The Girl in the Mirror: a Beetlejuice fanfic

On the Alternate Side of Things

Lyds did not want to get up from the attic floor. No matter how much her Adam and Barbara tried, all Lyds seemed to want to do was making depressed noise after depressed noise and grumpy noise after grumpy noise. And yet, to alternate Adam and alternate Barbara, stuff like this was quite worrying.

Sat on the floor of the attic, a few hundred feet from where Lyds remained laying face down and continuing on with her frequent depressed noises, alternate Adam and Barbara watched their somewhat daughter with worry.

Any and every question that they tried to ask her and/or any attempt that they had at trying to convince their Lydia everything was absolutely fine and that they would find their way back to their own universe. No matter how long it was going to take them to do so. And having to get through this universe's Juno to do so was starting to look much much harder than it seemed it would be.

They, their alternate selves, Charles, Delia and Beetlejuice had to be prepared. They didn't know, and didn't want to know, what Juno was planning, keeping them all trapped together in one universe. No matter how dark it was going to be, they were ready for anything.

'If she kills either of the Lydias,' alternate Barbara thought to herself, sharing a glance with alternate Adam. 'She'll have to go through me! Through us! And everyone else!'

"Barb?" Alternate Adam turned his head in her direction, looking confused. "You okay?"

She snapped out of her brief thought process. Long enough to look back at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alternate Barbara nodded. "I was just thinking."

"About everything that happened in the past day? Us and our Lydia ending up in a universe not quite our own, with alternate versions of ourselves? That the fact we may be stuck here for who knows how long—"

"Yes!" Alternate Barbara said, determinedly. "That and I'm going to get the version of Juno in this universe if she tries anything to kill either our Lydia or alternate Lydia."

Alternate Barbara's attention flicked down to her hands. Curling them into tight fists, alternate Barbara clenched and unclenched them a few times. Not to mention the fact that she was shaking with extreme fury, her eyes narrowed and full of fire. Alternate Adam rested a hand on her shoulder. Alternate Barbara's attention flicked to him.

Alternate Adam gave his wife a determined, but still cheeky grin. "I am too. Whatever she tries, we will be ready. We just need to get back before she—"

Alternate Barbara pressed a finger to her husband's mouth, quieting him down immediately.

A few minutes passed, alternate Barbara retracting her hand and resting it in her lap. Her attention, however, remained focused on alternate Adam.

"Let's wait until we're all grouped together to discuss our plan."

Alternate Adam nodded. "Right. But what if she finds out beforehand?"

Alternate Barbara stayed silent for more than a few minutes, which alternate Adam took as an answer. They opened their mouths, at the exact same time, to speak. But, by then, Lyds had lifted her head and sat upright, no longer making depressed noises as she looked from her Adam to her Barbara. They stopped, their heads snapping to her in an instant.

Alternate Barbara was the first of the two to stand up and make her way to Lydia, alternate Adam following closely behind. Alternate Barbara and Adam sat down on either side of their somewhat daughter, each putting a hand on her shoulders.

Alternate Barbara's tone was gentle. "Our Lydia, you alright now? You know that everything's going to be fine, that we'll be back in our own universe sooner rather than later?"

Lyds nodded, turning to her Barbara. "Yeah. I—"

"I'm afraid it's going to be far more difficult than that!" the familiar voice of Juno sneered from one of the far corners of the attic.

Instantly, alternate Adam, alternate Barbara, and Lyds all turned to look in her direction. The former two looking a bit furious, the latter looking a bit on the scared side. Alternate Adam and Barbara pushed Lyds behind them in protection. Standing up, they tried their best to keep their Lydia out of Juno's eyesight. But, by then, it was far too late.

Although still furious, alternate Adam and Barbara backed up but still kept their distance.

By then, the Juno of this universe had turned into some sort of dark demon thing that looked more along the lines of a giant spider. Alternate Adam and Barbara only had enough time to dive out of the way. Spider-Juno's eyes narrowed as she shot a tendril out at Lyds, pinning her against one of the attic walls. Then another.

At that, struggling to break free, Lyds let out an ear-piercing scream. One that kept alternate Adam and Barbara's guards up as they, still just as angered, turned back to face spider-Juno down. Alternate Barbara, eyes narrowed, took a step towards spider-Juno.

"Let our Lydia go!" Alternate Barbara's voice intensified as she continued. "Right! Now!"

Spider-Juno just measly laughed, yet another tendril shooting out and pinning Lyds further against the wall. Lyds let out yet another ear-piercing scream, alternate Adam and Barbara becoming much more angered. Their attention focused on their Lydia, before they turned back to spider-Juno.

Alternate Barbara opened her mouth to speak, again, but spider-Juno moved towards her and alternate Adam. Her attention locked solidly onto alternate Barbara, who let out a low guttural growl and narrowed her eyes further.

"I'm afraid it's going to be more difficult than that, dearie," spider-Juno simply stated. She moved away from alternate Barbara and Adam, but kept her eyes on them.

Alternate Barbara looked down, for a moment, then she glared back at spider-Juno, a look in her eyes that was a mix between determined and still just as furious making itself apparent in her eyes. She let out another guttural growl, her teeth now grit.

"I'll— I'll fight you if I have to! We both will!" she finally spat out. Again, spider-Juno laughed.

"Awww... how sickly sweet? Protective ghost parents trying to keep their adoptive daughter out of harm's way? Well, I'll have you know right now that it's going to do no good."

Two more tendrils shot out of spider-Juno's body, these ones pinning alternate Adam and Barbara against another wall. They too, tried to break free, to no avail. Giving up after a while, unable to do anything except watch as spider-Juno turned her attention back over towards Lyds.

Panic appeared in alternate Adam and Barbara's eyes as they watched another tendril shoot out of spider-Juno's body. This one going straight for Lyds.

Alternate Adam and Barbara covered their mouths with their hands, shock overcoming them as they watched that particular tendril hit their Lydia. Lyds stopped for a moment, letting out another ear-piercing scream. With what happened next, Alternate Adam and Barbara's eyes widened.

Lyds fell to the floor, laying there still and unmoving. At the same time, alternate Adam and Barbara could only yell out,

"LYDIA!!!"