Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas

A Triad's Rebirth

Sheryl's POV

It was cold . . . and yet . . . it was so comforting, that it almost felt warm. Where was I? And . . . how did I get here?

"Hello?" Came a voice. I slowly cracked my eyes open to be greeted by a new, morbid world. My back was lying flat against something, but, for some reason, I could not sit up. "Oh, you're finally awake!" The voice said in relief and I shifted my eyes to see a long, lanky skeleton—in a white pin-striped pair of dress pants and a matching tux with a bat-shaped bow stretched across his chest—leaning over me.

"Who . . . are you?" I asked weakly, noticing my voice sounded just like that of a witch, my dull expression remaining unchanged.

"I am Jack Skellington! I see that you're a new arrival?" He smiled widely before offering me a bony hand. "Here, let me help you up."

I took his massive hand and he pulled me to my feet, he towered over me in such a manner that I only reached his kneecap. After absently gawking at his exaggerated height, I turned around to see what I had been lying on: a grave. Oh. . . Great. . . How wonderful. In fact, Jack and I were in the middle of a large graveyard.

"Welcome to our home sweet home!" The skeleton joyfully shouted with outstretched arms before giving me a bow.

"Nice place you got here." I said apathetically.

"Oh, I know you'll grow to love it!"

I continued to scan the grey horizon. The graveyard stretched as far as the eye could see. It was almost as if an entire town was buried here! Among the tombs, stood a hill I had never seen anything like before: it stretched outward, rather than upward, and it curled. How strange. Behind it, shone a massive moon. Another thing I had never seen like before in my life . . . well . . . afterlife I suppose. I'm not sure, actually. Am I dead? Apparently, I said this out loud.

"Of course you're dead!" He almost seemed ecstatic by that, "Why else would you be here?"

I faced him, craning my neck to look up at his large, round, eye sockets. "And where exactly is 'here'?"

"Sher!"

"Sheri!"

I gasped and turned around to see two kids, one my age, and another a few years younger, running from behind another set of tombstones. Actually, it was hard to tell how old they were, because one was a short devil and one was a tiny, but very rotund, skeleton boy.

"It's me, Lloyd!" The devil said, his tail was wagging which made my eyes widen and jaw drop. Could this land get any weirder?!

"What the heck are you talking about?" My witchy voice cracked, "Lloyd's one of my best friends. There's no way you're him!"

"But, it is him!"

"Huh? And who are you, Tubby?"

"It's Bobby!"

My confused expression did not change. I really couldn't believe things now. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned forward, scoffing at him, "Oh, yeah? If you're really Bobby, then where did we last hang out?"

"The lake."

My eyes widened and my chest became cold as I silently stared at him for a few moments. "It is you two. . ."

He nodded. "Uh-huh!"

I stared at him for a while, my arms fell to my sides and my fists tightened, before I slapped him across the face causing him to fall down. "You idiot!" I shouted, hovering over him, "We told you to get off of that ice!"

"Well, it's not my fault!"

"Hey! Leave him alone, Sher!" Lloyd threw himself on me and we commenced fighting again.

"Hey, knock it off, you guys!" Bobby tried to break us up, but I ended up hitting him as I brought my arm down.

Suddenly, we heard a roar and froze in our place as we stared up at Jack, who pulled down his jaw to make a rather terrifying face. "Enough of this!" He ordered, straightening up and scowling down at us with his hands on his hips. "Judging by your attitudes, I'd say you were enemies!"

"He's always been the little devil!" I pointed to Lloyd.

"Me? Oh, please! You're the one who's the witch, here!"

"Am not!"

"Have you heard your voice since you woke up?"

"That doesn't prove anything!"

"Sure it does!" Bobby agreed, "Take a look!"

I looked down at my hands to see nothing different, really; I still wore black gloves only these were in one piece, rather than the old ones covered with holes, a purple dress, rather than my jacket, and black boots and stockings. My eyes lifted and I furrowed my brows in puzzlement when I saw a purple rim hovering over my face. Placing my hands on my head, I took off a tall, slender, purple witch's hat. "What the heck?"

"See!" Lloyd cackled, pointing to me, "Your true nature has finally come out!"

It was this that made me fume and hurl myself on top of him again, but, before I could land, Jack grabbed me by the collar of my dress and pulled Lloyd the opposite way by his tail. "I said enough of this!"

We finally gave in.

Bobby just stood off to the side, his hands clasped behind his back. That was basically always the situation: while Lloyd and I fought, he just watched after trying to break us up and briefly joining in our frequent tussles.

