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Did I Forget to Mention?

Summary:

The Netherworld's attempt to reform Beetlejuice with memory spells backfired immensely. So they have instead decided to dump the responsibility on his old friends.

They are not pleased.

Aka

Since I cannot properly write Beetlejuice, I'm giving myself an excuse to not properly write Beetlejuice

Notes:

This is a self-indulgent fic that I'm waiting for fun. I might make a more professional fic in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Restart

Chapter Text

Beetlejuice leaned against the side of the wall, his head spinning. His name was Beetlejuice, right? Everything felt so fuzzy, and there were definetly things that he was forgetting.

 

The very frazzled demon had been standing there for over an hour as the Council, the authority that took over after Juno's death (that would be disbanded in a couple of centuries after she reformed) wrote out the letter they planned for him to deliver. Beetlejuice had been quite a pain in the ass for them after his return. He broke every rule and led a mini-revolution against them, although it was more focused on destruction than overthrowing the government. So, the best option was obviously using memory spells to break him into being a model citizen, right?

 

Wrong. So very wrong. The first thing you must note is that Beetlejuice wanted nothing to do with it as you can probably guess. Memory spells are hard enough with willing participants, but with someone as stubborn as Beetlejuice? Near impossible. Secondly, Beetlejuice is a Born-Dead Demon, one of the most powerful beings you can find in the Netherworld. This almost completely negated any effect of the memory spells. So what did they do?

 

They fried him. Frazzled his memory and left him a mood-swinging mess. Things would swing in and out of focus, and his personality changed more often than the President's priorities.

 

One thing was for sure, though. Beetlejuice was not the same. A man with a very dark ring around his neck handed a note to the demon. "Don't open it, give it to the first person you see." He instructed.

 

Beetlejuice gave a nod, his eyes unfocused and his stature unbalanced. He took the sheet of paper and held it close to his chest. It felt important, and not just because he was told that it was.

 

The assistant grabbed Beetlejuice's shoulders and directed him to the door drawn on the wall. He knocked three times and shoved him through quickly before slamming it shut.

 

Beetlejuice felt like he had entered nowhere It felt like nothing, absolutely nothing. He stumbled around before the outline of a door appeared and slowly opened revealing a strikingly familiar scene.

 

Deja Vu hit him like a brick, even though he had zero recollection of the place. Or the five people inside of it, staring at him with the widest eyes imaginable.

 

"Beetlejuice?!?"

 

*****

 

The sequence of events was sporadic, to say the least. Charles had grabbed Lydia and nearly chucked her out of the room, Delia following her on her own accord. Barbara quickly used a new parlor trick she had been using to freeze Beetlejuice in place as Adam grabbed a scimitar off of the mantle and directed it towards the demon.

 

"Beetlejuice, explain yourself this instant or I swear I'll find a way to kill you again." Adam snarled. 

 

Beetlejuice just remained frozen, slightly strangled noises escaping through his closed teeth. Barbara went a bit flush and loosened her grip on him. The demon cleared his throat and looked at the Maitlands in the eyes. "I don't know why I'm here. All I remember is getting a sheet of paper," he said, jerking his head in the direction of his right hand. "And being shoved in a door. I was told to give it to the first person I saw, so if I could be allowed to open my fist, you should take it."

 

The Maitlands gave each other a look, mostly confused by Beetlejuice's tone of voice. It didn't hold the usual snarkiness or perviness, just a bit of confusion. Barbara sighed and let the demon's fist loose, which promptly opened. Adam quickly grabbed the sheet of paper inside and gave a small gasp.

 

To the Unluckiest People in the Land of the Living,

 

We deeply regret to inform you that you are now charged with taking care of and reforming Lawrence Betelgeuse Shoggoth. He can only leave the house if he remains within a ten-foot radius of one of its inhabitants. A tether spell has been initiated to ensure this rule remains unbroken. We attempted to reform him ourselves with memory magic, but as you can probably already tell, it only left him confused and forgetful.

