Chapter Text
“So there I was. The chupacabras came at us from the south and west--ow!”
“Don’t lie to me, you bastard,” Lydia said, elbowing the demon in the ribs for emphasis, “That’s not a real thing.”
Beetlejuice gasped mockingly, putting a hand over his heart.
“Lydia! You doubt my honesty?”
“Don’t tell me that chupacabras are real. I’m not that gullible. What next, the mothman?”
“Nope, mothman’s fake,” he acknowledged, “but you want to know some things that are real? The chupacabra.”
The gothy teenager rolled her eyes.
“That doesn’t sound right but I don’t know enough about supernatural beings to dispute you,” she retorted, rummaging around in her tote bag, “But anyway, I—Beej?”
She turned to look up at her friend, who sat eerily still. He was surrounded by a glowing aura and an ear splitting keening noise filled the air. Suddenly, he vanished in a flash of light and Lydia shrieked as she dove back from the spot on the roof where he’d been sitting. She ducked behind part of the roof and glanced warily at the thing left in her best friend’s place.
***
A few moments ago, in another dimension.
***
Betelgeuse sighed, resting his head in his hands. Wouldn’t be long now before midnight, and then he could blow this joint in style. He’d pickpocketed the fancy watch, emblazoned with bizarre symbols rather than numbers, a long time ago, but he hadn’t needed it until he’d been trapped in this waiting room several months ago, and it wasn’t able to use it’s powers until now—midnight, on the winter solstice. The symbols lit up one by one.
He’d better make it count; the light show was starting to attract the attention of the waiting room’s other residents. Miss Argentina, the receptionist, opened her mouth to say something just as he gripped the dial and twisted it sharply to the left, disappearing in a brilliant silvery flash. Then just as quickly as it came, the light vanished, leaving behind a very different figure. The waiting room’s flabbergasted residents stared in awe at a very confused striped demon, who clutched at his head.
“Owww...what the fuck?”
He looked up and saw his new surroundings. His hair flashed from green to pale yellow.
“Who the fuck? Where the fuck-”
“What just happened? How did you get in here?!” Miss Argentina gasped. He looked back at her, eyes wide.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?”
He stood up shakily. The receptionist held her hands out pacifyingly.
“Okay, you just...stand there, I’m going to get Juno and—“
“OHhOHoHO nO tHanKS!!! NOo ThANkS! bYE, LAdY!”
His hair faded to white and he glanced around like a cornered animal, eyes wild. Before she could stop him or say anything, he booked it, shoving recently deceased individuals out of his way. The receptionist shook her head slowly as she pressed a button behind her desk.
“Can I get a supervisor down here? You are going to want to see this.”
***
Musicalverse
***
Of course, Betelgeuse wasn’t there to see any of this, as his eyes were now adjusting to the sudden change of lighting as the watch’s magic spat him out in an unfamiliar location. It was dark, and he was on the roof of a somewhat familiar-looking house. But who cared about that—he was free! He snapped his fingers to change the red of his former wedding outfit to his preferred getup of stripes.
Suddenly, he heard a quiet gasp. Something moved in the corner of his vision and he snapped his attention towards it. He glimpsed it for just a moment, but the ghost was nearly certain he’d seen a small figure with dark hair duck behind the ridge of the roof. He narrowed his eyes and took a few steps towards what he’d seen.
“Anyone up here?”
A thrown stick nearly hit him in the face.
“I’ll take that as a yes!”
“AAH!”
The dark-haired teenage girl darted out from her hiding space, holding a thick tree branch like a weapon. She charged at him with it, still screaming like a banshee. Having caught him off-guard, she managed to get a hit in before he grabbed the other end of the branch, twisted it out of her hand, and threw it off the edge of the roof.
“Good evenin’, howdy there. And you are?”
“What did you do to him, you bastard?!”
“Unusual name! I like it. I’ve got an unusual name myself,” the specter replied, “But see, there’s this thing about it—”
“I know how the name curse works,” she snapped, “And there’s no way in hell I’m gonna say it. This isn’t exactly my first rodeo.”
She crossed her arms and scowled. The realization dawned on him.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!”
He snapped his fingers.
“I know you from somewhere! Lydia , right? Of course! Ya sure I can’t persuade you to recon—”
“Lydia? We heard screaming, is something wrong?”
Barbara Maitland climbed out onto the roof, followed closely behind by Adam. They locked eyes with the striped specter. Lydia backed away from him and into her parent’s arms as he narrowed his eyes at them.
“Well, well, well, well, well! You must be Adam...and you must be Barbara.”
He grinned but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
“It must be my lucky day!”