A Change of Holiday

By: Wafflecat

A/N: HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN O_O Wow. I came back to this fic the other day, and really wanted to continue it...so, I decided to! YAY! Thanks to all of the people who reviewed...and to Tandy, for her advice. Leave some, if you think I'm in need of it. Any way, I love reviews. Peace out!

Disclaimer: All of the TNBC characters belong to Tim Burton. Milk, Eureka, Kellogg, and Muzik are © me ^_^...I think o_o

Synopsis: Something is amiss in Halloween Town. Milk, Jack Skelligton's youngest daughter, is beginning to lose her eyesight. He begins to wonder why, when everyone in the town begins to lose their abilities. While this is happening in Halloween Town, Christmas Town is having their own problems. None of the elves remember how to build the toys, and even Santa himself is beginning to forget the meaning of Christmas. Muzik, one of Santa's rather annoying helpers, is forced into going to Halloween Town to ask the king if he knows what's happening...

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Ch. 3 : Making Acquaintances/A Warning

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As the sun rose in the awakening Halloween Town, Jack and the Mayor met in the town square, standing next to the fountain.

"Jack, after you figure this out, I want you to tell me what's going on!" The Mayor was still wearing his nervous face, and was shaking with much vigor. Jack only smiled in reassurance.

"Don't worry, Mayor. As soon as I find out about this little guy, we'll get everything sorted out." The mayor swiveled his head around back to its happy state.

"And then we can finish our Halloween planning!" the Mayor exclaimed. Jack rubbed his chin with his free hand and stared into the distance at his house. Hopefully, whatever the elf had reason for coming to Halloween Town wasn't going to disrupt any of the future Halloween plans...

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Sally sighed. It was 7:30, and Jack still hadn't came back. Everyone in the house had awaken, and things were just starting to get nasty.

MOOOOM!!!

"Here we go," she said silently, yet with sarcasm. She grabbed the hem of her dress and rushed down the flight of stairs, wondering what kind of corruption was taking place in the Skellington household today. The yell had came from the kitchen from Eureka, who was sitting in a chair in front of a pacing Kellogg.

"What is the reason for all the racket?" Sally asked, placing her hands on her hips. Kellogg still hadn't looked up from the ground, and Eureka still sat in the chair, now quiet.

"My hand...," Eureka trailed off. Sally looked down at her daughter's quacking hand and watched at she slowly began to pull off her glove.

"OH!"

A pale strip of flesh covered the hand, the fingers long and slender. Sally's eyes widened slightly in disbelief as Kellogg raised his head, showing his angry features.

"Something' s going on here," he said coolly. "Milk has gone blind, and Eureka's turning into a...a...--"

"HUMAN!!!" she screamed. She quickly slid the glove back into place and placed an arm under her eye sockets, tears streaming. Sally grasped her shoulder and set her chin on her skull. Kellogg crossed his arms and shook his head slowly, closing his eyes.

"I think it may have something to do with Halloween."

Sally looked up. "How so?"

"Well...," he sighed, "If you've noticed, the people of Halloween Town haven't been able to scare as many people as before. For example, when I was ten, I went out on my first scare. I had to scare this boy names John on Halloween night. I tried all the tricks, and did all of the maneuvers. But he just stared at me. After a while, he started saying how cute I was and began to hug me.

"Basically, I don't think we're scary enough for this generation. Most of the humans don't even believe in monsters that hide under their bed," he said with a slight undertone. "Or believe in walking skeletons."

"That all may be true," Eureka stated, "but what does that have to do with my hand?!?"

"Perhaps--"

"Good morning, everyone!" came a loud, happy voice. Jack strode through the front door, the bag slung over his bony shoulder. "I've got good news!"

"Pffft!" Eureka gave a raspberry, and clenched her wrist. The rest of the family made their way to the living room where Jack had laid the bag in the center of the couch. Eureka trailed behind Sally, watching the overly-excited skeleton untie the bag.

"Dad, something odd happened--"

"You won't believe what we found!" Jack exclaimed. Kellogg's opposing finger went limp as he was cut off, and turned his attention toward the spectacle before him. Jack reached his hand into the bag, took grip of whatever was in there, and pulled.

