The man, Beej, according to Circe, told us to hide in the now empty cell while he "took care of things". We obeyed, crouching low to the ground and watching him intently. With a wave of his hand, all the sirens stopped wailing and all the lights went out, plunging us into darkness. A deep chill settled. The hallway was deathly quiet and dark when the guards got to it.

"What happened?" one of the female guards asked uneasily.

"Dunno. Just got a call that whoever was in cell a-44 somehow got out."

I heard one of them curse. "That's Betelgeuse!"

"You've gotta be kidding me."

I could practically see their fear coming off of them in visible waves.

"Uh, everyone else can see all this, too, right?" I whispered to the group as the guards continued to lament amongst themselves.

"What?" Logan asked me in confusion.

"I mean, you guys can see, right?"

"Like see in the dark?" June asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

They all shook their heads. "Nope."

"Oh. Okay."

Apparently I had night vision. Okay. That was actually kinda cool. And practical, really.

We were all startled when Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" started blaring over the speakers of the hallway.

Circe recovered quickly and was grinning from ear to pointed ear.

The guards had all turned pale and were looking around in all different directions, trying to spot the threat. One pulled out a flashlight, but the second after she turned it on, it exploded in an array of sparks. I heard Beej laugh, his disembodied voice echoing creepily.

"That's cheating!" he taunted, giggling like a gleeful child.

"You're the devil!" the guard shouted at him, throwing her flashlight to the ground in frustration.

"Oh really? Well, I hear he's partial to things that slither..... I hope you all like snakes!"

Around the corner emerged a giant cobra, its black and white stripes glowing and actively swirling on its body. It was trippy. It opened its mouth, revealing a glowing green interior, razor sharp teeth, and a striped, forked tongue. I leaned over to Circe.

"Is that-"

"Beej? Yes."

His crazed, maniacal laughter surrounded the guards as he got closer to them. They screamed and ran, tripping over each other. He stopped by our cell, poking his head inside. His head was twice the size of my entire body. Logan and I just stared up at him in a terrified awe, mouths hanging slack.

"You guys need a lift?" he asked us, and tipped his head down so we could climb on. Once we had all done so, he morphed handles onto his back so we had something to hold onto. "Hang on! We're blowing this joint!"

The ride was bumpy and terrifying. Sofia was screaming the entire time, June and Circe were laughing and whooping, Logan nearly fell of twice and puked (thankfully not on any of us), and I was just holding on for dear life, wishing it would end.

"Here we go!" Beej said, and we all braced for impact.

He crashed through the outer wall of the prison, surprising the guards outside. They were all screaming and scurrying in every direction.

"Coming through!" Beej bellowed, letting loose another crazed laugh.

He breathed out green fire, disintegrating the fence in a second. We passed right on through. All the guards were too busy trying to put out the fire, crying, and panicking.

"This is our stop!" Circe shouted as we drew near to Mac's parked van.

He stopped, and we quickly slid off his back. Logan threw open the doors to the van and we all piled in, Beej morphing back into his normal self and climbing into the vehicle, as well.

Mac stepped on it, and we were speeding down the road, away from the black site.

"God/Satan, I've missed wreaking havoc," Beej said, grinning a sharp-toothed smile.

Circe laughed. "I'm just glad you're finally out. I can finally talk to you and stuff without having to go on a certain day of the month to the black site."

He nodded. "You did good, Tootsie Roll."

She beamed at him.

The atmosphere in the car was an excited, happy one, and I found it was contagious.

"Uh, Ean?" June said, staring at me.

"Yeah?"

"You're floating."

I looked down, and she was right. I was rising, and only stopped when I bumped into the roof of the van. I felt like a freaking helium balloon.

"Uh, woah! I can't get down!!"

My panicked tone got the attention of Circe and Beej, interrupting their conversation.

"Uh, Skeletor? You good?"

"No! I don't know how to stop!" I said back, groping for a handhold.

"Just relax, first of all. Take a deep breath." I obeyed. "Now, you're in control of your body, not the other way around, got it?" I nodded. "Okay, so stop floating."

I focused on internally commanding my body to stop floating, and I slowly settled back down into my seat.

"See? It's easier than you think." He leaned over to Circe. "This kid just die or something?"

"Actually, no."

Beej arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"He's alive. In fact, they all are."

His eyes widened as he looked around at us all. "Woah. You all look pretty dead. Kudos on the disguises."

I smiled a small smile to myself.

"So. How did four, very alive teens end up in the Netherworld?" he asked us curiously.

"She brought us here," Logan answered, nodding at Circe.

Beej's brow furrowed. "Uh, why?"

"Because I needed help. And Melody couldn't find any, so I took matters into my own hands."

Beej still looked confused, but didn't question it.

"Well, that kid's got powers. Explain that one to me.

"I think it's better if I didn't."

The man next to Circe only looked more perplexed. I, on the other hand, was indignant.

"Hold on, you know why all of this is happening to me?? And you've just been keeping it to yourself this entire time??" I was doing my best not to lose my temper, but I was finding it to be increasingly difficult, with Circe.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm just trying to do what's best for you, okay?"

"Oh, so apparently everyone knows what's best for me now, but me, huh??" I snapped.

Everyone went silent.

"Ean.... Just calm down for a minute-"

"Woah, you've got the mood hair."

I looked up at the man in the striped suit.

"Yeah...."

"Never met anyone else with mood hair, before. That's cool. Ean, right?"

I nodded hesitantly. "Yeah.... And you are...?"

He shook my hand in his ice-cold one, giving me a sharp, toothy grin. "Circe'll have to introduce me; I can't say it."

I was confused. "Wha-"

"His name's Betelgeuse," Circe said glumly, not meeting my eye.

"But you can call me Beej," he continued, letting my hand go.

"Is that your real name?" Sofia asked him, arching an eyebrow at the man.

"Well, it's my middle name. My first name's Lawrence, but I would go by Larry sometimes."

June's head cocked to the side as something Betelgeuse said piqued her interest.

"Um, so, why can't you say your own name?" I asked him.

"Oh, I was cursed. The living usually can't see me until they summon me by saying my name three times in a row," he explained matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Wow."

"Okay, I have a question," June said, leaning forward a bit. "You said you used to go by Larry sometimes, right?"

He nodded, his brow furrowing. "Yeah, why?"

"Did you know someone named Lydia Deetz, by any chance?"

Immediately his eyes widened and his whole demeanor changed. "You....you know Lyds?"

"So you're the uncle Larry she talks about," she said, smiling a bit.

"Are-are you her friend?" he asked.

"Um, I'm actually her daughter.

He looked absolutely floored.

"Wow, I...." He teared up. "You look a lot like her...." I could tell he was trying his best not to cry in front of us.

June grinned and hugged him. "I'm just so happy I finally got to meet you. My mom misses you, you know," she told him as he squeezed her back.

She pulled away and sat back next to me. He was smiling at her.

"Wow, time really has flown by, huh?" He looked back up at June again, his expression growing serious. "Tell me... I-is.... how is (Y/N)? Do you know her?"

I perked up, but sank back into my chair when Circe glared at me, slightly shaking her head. "Not. A. Word," she mouthed dangerously.

"Why??" I mouthed back, equally as annoyed.

"Tell you later," was her silent reply.

I sighed.

"Oh yeah..." June said, pretending not to notice Circe's and my little exchange. "She's.... she's good...."

I could tell Beej was going to ask more when Circe rested a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Beej..."

"Right, right. I know. It could compromise her safety," he sighed sadly, looking down.

Circe gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and suddenly the van lurched to a halt.

So much for getting answers.