Author's Note: Now that the initial meetings have taken place, let's see what the worlds have in store for their visitors. Let me remind you that I did not create either The Nightmare Before Christmas or Invader ZIM. I just wanted to honor both movie and show in this writing. I hope I am, and if I am continue to do so.
"This place is weird," Barrel said to Lock and Shock as the three children walked farther and farther away from where they had landed.
"Tell me about it," Lock said as he pointed to the red sky.
"You had to stand so close," Shock complained to Lock as she smacked him over the head with her hat. "I should've let you go."
"Oogie's gonna beat us black and green for this," Barrel said.
"Yeah. Not only did we not get the machine to him, but we got sucked in thanks to Lock."
"You're welcome," Lock said to Shock.
"You moron, don't you even know when you're insulted? Did you and Barrel switch brains in there?" Shock asked, receiving a nod and then a scowl from Barrel.
"Think about it. How can Oogie Boogie do anything to us if we aren't home?" Lock asked, causing all three children to stop in their tracks.
"He's right," Barrel said to Shock. "We're free to do anything we want here."
"Exactly, Barrel," Lock said before turning to Shock. "As long as Jack doesn't drag us back home, we'll be fine."
"He's going to come after us, you know," Shock replied.
"So? We'll just escape. We've done it already," Lock said.
"Yeah, we've-" Barrel started before catching a glimpse of something not far in the distance. "Hey, check that out," he said, pointing.
"What?" Shock asked, looking in the direction of Barrel's finger.
"Over there, see that house?"
"That one with those tiny people on the grass?" Lock asked.
"Yeah. We can hide out there so Jack won't find us," Barrel said.
"Barrel, that house sticks out more than any of the other ones. Jack would probably look there first," Shock said.
"Well, all the other ones look like there's somebody home," Barrel said.
"He's got a point," Lock said as he noticed people beginning to stand at their doorways and stare at the three children.
"Fine, let's hurry," Shock said to the boys as the three ran towards the strange house with lawn gnomes and a large "I Love Earth" flag on the yard.
"Must be relatives of that diseased kid," a woman said to her husband.
"Whole family must be diseased," the husband said to his wife before both went to back to minding their own business.
Meanwhile...
"You emptied the jets AGAIN?" Zim yelled to GIR after he pried his head out from a pumpkin.
"I had to. The Jell-o didn't fit with the fuel," GIR explained as he sucked red gelatin out of his feet.
"We're stuck here, GIR! Stuck in this horrible place of Halloweenies because of your fondness for excrement humans call food!"
"It's cherry-flavored!" GIR exclaimed as he shot a large helping of cherry gelatin in Zim's face.
"GET IT OFF!" Zim yelled, already feeling the pain the gelatin's watery consistency gave him.
"You've gotta eat it, master. You're so silly."
"Off, off, OFF!" Zim screamed as he ran around in circles, crushing and tripping over pumpkins until running smack into something very large, rough to the touch, and a bit squishy.
"Hi, Mr. Halloweenie!" GIR said, waving to what, well, who Zim crashed into.
"Mr. Halloweenie?" he asked before throwing his head back and laughing. "HA! You're definitely not from around here."
"Dare you laugh at a... minion... of... Zim?" Zim asked, slowly feeling a bit frightened when he looked at the large burlap man he was supposed to be reprimanding.
"Zim? Your name's Zim?" he asked before laughing once again.
"Cease the laughter you squishy bag of... SQUISH!" Zim yelled, regaining his confidence.
"You are definitely not from around here," the creature said as he loomed over Zim, casting his shadow over the Irken. "No one disrespects Oogie Boogie, don't forget that, kid."
"Kid?" Zim asked as he propped himself up to Oogie Boogie's level with large metallic rods from his PAK. "ZIM is no kid. And Oogie Boogie is a much worse name than ZIM!"
"No it isn't," GIR said.
"Quiet, GIR!" Zim yelled to his robot before turning back to Oogie Boogie. "Much worse. It's the worst name in the universe."
"Boy, take that back or I'll have you eaten alive by bugs," Oogie Boogie threatened before both heard a loud voice calling out.
"Search every pumpkin patch, mausoleum, crypt, and sewer!" the voice rang out. "Do not rest until our visitors are found!"
"The Mayor's looking for you?" Oogie Boogie asked. "Well, guess I'll let him take care of you."
"WAIT! He'll bring the rest of them," Zim said, a horrified look coming across his face. "Listen, Noogie Woogie-"
"Oogie Boogie."
"Whatever, take me and my robot with you to aid the Irken Empire. Do it, soldier!"
"Alright, alright. But if you get too annoying, I'm eating the both of you."
"YAY!" GIR cheered before Zim grabbed him and followed Oogie Boogie.
Meanwhile...
"Is this the one?" Jack asked Dib as they snuck up to a house with electric posts guarding the lawn.
"Yeah, this is it," Dib said.
"Is your sister home? Think she'll be scared of me?" Jack asked Dib as he opened the door.
"You'll probably be scared of her," Dib replied. "Shhh, she's watching TV. Be quiet and you'll be fine."
"Don't worry, I can be perfectly quiet," Jack whispered right as he knocked over a small table a Membrane lamp was placed upon, which Dib fortunately caught.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to watch the replay of what happened," Gaz said to Dib before facing the television again.
"Sorry," Jack whispered to Dib as the boy propped the table back up.
"See, I told you Zim was up to something," he said to Gaz before noticing something. "Hey, Gaz, could you tell me what's next to me?"
"Nothing fits next to your enormous head, Dib," Gaz said. "Nothing ever did and nothing ever will. Now go away, they're showing footage of what came out of that thing."
"Whatever you say," Dib said as he dragged Jack into his room. "You can turn invisible?"
"Most people fear things they don't know or cannot see. Invisibility's part of my job."
"Wow. You're lucky I'm busy with Zim or else I'd take you to the Swollen Eyeballs," Dib said as he sat down on his bed.
"Swollen eyeballs?" Jack asked as he leaned against the closed door of the room. "How long have they been swollen?"
"It's an organization for paranormal investigators like me. Zim's my project and mortal enemy."
"Mortal enemy?"
"He's trying to take over the Earth! The only reason he hasn't done it so far is because I've stopped him. That and he's kind of bad at it but that's not the point."
"It isn't?" Jack asked.
"No. The point is I'm out there every day trying to save the world and people call me crazy or beat me up, or both and call my head big," Dib complained.
"Well, it is a little oversized."
"See what I mean?"
"Ah, but I didn't call it big. I called it oversized. There's a difference," Jack said.
"I'd never thought I'd say this about anyone or anything, but you're really strange," Dib said. "What's your world like?"
"It's fantastic. Halloween three-hundred and sixty five days a year. Well, there's always one day added every four years but that's a different story."
"Halloween? Every day?" Dib asked, growing a bit pale.
"Oh come now, you can't tell me you dislike Halloween."
"I had a bad experience with it."
"It couldn't be too bad."
"I was sucked into my own brain by hideous creatures and then turned inside out from something shoved in my forehead."
"And you call me strange," Jack said after he had processed that information. "Well, if you don't like Halloween that much, I'll refrain from telling you about my world."
"No, you have to. If Zim made it there, he might try to take it over and then come after Earth. If you tell me all you can, maybe I can get you and those three kids you talked about before back to your home before anything really bad happens."
"In that case, pay close attention, Dib. This is going to be quite a long tale."
To Be Continued...