[IC] Stranger Beetles

[Metronome]

Miss Shoggoth's beady, cold eyes sized Lydia up. "Little girl, you have no idea who you have been dealing with all these years, have you?" She looked at Beetlejuice. "And I'm sure you haven't told her." Beetlejuice shrunk back into his chair again.

"The demon next to you has been a thorn in my side since the day I decided not to abort his ass. He used to go out into the living world and kill breathers for sport. Bet he left that out, didn't he? He used to think it was funny to cause mass chaos and almost get the Netherworld exposed to the living. And I personally believe he had a hand in the bubonic plague, although I could never find enough evidence to charge him for it. That demon right there is nothing but trouble, and I've always been the one cleaning up his messes."

Beetlejuice couldn't bring himself to look at Lydia. He wanted to say that his mother was lying, but he knew she wasn't. His old self hadn't been a very nice person at all, and he'd never exactly disclosed that detail to Lydia.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Because you were a horrible mother to him!" Lydia snapped, now standing in defiance. "I know he's done things he isn't proud of. Hell, I've seen him slaughter people before my eyes when I was too young to be exposed to such horrors. But the difference between us is I don't beat him when he's down, point out his flaws, or straight up abandon him! He's your son. All he's ever wanted from you was recognition and acceptance but you're too much of a stuck up bitch to give him an ounce of it!"

[Metronome]

"He's a demon," Miss Shoggoth said firmly, "And it's about damn time he learns that. He's an embarrassment to the family name. All this need for love and affection, like he's some kind of human child. It's time to grow up, Lawrence. You're going to learn to suck it up like you should have done centuries ago, and these two humans are going to pay the price for your pathetic groveling."

She stood, and suddenly they weren't in the office anymore. They were on what looked like a giant, flat, floating boulder. There was a roar below them: sandworms. Beetlejuice stood to try and do something, anything, but the cuffs that had been bound to his wrists and ankles since this curse started suddenly grew chains, and wrapped him up.

Miss Shoggoth began to shift, growing tentacles, her mouth expanding. It looked like she was going into her shoggoth form.

[Beetlejuice96]

"NOW!" Lydia shouted, her eyes fully gold now as she threw her hands out before her in a claw like fashion, making a tearing apart action with them. Ash burst into flames upon taking their true form, quickly surrounding the area around Mrs. Shoggoth. Lydia let out a primal scream as she used to powers to rip, tear, shred, destroy this woman.

[Metronome]

Iggy was transfixed on the woman shapeshifting into a massive, hideous monster. Lydia's shout pulled her out of it. "We're really doing this, huh?" She asked no on in particular.

She joined Ash in making the firewall. The monster roared when Lydia began attacking. It flailed a massive tentacle at them, swiping Iggy off her feet and dangerously close to the edge. She cried out and scrambled closer to Ash, and away from the sandworms leering at them from below.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia kept her focus on the Shoggoth before her, acting from the rage inside her. The lies, the facility, her only friend being attacked by this bitch all of it fueled her powers. As a tentacle went to attack her, she made a motion of tearing it away. Upon hearing the pained roar and seeing the tendril fall over the edge, she knew damage was being dealt.

"Are you alright?" Ash asked, never taking their focus away from the monstrosity before them but were concerned about their human.

[Metronome]

"I'm fine," Iggy regrouped and stood to rejoin the fire wall. The monster roared angrily and began to charge at Lydia. Iggy froze. Could Lydia stop it? What if she couldn't?

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia grunted as she put up a an invisible blockade between herself and Mrs. Shoggoth, sliding back a little as the monster hit it. She gritted her teeth as she braced herself, trying to push her back or hopefully off the edge. Due to her efforts, blood started to creep down from her nose.

[Metronome]

The monster fought back, its mass pushing against Lydia's defense. Iggy looked over, then shook Ash's shoulder. "We have to help her!"

Iggy ran to stand beside Lydia and began blasting fire towards the monster. The fire scorched its flesh as it pressed against the invisible shield. It screeched and began moving back slowly.

