Beetlejuice: Hi, I’ll Be Your Guide (AKA The Angel of Death AU)
There is life beyond death, a bleak pit of nothing referred to as the Netherworld. All recently deceased must report there, but despite being given clear instructions through the gift of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, not all spirits are bright enough to find the light themselves.
That’s why the angels of death exist.
Demons, produced from stillborns or miscarriages, are in technicality, born dead. These beings are given new life as creatures of ultimate power, under the condition they serve their sole purpose as directed. Given a time frame of two months, these demons are sent to observe the living, prior to their death, to best find the way to lead the recently deceased into the Netherworld as efficiently as possible. Once their task is complete, they move on to the next person doomed to perish. In exchange for their services, they are granted powers of shape shifting, levitation, teleportation, and reality bending. However, the catch is they can not be seen by the world of the living, no matter how hard they try.
One of the very first of these angels of death is a demon referred to as Betelgeuse. A disturbed and violent spirit, they often use underhanded and forceful methods to remove the spirits. On three accounts, Betelgeuse intentionally caused the exorcisms of recently deceased, with no reasoning behind it other than for fun. They did this for several millennia, moving from location to location, guiding the dead to their hole, all the while growing tired of the process. They started to really observe the living, seeing as they carelessly waste their lives, growing jealous of their wasted gift. They began to study, figuring out methods of gaining life or being seen. Through trial and error, Betelgeuse discovered two methods of being seen. One, was to make the classic demons deal, a handshake in exchange for mutual services, and two, was a living person saying their name three times, a summoning curse. The method for life was trickier. A marriage between the demon and a living virgin, as well in exchange for mutual services.
After leading a recently deceased mother to the Netherworld, Betelgeuse is sent to the house of a couple. The two, referring to themselves as the Maitlands, were both very simple people. Distracting themselves with hobbies, after suffering the terrible loss of their unborn child, they had become submissive and afraid, willing to do anything to distract them from trying again. They only had three weeks until they’re supposed to die. Three more weeks of convincing themselves they still had time to make the next step. Convinced they’ll never lose anything else.
Betelgeuse smiled, for they had an idea.
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