"Isn't is ama--"

"HOLY CRUD!!!" Eureka covered her mouth and widened her eyes, watching the small elf stir in her unconsciousness. "I mean, LOOK AT IT...What are those thing, shoes?!--"

The elf shook her head. It was all just a dream...The witches, the spinning head, the skeleton...

Muzik opened her eyes. Wearily, she looked up at the faces looming above her. Three skulls were staring intensely at her, one in wonder, one with a scrutinizing expression, and the other with a look of slight disgust. She let out a shrill scream and began to back up into the arm of the couch.

"Who ARE you people?!" she asked, shivering. Jack grinned, and crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King," he said, "and YOU are an elf from Christmas Town!"

Muzik's face softened. "You're Jack Skellington? The Jack Skellington?" she asked, out of breath. Jack felt a swell of pride enter his chest, but quickly swallowed it, remembering of the elf's reason of coming to the town.

"S-santa sent me...," she gulped, "to ask you for help!"

Jack's happy face faded into a grim frown from confusion. "What for?"

Muzik gulped. This wasn't too bad. "Well...around Christmas Town, the elves are going blind. No one can see how to build anything, and Santa doesn't know what to do about it. We HAVE to find out what to do before Christmas," she said, "or the children of the world won't be able to receive presents ever again."

Sally's thoughtful eyes glistened as she heard more about the events happening in Christmas Town. Unfortunately, no one noticed the ghostly figure floating down the staircase, turn the corner, go into the kitchen, and leave through the back door.

"My, what a strange, strange thing to happen...," Jack said, taking off his sleeping cap. He looked down at himself and laughed, realizing he was still in his sleeping attire. "As if things aren't strange enough..."

"Dad, I was talking to mom before you came about what I think is the reason for all of the 'weird' events happening in our worlds." Jack looked over at Kellogg, who was leaning against the side of a door pane. "Just so happens, Milk went blind, and Eureka's growing skin."

"SKIN?!" Jack jumped in surprise when he saw Eureka pull off her glove and wriggle his fingers, looking like a normal human hand.

"Why, there certainly IS something wrong going on around here!"

"I think it has something to do with the humans," Kellogg said, feeling more confidence enter his voice. "I mean, look was happened last year."

Everyone twitched. They all remembered what had happened with the Harlequin Demon when he was trying to scare the Reeves Family in Arkansas. The horror...

"So you believe that the humans are becoming less vulnerable to monsters?" Jack asked.

"Yes. And maybe the same thing is happening for Christmas Town," Kellogg said, glancing at Muzik, "meaning that less people are celebrating Christmas."

Jack watched his son with admiration. "My boy, you have a certain knack for solving problems!"

There was a loud knock at the door. The Mayor broke through, panting heavily. "JACK! YOU HAVE TO COME *NOW*!"

Everyone froze. "But why--"

"Just--COME!"

Everyone except Muzik fled out of the house down the steps and through the gate to the center of the town. A large crowd of ghouls and monsters surrounded a small oriental shop on a corner, muttering to others and themselves.

"MAKE WAY FOR THE PUMPKIN KING!"

The crowd parted for Jack and Kellogg, who easily could have pushed through the crowd them self. The Mayor pushed aside small children, and pointed to the ground.

"LOOK!"

Isn't it horrible?

"Simply dreadful!"

"I couldn't imagine what could have caused..." Voices filled the air until all fell quiet when the two finally saw what was in front of them.

There, lying sprawled out on the ground, was Gretna, Luwin, and Milk. Jack 's mouth formed into a large 'O', and he swooped his fingers beneath Milk's body.

"Wha...what happened?"

Gretna lifted her head slightly and croaked. "He warned you, Jack Skellington! He warned us all!" Jack looked into the witch's beady eyes as a low growl emitted from her throat. "And now, we'll all have to pay!!!"

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After Notes: Yay! Did I excite you? Did it suck? Did I leave you in suspense in the end? Either way, a review would be nice ^^ Thank you! I promise the next chapter will be very interesting...and more interaction will commence...