

“He’s not dropping the charges.”

Betelgeuse felt like the floor had fallen out from underneath him. “What?”

“When she dies,” Juno pointed her cigarette at Lydia but did not look at her. Her perpetually angry eyes were trained on Betelgeuse, “you’re to be exorcised.”

With one last scathing look, Betelgeuse took Lydia’s hand and tugged her with him. Barbara and Adam were already on their way to the fifth door down the hallway.

It seemed hopeless for the Ghost with the Most.

But, looking up at his defeated face, Lydia Deetz made a promise to herself that she’d figure out how to save him.

To Be Continued...

Sorry to leave everyone hanging like this! I am planning on writing a sequel, "Liberation," don’t worry! You’ll all just have to wait a bit. To my reviewers, Yetipie, Lydia Sparrow, 1woof1, SesshoumarusMisstress, London1, . GJ, mywickedlyweirdnature, WitchyWanda, mangekyou kakashi, karyna, Mana-Kipagami, Clinical Criminal, Iconic Superheroes, Hybrid Fabrications: Thanks for your support! Please be patient while I write the next one. I promise I won't end it here.