[IC] Stranger Beetles

[Metronome]

"Hey, I can do that!" Beetlejuice said around another worm. Charles gave him a glare.

"Not that I remember, sweetheart, but it's been years. Why do you ask?"

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia hesitated a little before telling him what happened before, during, and after they went to close the portal. "Everytime it happened it was like energy flowed out of me. It left me drained to where I could barely stay awake." She finished.

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice sat up a little. This was news to him, too.

"I've never seen anything like that," Charles said, looking astonished at the story.

"Neither have I," BJ said, "Breathers don't get powers like that until they die and become ghosts." What if Lydia was becoming a ghost? Could that happen?

[Beetlejuice96]

"But I'm not dead...right?" She asked, paling at the thought. Was it possible she was dead and didn't know it? Her frame shook at the thought of finally finding her father only to be dead.

[Metronome]

"Of course not," Beetlejuice said quickly. "I would know! Plus, Chuck wouldn't be able to see you." He shrugged. "Maybe it's something weird those fuckers up at that lab did. But it sure comes in handy. Maybe you should get your strength up too. Worm?"

He offered her a juicy nightcrawler. Charles held his hand up.

"Why don't I make some waffles?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"Waffles sound perfect." Lydia smiled before following him into the kitchen. The next couple of days she stayed with Beetlejuice to keep him company and tried figuring out what caused the energy burst and why she had it.

"It's pointless, Beej. I've tried everything but that soda isn't moving." She said after attempting countless times to get it to move.

[Metronome]

"Maybe it's, like, an emotional thing," Beetlejuice suggested. "Like, I can't ever go full on Shoggoth unless I'm really pissed. Mom never let me forget." He sat at the kitchen table, chin rested on it.

Charles came in with the groceries. "I stopped by the Maitlands' and let them know you're safe," he said, "So you'll both be staying here for a while." He paused, uncertainly. "Lydia, could I have a moment with Mr. Juice?"

Beetlejuice picked his head up. "If this is about the ghost snakes, it wasn't me!"

"Ghost snakes?" Charles frowned. "Nevermind. Lydia, why don't you go up stairs for a bit and work on your online class some."

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia gave Beetlejuice an uncertain look before heading upstairs but she didn't go into her room. She knew that Beej might share with her anyway, but she wanted to know what was going on herself. She wasn't a child anymore, being thirteen now.

[Metronome]

Charles spoke in a relatively quiet tone, but Beetlejuice piped up loudly.

"Move out?! What do you mean move out?! I'll disappear!"

"It's just the cabin behind the house. You can have it all to yourself and-"

"And what? You put me out like I'm some kind of dog, Chuck? So you can forget about me? Like I'm some sort of problem?!"

"That's not what I said. You're putting words in my mouth!" Charles defended himself. He jumped as a giant centipede suddenly rushed across his foot. A glance around the house showed other creature appearing out of nowhere. A massive cockroach on the wall, a bat flitting in and out of the rafter, a rat scurrying under the stairs. "Beetlejuice, you stop this right this instant!"

"You're trying to get rid of me!" He accused.

"I am not. But you can't keep staying in Lydia's room. I just don't think that it's appropriate for-"

"Not appropriate?!" Beetlejuice looked like he'd been struck. "What are you trying to imply, Chuck? In case you've forgotten," The angry demon advanced on the man, making Charles back up towards the door. More insects and pests appeared, scurrying around the house. "I've raised Lydia a lot longer than you!"

He seemed to realize that he'd struck a nerve almost as soon as the words left his mouth. Charles's lip thinned, and he turned and stormed from the house. Beetlejuice looked a little shocked, maybe at himself, but straightened up. He refused to apologize; he was right, anyway.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Beej, what the hell?!" Lydia exclaimed, standing up from where she had seen and heard everything. She glared at him before shaking her head and running outside. "Dad, wait! Dad!" She called after Charles as she sprinted towards him.

"He didn't mean-" She tried to explain

[Metronome]

Charles had already stomped halfway around the lake. His face was red with anger, and hot with tears. That demon had some damn nerve. Like it was his fault that his daughter had been taken from him. Like he wouldn't love to have those years back. Like that vile, filthy creature had done a better job keeping her safe than him.

He sat himself down in the tall grass. Charles heard Lydia calling him. He quickly wiped his face. "Lydia," he greeted her. "Your...demon and I were just having a talk."

He couldn't bring himself to call that monster her friend.

[Beetlejuice96]

"I...heard everything." She admitted, looking at the ground before sitting down beside him. She let silence hang around them before glancing his way.

"Ever since Beej came into my life, we've been inseparable. Whenever he tried to leave, he'd get unsummoned so he had to stay close to me. We've never really been separated for a long period of time. He was the only parent like figure who cared as much for me as I did him." She explained before looking out over the lake.

"He didn't mean what he said, he's just...upset. Protective."

[Metronome]

"That doesn't give him the right," Charles began, but his voice broke halfway. He paused, gathered himself. "I just thought a little healthy distance would be good for you both. You need to be around humans more, Lydia. Not monsters. I don't think he's a good influence on you."

[Beetlejuice96]

"Not a good influence?" Lydia echoed, looking at him. She blinked owlishly at him. Not a good influence?

"Okay, I might have picked up some language from him, but that doesn't make him a bad influence. And he might be a demon, but he was more human than those monsters that kept us captive like animals for years." She argued, now standing. She didn't notice her caramel colored eyes turning to a honey gold as power surged through her.

[Metronome]

"I understand that, hun. But saying he's the lesser of two evils doesn't mean he's a good role model. I just think it'd be best for you both, mostly you, perhaps, if-" Charles paused, looking up at her and noticing her eyes. "Lydia? Are you okay?"

[Beetlejuice96]

"No, I'm not okay! You want me to stop being around the one person who's always been there for me since I thought you were dead! The only person who cared about my safety, my wellbeing! You just want me to ignore him like he's not even there!" She shouted, her hair now floating around by a wind that wasn't there at all.

[Metronome]

"That's not what I said!" Charles fought back. See, this was exactly what he meant! That demon's temper had rubbed off on his daughter. "Lydia, please calm down and let's talk about this!" Could he not have a civil conversation without some sort of powers being thrown in his face?

[Beetlejuice96]

"NO!" Lydia shouted, the energy that was building inside her finally exploding out violently. A wave appeared on the lake, quickly heading to the other side as a gust of wind hit the trees towards the cabin. The grass around her had flattened from the burst. She panted heavily as she looked at her father, eyes returning to their normal color before rolling to the back of her head as she started to collapse.

[Metronome]

"Lydia!" He caught her and picked her up, carrying her back towards the house. When he got inside, the house was back to normal. No centipedes, no bats, no roaches, and no demon. He went into the living room and set her down on the couch. "Lydia?" He tried to gently shake her awake.

[Beetlejuice96]

The only response was blood appearing from her nose, leaving a crimson line as it rolled away from its source. She was completely unconscious, her chest rising and falling softly to show that she was alright otherwise. The only questions that remained was what caused the energy surge and how did she have that power?