A Second Chance (Redwall Fanfic)

T.B. in a Tree

A certain mouse was trying to sleep, death having been a much needed rest for him after he had gone through so much pain in his life. The last physical thing he had felt while he was alive was his lungs filling with a nasty mucus muck that had made it hard for him to breathe. The last thing he had heard was Martin asking first for him to not die and then finally giving in and telling him to rest in peace.

The Dark Forest was warm and he could sleep all he wanted. Timballisto didn't have to eat or worry about getting hurt. He didn't have to think either, though a few mummers he overheard told him that others weren't into resting after their death. They had to be doing something, which caused him to sometimes ever so rarely wonder what Martin was doing once he died. Of course, he didn't think much and had no recollection of the amount of time that had passed since he died.

Something though wasn't right. Instead of feeling nice and warm like he had been doing he felt cold and his dry fur was quickly becoming quite wet. Instead of a soft, comfortable bed... he guessed it was a bed... underneath him he felt rocky dirt. Yes, something wasn't right and the mouse found himself opening up his eyes and wondering why the Dark Forest suddenly wasn't the nice paradise he remembered.

The mouse pushed himself up off the ground, a frown spreading across his muzzle as he realized that Dark Forest... or where ever he was... wasn't the peaceful paradise he was enjoying after his death. The action of himself pushing himself off the ground as well as eventually standing felt strange. It wasn't so much that he felt a sense of imbalance with his body. That in fact was there. Standing up though felt strange indeed.

Timballisto looked down at his paws, flexing them as he tried to figure out what was going on. A curse escaped his muzzle as well as a few choice words. He thought carefully about what he saw, his mind registering the fact he was now the size of dibbun. Two dark eyes widened as the fact set in that he was young again, something he didn't expect from the Dark Forest. He carefully raised his front limbs and examined it.

"I'm the size I was when I climbed the cliff to get Luke when the..." The young mouseling's ears twitched in irritation and his muzzle opened as another realization hit him. "Crimey... Martin. If Martin is in the same predicament then he's only a new born babe."

As the horror of the idea sunk in he felt his stomach twisting with worry and felt as if he would vomit up the empty contents of his stomach as this in the long run a bad joke. T.B. frowned, noting that a town was around him. "Where in hells gates did this town come from? This couldn't have been built during mine and Martin's life times. That is assuming that this is Mossflower. It could actually be a part of the Dark Forest."

Timballisto leaned up against a tree wondering what his next action should be. The rain was still pouring down, causing him to shrink back and try to shelter himself under a tree as much as possible. "I could go and ask for help, but I honestly don't know if I can trust these people. Something honestly feels off."

The mouse closed his eyes, wrapping his upper limbs around his chest area. His body shivered from the cold. Eventually though he began to take in more information as well as process what was going on. He found himself dozing off, thus he notice the rain actually stopping or various good beasts beginning to mill around the town that was near by.

He found himself jarred awake though when someone spoke to him. "Dibbun... what are you doing away from your other's side?" T.B. looked up to see an older mouse looking at him and walking up. Hearing someone speak to him about his mother felt strange and caused him to hug the tree closer. "We'll... you don't look like you're one of the village mice."

Timballisto attempted to scurry away only to let out a squeak as the mouse grabbed him by the hood of his sleeveless habit. "If some mouse has abandoned you here I should take you to the Mosstown's orphanage."

"An orphanage is likely a place where they place orphans. The fact they call this place Mosstown also means that it is in Mossflower like I thought. What in Hells Gates is going on!" The small mouse wiggled about, the soaked habit clinging to his small body preventing him from easily escaping. The older mouse let out a sudden yelp before letting go of T.B. and falling to the muddy ground.

Blinking a couple of times at the muddy blob moving in front of him he suddenly decided to try the name of a mole he knew hoping that his rescuer was who he thought it was. "Dinny?"

The mole nodded his head before scooting into the ground again. The small mouse hurried to the tree and scrambled up, the wet bark of the tree biting into the pads and knuckles of his paws as he did. By the time he reached the first branch he heard the older mouse yelling at him and a brief glance down revealed that the mouse had placed his paws on his hips and a frustrated look spread across his face. "You little scallywags! Leave the climbing to the carpenters!"

The small mouse stuck his tongue out at the bigger mouse. "I am a carpenter. I know how to make timballistos which is how I got my name." The sudden urge to bang his head into the tree. "Why am I acting like a dibbun! I know that I am a dibbun, but I've lived through adult hood already!" He watched as Dinny bounced up and down making a rather big mess at the bottom of the tree, causing the older mouse to shift his footing and sometimes fall again. "Ha! Good job Dinny."

In his excitement he almost fell from the tree, but scuffled to keep on the branch. The older mouse shook his head at the dibbun in the tree. "Now come down her this instant! Do I need to call the town mayor?"

Timballisto's brow wrinkled up. "Mayor? I do not listen to the Mayor. I listen to Abbess Germain of Rewall. That or Redwall's resident warrior, the one and only Martin the warrior, son of Luke."

"Now come on. While Abbess Germaine really did exist at one point those tales of warriors are all make believe. No mouse could ever defeat a wild cat."

T.B reached up to grab an acorn in his small paw and chucked it at the mouse, causing the mouse to let out a yelp. "Don't you dare talk about my brother that way. I was there after he defeated that wild cat! He almost didn't make it. So don't tell me it isn't possible. He's even an even greater warrior then Luke the warrior and that is saying something."

"Martin the Warrior is not your brother." The mouse began to yell back. "Not only did he never exist but you need to stop chucking acorns at me.

The small mouse took a deep breath, his temperament causing him to not practice his normal judgment skill. "He's not my brother by blood, but we did grow up with each other. And if you have him in that stinky orphanage or whatever it is I will storm in and take him back to Redwall."

Another acorn went flying and hit this time a female mouse. "You little scamp. You're such a nuisance. Why don't you just come on down now like a good little dibbun."

"I am not a dibbun. My name is Timballisto and I have seen many changes of the seasons.

The female turned to the other mouse. "Please tell me that Dibbun isn't playing at being Martin the Warrior's friend Timballisto?"

"I am..." The small mouse meant to throw more acorns at the 'adults' on the ground. His words were interrupted by someone grabbing him from behind. He shook his head and let out a sigh, turning to see who had grabbed him. "I forgot that squirrels could climb trees even thought these mice don't seem like they could.."