 

He cannot remember and actions against you, assuming the person reading this is a member of the Deetz or Maitland family, and holds no ill towards you. Certain memories will fluctuate and his personality will constantly change, but we assume you are up to the task.

 

If you succeed in your efforts, we will remove Lawrence Betelgeuse Shoggoth from your presence immediately and you will be handsomely rewarded when you enter the Netherworld to begin your afterlife.

 

Please, for whatever reason, DO NOT SAY 'JUNO' IN HIS PRESENCE.

 

This is the only way his memory can be restored. If said too many times, he will revert back to normal and he will cause destruction.

 

  • Deepest apologies, the Council of the Netherworld

 

Adam read the letter aloud, only pausing at the forbidden word and replacing it with 'his mother's name'. The family looked at the demon with a worry, but he once again had a confused expression. It seemed that he couldn't remember any reference to his mind being messed with.

 

Lydia slowly peeked out from behind the door frame that lead to the kitchen. "So, he can't remember us?" She asked.

 

Adam nodded, eyes returning to the demon. He has been looking around the room, taking in the furniture as he waited for the rest of his body to be freed. Barbara let go, and he nearly fell over with his momentum. Standing up straight, he dusted his suit before recoiling with disgust. He brought his hand up to his face to find an unnerving amount of grime on his fingertips.

 

Looking at the people in front of him, he offered his slightly cleaner hand with an awkward smile that didn't quite fit well in his face. "I'm sorry if I scare you with my initial appearance, but I don't mean any harm. Would you like to start over?"

 

It felt surreal, hearing that gravelly voice spit out all of those words without a single bit of malice or sarcasm behind them, but it was actually happening. "Uh, I would appreciate that," Charles said, standing up from behind the couch. He slowly walked up to the smiling demon, lightly took his hand and gave it a quick shake. "The name is Charles, it's a pleasure to meet you."

 

The demon nodded and turned to the rest of the family. "I'd introduce myself, but it seems that you all already know me. I must be quite the buzz if that's so." He put his hands in his pockets, which he immediately regretted when he felt something squishy. Quickly removing his hands, he was repulsed when he saw them covered in a sort of black ooze. He was even more repulsed by his odd urge to lick it. "Sorry to bother, but do you have any place I could clean up? And change?"

 

*****

 

Beetlejuice stood alone in the guest bedroom. He was gifted a hoodie and jeans that were too short for Charles but looked like they could fit him. He was also given a plastic back for his suit, which he thought to be very necessary. Entering the guest bathroom, he ditched the suit as quickly as he could, shoving it in the bag, tying it closed and pushing it away into the corner. Turning around, he faced the shower which felt oddly familiar but extremely foreign. It gave him a headache.

 

Stepping inside, he turned the temperature up high and gagged when the water turned black as it passed through his hair.

 

While their new guest was showering, a heated debate grew in the kitchen.

 

"He's leaving. Now." Barbara forcefully stated, her glare alone almost making the demand a reality.

 

"But you heard what the letter said! He cannot leave the house without one of us. He's stuck here until he's reformed." Adam reasoned. Barbara slammed a fist on the kitchen island. 

 

"That son of a bitch tried to exorcise me. I will personally go the Netherworld myself and make one of those assholes who shoved him onto us take him back myself if I have to." She growled.

 

"Language!" Adam exclaimed with immediate regret when his spouse shot him a look that could kill.

 

"Barbara, he can't remember doing that. He can't remember anything to us." Lydia reminded.

 

"But he still did," Barbara muttered angrily.

 

"But he doesn't remember. I don't think it's very fair to put this on him. He's an entirely different person now, and he deserves a restart." Delia added.

 

Barbara took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Fine. A week. If I am still against him being here at the end of the week, he is gone. Got it?" She said with a firm voice. Everyone nodded in agreement.

 

Lydia played with her thumbs as the rest of the adults dispersed. It felt good to have a whole new Beetlejuice, but for the strangest reason, she kind of missed the old one.