A Second Chance

Part One

Jim woke up with a gasp, bolting upright and breathing hard, sweat running down his arms and back. He lifted a shaking hand to his face, wiping the hair out of his eyes. He stayed like that for a solid minute before he finally looked around. He saw that he was back in his room, warm and cozy as always. Posters on the wall, homework on the desk. He felt like he might throw up, so he shakily stood up to get to the bathroom, but he sank to the ground, unable to keep himself standing. He was on all fours, shaking violently as tears welled in his eyes. He knew what was going on. He knew where, or rather when, he was. It had worked. The chronosphere had really worked. Jim had gone back three years in the past. He took a shaky breath, letting a few tears fall. He tried to calm himself down reassuring himself that this had been the plan, that this was the right thing to do. He knew that, he knew he had to do this, to save the people he couldn’t save and to do the things he couldn’t do. He knew this was necessary, and he had done this certain it was the right choice, but now that he was actually here? He couldn’t help but feel sad and afraid. He let out a small sob, the reality of it all sinking in. He was back to before most of his friends even knew who he was. Before Claire was his girlfriend, before Blinky and Strickler were his fathers, before Aaarrgh was his uncle, before Douxie was his cool older brother, before he and Toby had gotten even closer and before he and his mom learned more about each other. He was back to before any of that happened, before he went through any of the horrible shit he went through. He let out another broken sob, feeling the weight of the world on his now 15 year old shoulders. He was about to try and get up again, needing to get up and see Toby, but his mom walked in before he could. “Jim? I heard a thud, are you oka-” She stopped as she walked in, seeing Jim hunched over on the floor crying. Her face turned from confusion to worry as she ran to him, kneeling down and helping him sit up. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Jim let out another sob seeing his mother, seeing her so worried but so oblivious. God, she knew nothing. Nothing about him, nothing about the world, nothing about Strickler. Here she was, just being a normal mom, entirely unaware that just a little while ago she had lost the love of her life. No, entirely unaware that Strickler even is the love of her life. He felt sick, and, wanting to get away from his mom’s worried face, he finally managed to put enough strength into his legs to get up and sprint to the bathroom, Barbara following behind and squeaking when he slammed the door in her face, locking it. “Jim? Honey, what’s going on? Can I please come in?” Barbara was very worried, having never seen her son like this. Jim slumped against the door, holding his head in his hands. He couldn’t stand the tone of her voice, so worried for him. He had caused her so much worry over the past three years, and now he had a chance to erase all of that but within the first few minutes he was already making her worry. Dammit. He just needed to be alone right now. He needed a little while to think, to cry, to get his shit together before he faced the world. “Mom, please, I'm okay. I just need to be alone, plus, you have work.” Jim was trying to get her to leave as fast as he could. “Honey, you’re obviously not okay. Seriously, what happened? Did you have a nightmare? I can take today off if you need me here.” Jim sighed. “Mom, no, please. I just really need to be alone. Just go get ready for work, I’ll be fine, I promise, please.” Jim was begging her at this point, almost ready to start sobbing again. He heard her sigh from the other side of the door. “Fine, I’ll go. I know that sometimes teenagers just need to be alone. But, Jim, we’re gonna talk about this when I get home, okay? I’m really worried.” Jim was so relieved. “Okay, I love you.” he said, wanting to make sure she knew he wasn’t mad at her or anything. “Yeah, I love you too.” And with that, she walked away. Jim stayed sitting for a moment, his breathing finally calming down but his heart still heavy and his mind still chaotic. He let out a breath of relief when he heard the door shut and the car drive away, signaling that his mom was gone for work. He lightly banged his head on the door before getting up and hobbling to the sink, still a bit weak. He clutched the sink so tightly his knuckles turned white as he finally looked into the mirror, gasping a bit at the sight. He looked younger, healthier, more well rested. His face was void of anything but regular skin, as opposed to the scars he had gotten used to. There were no dark eyebags, even though he had gotten so used to seeing them in the mirror. His hair was well kept and cut, different from the slightly long, shaggy hair he had before. He took off his shirt to reveal that his body wasn’t toned as it usually was, but instead weak and skinny, and without the numerous scars all over it. His hands that were usually calloused and rough from training and fighting were soft and smooth, showing no signs of hard work other than the one scar he had from a cooking accident. He stood in front of the mirror for nearly 15 minutes, scanning over and prodding at his body and face, getting used to being back as the weak, unscarred little kid he used to be. It was weird, he had actually gotten quite used to all the scars, all the bruises and eyebags and muscles, all the messy hair and enhanced senses that he kept from his time as a troll. Wait. Enhanced senses? He sniffed the air, a strong wave of a burnt smell hitting him and making him gag. Nothing was burning though. He then realized, how had he heard his mother drive off? She always closed the door especially quietly, and her car made almost no noise. He was all the way upstairs, how had he heard it? ‘Oh shit’ he thought, realizing something. He still had his enhanced senses. After getting turned human again, he had kept some of his troll traits. Enhanced endurance, speed, strength, smell, hearing, he could even see in the dark. He turned out the lights in the bathroom only to find that he could still see perfectly fine. ‘What the fuck? What the fuck?’ Jim was kind of freaking out, not understanding how he could still have his troll senses. Everything else had gone back to how it was three years ago, how had he kept this? Time travel is so weird. He continued brainstorming how this could have happened as he got dressed and ready, not planning on going to school today but needing to get the amulet, and see Toby. He used the troll senses mystery as a chance to distract himself, knowing that if he focused on his grief and sadness right now he wouldn’t be able to get anything done because he’d just end up a sobbing mess on the floor. Again. He walked down stairs, the familiar feeling of home both nice and depressing to him. He didn’t bother grabbing anything to eat, both in a hurry and knowing that he couldn’t stomach anything right now. He opened up the garage and grabbed his bike, not bothering with the tipped over trash can. He got outside just in time to see Toby running to him, bike in hand. He felt his heart clench and his eyes well with tears at the sight. His best friend, Toby. The best friend that had died in his arms not too long ago. The best friend that he had turned back time for, and who now didn’t remember any of the things they had gone through together the past three years. Jim felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest and stomped on. He was so relieved to see Toby alive and happy, but seeing him like this only brought up bad memories for him now. Jim dropped his bike and ran to Toby, nearly knocking him over in a hug, a few tears falling down his face. He held on for dear life, feeling as if he'd disappear the second he let go. Toby stumbled, catching himself before he fell flat on his back, surprised at Jim’s sudden action. “Uh, Jimbo? What’s going on? Did you forget the lunch or something?” Toby asked, deeply confused and slightly amused. Toby laughed a little. “Cos, you know I love your hugs, but that’s now gonna make up for forgetting that lunch.” It was said in a joking manner, and the sound of Toby’s voice so light and happy made Jim cry even more as he finally pulled away, a smile filled with both pain and happiness spread on his face. Toby stopped laughing as he saw Jim, slightly shaking with tears streaming down his face, and a very sad smile. “Woah, Jimbo. You doing okay? It’s totally fine if you forgot the lunch, it’s not that big a deal!” Toby was very confused and worried. Jim laughed a little, his heart aching more every second. He dried his tears as he answered. “Nah, it’s not about that. I’m just…really happy to see you Tobes.” “Dude, you saw me yesterday. And, like, every other day for our whole lives.” Jim just laughed again, a broken, sad laugh. He stood there for a solid minute just staring at a very awkward feeling Toby, taking in the sight of his best friend alive and well right in front of him. “Uh, Jimbo? Seriously, are you okay?” Toby asked, snapping Jim out of his stupor. “Yeah, yeah. Totally fine, Tobes. But I’m not gonna be at school today, I have things to do, so cover for me.” Jim wanted nothing more than to spend all day with Toby, making sure his friend was safe and sound, but he had a lot to do and think about. Jim walked over to pick up his bike, walking back over to Toby and giving him one last hug before mounting his bike and riding off, hearing Toby shout “Wait, what!? Jimbo!” But Jim was pedaling as fast as he could to the canal. Jim got to the canal and stepped off his bike, walking over to the pile of rocks that he now knew was his predecessor. Last time around he hadn’t known that, and had disrespectfully dug through the pile of stone. This time he knelt down in front of it, bowing his head a bit. Kanjigar had been a bit of a jerk when he first met him, and had some beliefs that made Jim make some bad decisions,  but overall he was a strong, just warrior who Jim greatly admired. He quietly apologized for what he was about to do, and he was careful to not disrupt the pile too much as he dug for his amulet. He found it quickly, a small smile gracing his features as he held the familiar object in his hand, tracing the engravings that he was so familiar with. For the first time since he’d woken up, Jim felt like he could properly breath. The familiar weight and feel of the metal calmed his nerves enough for him to finally stop the shaking that had been there since this morning. He sat for a moment, waiting, until he heard the amulet say “James Lake”. He breathed a sigh of relief, having half expected it to say someone else's name, but that would just be stupid and crazy and a horrible way to end a fantastic trilogy, angering thousands of fans and making them write fanfics like this to keep themselves sane and something that no good, morally right person would ever do. Jim stood up, safely storing his amulet in his front pocket and getting back on his bike. Now that his head was a bit more clear, he was making a plan. Jim knew that he needed help. With all the things he needed to do and fix, he wouldn’t be able to do it all on his own. He needed even just one other person that knew the whole story to help him, one person that remembered the last 3 years like he did. But, there was no one else who remembered other than him. Jim felt that despair rise to the top again at the reminder, but pushed it down as he paced beside his bike. No one else remembered, so all he needed to do was tell someone! He needed to find someone who would believe him, and who wouldn’t totally freak out and lose their grip on reality once he did. Toby, Claire and his mom were all off the table. Toby wouldn’t be able to handle having so much dumped on him at once, Claire didn’t even know who he was right now, and his mom would probably never let him out of her sight again if she knew how much danger he was in. Blinky, Aaargh and Vendel are out too, all of them being too naturally suspicious of people for it to work. Krel, Aja, and Varvatos weren’t even on Planet yet, another thing he was gonna have to deal with later, Merlin was still asleep, not that he’d ask him for help ever again, he couldn’t get to Nari, and Strickler was still super evil right now. So who did that leave? Douxie! Douxie’s perfect! He’s a 900 year old wizard, and he knows all about the amulet and time travel stuff, so he’d definitely believe him. He’d be able to handle it, he’d be able to do a lot to help, plus Jim just kinda wanted to see him. With his mind made up, Jim hopped on his bike and rode off towards the arcane book shop to see his friend.
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First chapter, hope you liked. Next one will be out soon. This is mainly a Jim and Douxie being brothers story, with action and angst also playing a big part. Have a nice day! 2,482 words.