Serendipity & the Serpent

Back To The Past

"So... in the original timeline... I was never supposed to meet Johnny?"

You felt the fear pulsing in your veins as you pieced together this new information. It pained you to think, but you couldn't imagine a life without knowing him. He was the first person you met here, and more importantly, Johnny was the reason you started to enjoy this place. He brought out the worst in you, making you face your worst qualities head on. But he also showed you the good, forcing you to understand the big picture. Johnny distracted you from your troubles. The game you two played was the most exhilarating thing that happened when you first arrived. He gave you a sense of stability and comfort that oddly enough, nobody else could give you. Because of Johnny, you learned to understand yourself better than you ever had before, and you internally thanked him endlessly for that. Without Johnny, you would just be a lost new girl who didn't feel like they could fit in.

He showed you how to let go and have fun. He taught you how to stand up for yourself, and to embrace your confidence. He showed you how to fight back and how to control your outward emotions and feelings for other people. Johnny taught you how to love another being.

If Doc and Marty reset the timeline, you would have never had the pleasure of meeting Johnny Lawrence.

You would have never even missed these memories, because they would have never happened in the first place.

"You were never supposed to know him." Marty said quietly.

"The occasional glance in the hallway perhaps," Doc stated, "but you were never meant to be a staple piece in his story."

You shook your head in shock. "I can't believe this..."

"We are so sorry." Marty stepped forward.

You swallowed back your rising anxiety and stood up a little taller, the heavy decisions rolling through your brain.

"Now," Doc said gently, "this is your decision. Either we somehow make Johnny and Daniel hate each other again... or we erase this timeline's existence entirely."

You knew that the options were limited, and neither one of them sounded pleasant. But no matter what you wanted to say, you knew deep down what needed to be done.

Doc and Marty made it clear that you were never supposed to meet Johnny. Making Daniel and Johnny hate each other didn't even secure the safety of the timeline, it was only a possibility that everything could return to normal. But if they went back to the source of the problem and eliminated it head on... it was finalized.

It was the only way.

You closed your eyes, letting a tear slide down your cheek. You never once imagined yourself in this position, mainly for the fact that this stuff seemed to only exist in stories. In fiction. But now you understood it was real. And the fate of this timeline rested on your shoulders. With a shaky breath, you made your decision final.

"Erase the timeline."

Marty nodded his head subtly, not bothering to argue with your choice. Doc pressed his lips into a thin line. They knew that you weren't going to back down from this decision.

"Alright..." Doc declared in a broken whisper, "then consider it done. We will go back to where it all began... erasing the timeline completely."

You nodded once, the agony of truth preventing you from saying anything else.

Just then, Doc held out a finger, signaling he was not quite finished. He brought his hand to his mouth in a pondering fashion. "But we can't do this just yet. Marty and I need to discuss the action to make sure this works properly and goes according to plan. We will also need to find an exact date and time where nothing will interrupt our chances of going back."

"Okay." You squeaked out, incapable of forming a full sentence.

"And one more thing," he continued, "you will need to come with us."

"What?" You began to panic. "Isn't that just going to make things worse? Will there be two of me? Oh my gosh, will this version of myself still remember everything while that version of me walks around without knowing a thing?"

"It's hard to explain," Marty laughed nervously, "but Doc is right, you need to come back with us."

"I don't understand."

"It's a very hard process to wrap your head around," Doc acknowledged, "but Marty and I have gone back multiple times, trying to pinpoint where exactly we went wrong. According to our calculations, you were on your way to the record shop the first day, when suddenly Mr. Lawrence offered to help you with your directions. Now, you know yourself better than we do. When we go back, we need you to distract the past version of yourself so that she doesn't take that route to the shop. Unfortunately, you will not arrive in time, and the shop will go out of business forever."

Wow. This was heavy.

"But Doc," you shook your head with confusion, "I can't distract myself! I can't let my past self see, well... this self!"

"You don't need to worry about that!" Doc said reassuringly, "even if you have to sneak into your apartment and hide your skates from your past self, it will still stall the events of time! By the time past you finds the skates, Johnny would have already driven away from the dojo with his friends and the landlord would have arrived to an empty store. Whatever you need to do, just do it! As long as past you doesn't see present you, then everything will go according to plan."

"Okay," you agreed, somewhat more confidently, "alright. I'll do it."

The two of them looked at each other, not exactly sure what to say next. Doc stepped forward first. "So it's settled then. Now all we need is to find the date and time. This can't just happen over night... we really have to think about this. If we want this to be a perfect execution, then we can't let anything get in the way of stopping us."

You thought over every last possibility. It was somewhat hard to do considering your mind was racing with other things as well. You figured the sooner you could get this over with the better. That way, you wouldn't back down. It was crunch time, and no matter how horrible this outcome seemed to be for you, this choice wasn't revolving around you. This was a personal sacrifice to save the timeline. You wouldn't let yourself chicken out of this.

The three of you sat in silence for a few moments, raking over the options. Just then, you stood up a little straighter. Although it was roughly two weeks away, you knew the perfect time to take action. A time when nobody would be able to disrupt the event... because everyone would be watching another event.

"December 19th."

The two boys raised their heads to look at you. As you slowly met their eyes, the realization sunk in. They looked to each other before looking back to you. Nodding your head, you inhaled sharply.

"We will do it during the All Valley."