[Beetlejuice96]

Ash nodded in agreement before attacking Mrs.Shoggoth trying to push her back. She was almost there, they just needed a little more. "This is for Beetlejuice!" Lydia shouted before giving the beast one final strong blast against the barrier in hopes of pushing the bitch off to the Sandworms below.

[Metronome]

The monster roared angrily, pushing back with all it's might. But the red hot wall was too much. Finally, it toppled off the edge. The sandworms below bellowed gleefully as they moved in to devour their prey.

Beetlejuice, who had been helplessly watching the whole time, was suddenly free. He flew up, feeling his mouth the ensure the zipper was gone.

"Lyds!" He flew over to her and swooped her up. "You did it kid! I'm free! We're free!"

[Beetlejuice96]

"Beej! You're back!" Lydia exclaimed as she hugged him, his appearance back to its disheveled self. She couldn't help but laugh as she celebrated the victory of defeating Mrs. Shoggoth.

"Darling!" Ash smiled before kissing his cheek happily. "She's gone forever, we don't have to worry about her anymore."

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice rounded everyone up into a group hug by extending his arms around them and pulling them in. "Let's get the hell out of here!" He poof'd them back to the portal, which was thankfully still open.

When they passed through, they were met with a massacre. Dead creatures lay all over the floor, and the gang was looking disheveled and tired, but victorious.

"Damn, its about time!" Riff Raff grinned. "Let's shut this thing off!"

[Beetlejuice96]

Max nodded before shutting the machine down, the portal quickly closing. "You did it, right? You got him back to normal." She said with a little smile as she pointed towards Beetlejuice.

"You guys were only gone for a half hour." Malcolm stated as he sat down for a breather. "Felt like hours fighting off those damn things."

"Yeah, but it was fun." Toph added as she poked a dead demon.

[Metronome]

"Lyds, you wanna go visit the two sexiest and most boring people we know?" Beetlejuice hung over her shoulder in the air. He kinda' missed the Maitlands, and bringing a bunch of dirty gang members into their house would be priceless.

[Beetlejuice96]

"Yeah, I do. But we're bringing our family with us. They need to meet them too." Lydia smiled. She had missed those adorable labradoodles...and even her father. "Beej? Do...Do you think you can bring my dad as well?"

[Metronome]

Beetlejuice frowned. Of all the people he missed, Lydia's dad was near the very bottom of the list. He was still salty about the multiple fights they'd had. But, he also knew that Charles was important to Lydia, and she'd just risked everything to help him. The least he could do was risk his pride.

"If you want, kid."

Beetlejuice rounded everyone up and poof'd them to the cabin. The yard was unmanaged and weedy. They left the gang outside and went in together to find Charles.

"Shit. This place reeks of depression," Beetlejuice looked around at the old take out containers and unfinished laundry. Charles had always been so neat. He must feel like real crap to let his home get this out of hand.

[Beetlejuice96]

Lydia's heart both sank to her stomach and leaped into her throat. She didn't think running away would effect her father this badly. Dishes piled up, garbage can full, a bit of dust here and there...she just hoped he was still alive. She searched around before seeing the slumped over figure sitting on the edge of her father's bed, holding a beer bottle and a picture frame. "Dad?"

[Metronome]

Charles looked up. He stared at them, bleary eyed, as if they may just be a dream or a figment of his imagination. After he blinked a couple times, confirming that yes, they were really there, he stood.

"Lydia?" He swayed a little as he walked over. "You came back. And Beetlejuice...you're clean."

Beetlejuice was taken aback at not being called 'demon' for once. He shook it off quickly. "Temporary condition, Chuck, don't get use to it." He barely got the quip out before the man wrapped his arms around both of them.

"I thought I lost my little girl again," He said, sobbing. "Thank you for bringing her back."

Beetlejuice wasn't going to admit that this was not his idea.

[Beetlejuice96]

Tears stung her eyes as she hugged him back. "I'm sorry, Dad. I was just upset at being caged again." She whispered, clinging onto him. She held on before pulling away. "There's a few people I want you and the Maitlands to meet. They've become family and helped us when we needed it." She said with a little smile, her right hand on his shoulder. The same one marked with the tattoo.