Lloyd let out a 'humph' as he scowled at me with his yellow eyes, his arms folded, while I was dropped onto my backside, my arms over my chest as I pouted.

"Honestly, you three are such children!"

"Maybe, because we are!" Lloyd sang which made the skeleton glare at him.

It was true. Our bodies did not age from when we'd passed away.

Jack glared for a while then sighed, relaxing his tall, lanky body. "I guess it can't be helped. This is your new home, after all."

"Which brings me back to my question from earlier." I interjected, "Where are we?"

His mouth stretched wide with a smile as he opened his arms and a ghost dog, with a glowing jack-o-lantern nose, rose up from the tomb behind him. "Why you're in Halloween Town!"

"Halloween Town?" Lloyd echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you idiot." I put my hands to my hips. "Doesn't it make sense what with all of the tombstones, ghosts, and skeletons around?" I looked him up and down, "And look at you! You're in a Halloween costume, Bobby's in a Halloween costume, even I'm in a Halloween costume!"

"Then, since you're making it seem like it was such an obvious observation, how come you didn't point it out?"

I growled and narrowed my eyes in reply.

"Hey, guys, look!" Bobby was now holding three masks. Two long ones and one round enough to fit his perfectly rotund face.

I took one and peeked through the eyeholes. Immediately, Lloyd and Bobby began to snicker. "What's so funny?" I took the mask off to look at the face which made me wrinkle my face in disgust. It was hideous! A large, pointy, bird-like noise bulged out and a drooping frown stretched down the bottom. To make it worse, it was painted a sickly green color.

"Yep! That definitely suits you!" Lloyd had tears running down his face as he hunched over, clutching his stomach. Bobby was on the floor, slapping the ground with his skeleton-white hands, as he cackled at our friend's side.

I fumed, my eyes glaring and my cheeks puffing out slightly. Using my mask, I smacked them, making them both shut up. "Then let's see you put yours on!" The two looked at each other with straight faces for a moment, then did so.

Lloyd's was as red as his costume and devil horns stuck up from the top while a wicked grin stretched across the surface; pointy, yellow, sinister teeth bore. My foot was tapping as my arms were folded. Yep. That definitely fitted him. Bobby, on the other hand, I could not take seriously and I snorted a little behind my hand. His mask was a perfect, white circle with yellow teeth tightly pressed together to form a smile.

"All right." I admitted. "So they all fit us." My gaze drifted to Bobby. "Although, it's hard to believe a fat skeleton." A smirk came to my face

He took off his mask. "Hey. Sorry I enjoy my sweets! You kinda had me die just when the amount of sweets was to fill my wildest dreams."

I looked down. He had died on Christmas Eve. We all had. "Wasn't my fault you couldn't move off the ice in time."

"And look who was blaming me earlier!" He stuck out his tongue and I made an 'oh-shut-up' face in reply.

"Well, if it's sweets you like, we got plenty!" Jack chimed in and took out a black- and orange-swirled lollipop.

"Ooh!" Bobby gaped, clapping his hands, "Gimme!" He jumped for it, but flopped flat on his face when Jack lifted it just above his reach.

"Ah, ah, ah." He slowly waged a finger. "If you want your lollipop, you all have to behave yourselves." He addressed us all. "Isn't that right, Zero?" The skeleton smiled to the ghost dog beside him, which barked.

"But, if this is a town of Halloween, shouldn't there be tricks as well as treats?" I challenged with a smile as I leaned forward with my arms folded.

The tall bone man laughed. "I suppose you're right!" He got on one knee to get down to our level. "Now, then," he suddenly looked at Bobby, who snickered as he had snatched the candy and ran around a tomb to stand behind Lloyd and I, "I do believe you have failed to tell me your names."

The three of us looked at each other. If I knew my friends, they, like I, would not want to use the same names they were born with—that they lived through hell with. This, here, was our rebirth and we thought it would only be appropriate to pick names that better suited us. We smirked, as if from reading each other's' minds when we came to our decisions.

"Ah, and that you are right about, Jack." I giggled.

"Lock."

"Shock."

"Barrel."

We introduced ourselves as we placed the masks over our faces. Jack smiled.

There's the infamous trio we all know and love! Sorry it took so long, guys. Really hoped to post it in the beginning of April, before my spring break, but stuff kept coming up. Anyway, better late than never! I hope you guys enjoyed, and please Review!

Just to explain how the names better suit them and to recap:

Shock—electrocuted herself to death

Lock—was frozen from being under the snow

Barrel—the waves plowed into him making him drown