Musically: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I don't really have a plan laid out for the next few chapters, except for the fact that it wlil follow most of the events in the movie. So, if you have any requests, it'd be good to let me know. I really appreciate the support!

Victoria: You people. I'm still stuck here, don't you realize that?

Jack: (sniffle) I'm more than just BONES, you know!

Initially, Victoria noticed that the town hall looked rather like a theatre. Seats that looked like church pews were set up in neat little rows along the floor, facing the dusty stage at the far end of the room. Lights stood unused on the rafters. Victoria could almost picture stagehands putting a spotlight on the speaker on the stage, where she saw a tall podium. With more observation, she spotted a tree in the back of the room.

While Victoria took all of this in, Jack dragged in a large green-and-red striped bag that she had failed to notice before. It made an odd scraping noise as it was pulled. Victoria got out of Jack's way and ran up to the stage. She ambled around it, walking amongst the dust and dirt on the floor and occasionally getting caught in cobwebs that housed large, creepy spiders that snapped their impressive mandibles at her. Finally she came to a stopping point at the edge, sitting down and dangling her feet over.

"Someone really should clean this place up," Victoria told Jack.

The skeleton nodded, and replied, "We haven't had any use for it in a long time. Besides, many of the citizens don't believe that a clean environment is the best to live in, you know. You know what else? I never caught your name."

"You never asked. It's Victoria," she stated. Jack nodded.

"Victoria," Jack repeated, trying out the word for himself. It had a nice ring to it, an old fashioned air that was still modern in a way. He liked it. "That's a nice name." Victoria shrugged her shoulders but secretly appreciated his kindness.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel didn't seem to care for it as much," she told him. Jack looked up from the bag he was pulling.

"Funny," he said, "You don't look like the type that would consort with them." Victoria's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No, I think I learned that we're different," she said quickly.

Jack shrugged as he struggled to bring his sack up a ramp that led to the platform. The sound of glass breaking met both of their ears as he reached a bump in the walkway, and Jack cringed as he brought the bag up all the way.

"That'll be an ornament," he whispered as he began to untie it. Interested, Victoria got up. She strolled around the perimeter of the bulging sack until she came to a stop right beside the skeleton.

"Ornaments? I didn't know that was a part of Halloween," Victoria told Jack. He looked up at her for a minute, and then returned to the string tied 'round the bag (he had tied it a little too tightly).

Almost guiltily, he muttered, "It's not." Victoria was taken slightly aback. Still, Jack seemed to overcome this awkward moment quickly as he untied the knot and opened the sack. Curiously, Victoria peered inside. Glittering baubles of red, green, silver, and blue bobbed up from the depths of the bag, and underneath she could see bristling evergreen needles. Silver and gold tinsel intertwined with each other fancily. The tinsel, as Victoria could see, was wrapped around the green branches in a spiraling fashion.

Happily, Jack removed the items from the bag while humming a tune. Victoria stared at him, dumbstruck. All the other citizens around here that she had seen- they had seemed so into the Halloween spirit, but Jack? Here he was, unloading a Christmas tree!

"What are you humming? Is that…is that 'Frosty the Snowman?!" Victoria asked incredulously. Jack, who was straightening the branches on the tree, stopped dead in his tracks (excuse the pun). Slowly, he pivoted around on the spot and faced her with one eye socket almost closed in suspicion.

"Yes, it is," Jack said cautiously, "How did you know?" Victoria laughed.

"Are you joking? That's got to be one of the most well known Christmas carols there is," she said, now starting to help him unload some of the ornaments. Jack's blank stare turned into one of immense rapture. He bounded over to her and took her by the shoulders, facing her head-to-head and managing to startle her quite a lot.

"What're you doing?" Victoria asked. Jack's grip on her shoulders seemed to be cold even with her vest and shirt. Jack chuckled quietly, unable to believe his luck.

Happily, he questioned, "Do you actually know about Christmas?" Victoria leaned back a bit and nodded. Jack's grasp on her tightened once and then released, and he started to jump around in a sort of happy dance, laughing loudly now. Victoria looked on in confusion.

Jack swung around the Christmas tree, and then faced Victoria again.

"So, you know about presents? Stockings? Candy canes? You can sing Christmas carols and tie bows and make snowmen and- do you write to Sandy Claws?" Jack rambled on ecstatically. Victoria smiled slightly, not wanting to admit that she had written to Santa Claus since she was three.

"Yes, Jack, I do all of that at Christmas! Everyone does. Don't you?" she asked. The smile was wiped off of Jack's face. Without a word, he walked to the red and green bag (which was still bursting with Christmas memorabilia) and retrieved a snow globe from its depths. He shook it once, and then twice with his bony fingers, making the white particles inside soar in the water and drift down onto a winter scene. He looked at it bemusedly, yet sadly.

Victoria tried to say something but couldn't. Jack laid the snow globe on a nearby table and heaved out a sigh, watching the last of the snowflakes fall.

"No," he stated, "We don't." Jack turned away from the snow globe and returned to his Christmas tree, looking away from Victoria's questioning eyes. He fondled a strand of tinsel between his fingertips. The silver and gold would never go over well with the townspeople; he was sure. However, if he could just explain it to them, then maybe, just maybe they'd understand…

"Jack?" Victoria asked. Snapped away from his thoughts, Jack swiveled around quickly. "If the other Halloween Town citizens don't know about Christmas, how come you do?" The smile came back onto his face as he remembered that magical visit to Christmas town.

"Well," Jack began, "I have recently discovered that there are different holidays besides Halloween! Can you believe that?" Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"I know it might be difficult to understand, trust me," Jack said, "but there are actually portals in the middle of the woods to different holidays! I went into Christmas Town, and I must confess, it was wonderful."

"There was white stuff everywhere, falling from the sky! It all collected on the ground and the children threw it at each other, and sculpted it, and made angelic shapes in it!"

"Snow?"

"Yes, that's it. Then I saw them skating on frozen water with specialized shoes that had blades on them. They were having great fun."

"That's called ice skating."

"That's right! Next, I noticed that they were baking cookies and making toys. The people who did all of this were very small, smaller than me or you and they had pointed ears and looked jolly."

"Wow, I didn't know elves existed."

"Elves, that's what they were. You're quite good at this, aren't you? Anyways, Christmas Town was so amazing; I just couldn't believe my eye sockets! The thing is, no one in Halloween Town has seen what Christmas is like except for me and you. I thought if I showed them how Christmas worked, they'd think it was fun!" Jack said enthusiastically.

Victoria was unsure about the whole thing. Could monsters, vampires, and witches really learn to love Christmas? Nevertheless, she nodded.

"They might," she said. Jack laughed as he put began to put presents under the tree. Red and gold paper glistened under the dim lighting and put Victoria in the slightest holiday spirit. Jack was certainly going about the whole Christmas thing better than the people in her world were. In Halloween Town, there were no sale signs, no loudspeakers, and no dancing Santa Clauses.

"Of course they will!" Jack told her, "And you are going to help me tell them about it!"

Victoria gave Jack a perplexed look.

"I am?" she asked.

"You bet! With my spirit and your knowledge, we'll have Halloween Town converted in no time at all! Now here, help me with this stocking. I can't wait for the town meeting tonight!" Jack said excitedly.

Nervously, Victoria added, "Yeah. Me either."

Musically: Ooh. You don't get stage fright, do you, Victoria?

Victoria: (scowls) No. I just don't want to talk about Christmas in front of monsters.

Jack: (sobs) We have more than what's just on the outside!!