He landed on the ground naked, quickly turning into a wolf before he drew any attention to himself. The streets seemed busier than they had been before he had left which he hoped was a good sign. Then again there was no wolves stalking the streets beside himself, chasing hapless victims so this was another plus. He sniffed deeply the air free of the stench of fear he had been used to and the night sky free of the smoke and soot of eternal fires.
He scratched at his ear with his back leg as the tingling sensation of new memories came into his mind. This was the price he had to pay for the gift Lobsang had given him. His task had been to remove the disastrous timeline where the Watch was diminished, mere puppets of the Uberwald lords that had been led secretly by Dragon and Lord de Worde. Those that killed Vetinari and took his place starting a reign of terror much to de Worde's horror. Yet to do that he had to visit each and every timeline where the war had occurred and replace the three pivotal lives that were taken. And so to save Carrot, Angua and Vetinari he had to kill Dragon, Lord de Worde and one other who was involved in the plot but this one differed each time he came to a new dimension. Previous dimensions included Lord Downey, Lord Rust and bizarrely C.M.O.T Dibbler amongst others. Yet he had succeeded and all was saved, the Uberwald revolt had been stopped before it had begun yet for this to be the other possibility had to exist, and so it did, in his mind where it would play and torment his happiness, as would the murders he had performed.
Instead of heading to the Ramkin/Vimes residence where he had originally been brought up he headed for Elm Street where his newly acquired memories told him he now lived. He came to a house near Mrs. Cake's and slinked round to the back door where he found a flap in the lower half. He slid through and found a pile of clothes waiting beside a worn basket and changed into human form and dressed himself, looking slightly dishevelled.
'Jayson! Where have you been!' a feminine voice cried out behind him.
He turned round to the scowling face of his mother, her blonde hair cascading down her back and over the shoulders of a dress she still wasn't comfortable in wearing after years of wearing armour. Her face was a lot less paler than he had last seen it, which had only been a few moments ago to him when her eyes were full of hatred yet now they were full of annoyance.
'Just skulking around Angua.' He replied forgetting himself.
'That's mother to you!' she snapped admonishingly.
'Yes mother.' Jayson said smiling.
'Now get dressed for work before your father comes along on patrol! If you haven't had breakfast you'll just have to pick it up on the way to the Yard!' His mother scolded.
'Yes mother.' He said wearily but inside was loving every second of it as this was an experience he had missed out on what with Sybil being more lenient with him... which reminded him...
He went to his room and changed into his breeches and vest before pulling on his armour, polished to as bright a shine as possible what with the few dents he'd acquired to Commander Vimes' secret approval.
His appearance had changed slightly since he had come back, his features less sharp and gaunt whilst his limp was gone. He was also aware that although his visit hadn't been forgotten, his appearance had and so his parents had named him after the stranger that had changed their lives enabling them to have a son whilst Vimes had resigned himself to the fact that the Jayson who had come back to warn then was still out there somewhere living a happier life... how close to the truth he was!
He pinned his badge to his belt, number 112, the Watch having grown a lot in the passing two decades that this number was a mere fraction of the true size of the force.
Vetinari was still in charge thank the gods, still acting frail although at his age now he didn't have to act too much.
He washed his muddy hands and feet before he slipped on his boots, not wanting another tongue-lashing from his mother and made his way out onto the streets towards Pseudopolis Yard to sign in for his shift.
It was at the junction of Treacle Mine Road and Elm Street that he came across his father on one of his morning walks. There was something unchangeable about Carrot even after these twenty plus years. Still second in command to Vimes, unable to take over position of Commander that Vimes clung tightly to even if he was ordered to, that honest face and helpfulness still there yet Jayson knew what lay beneath and had been released, even for a short while during the revolt that had helped turn the tide.
'Morning Sergeant!' Carrot said cheerfully as he approached.
Jayson rolled his eyes. 'I'm not on duty yet father.' He said sighing.
'Yes well...' Carrot started saying.
'Mother's expecting you.' Jayson interrupted and added 'I have to rush otherwise I'll be late.'
Carrot pulled a watch from his pocket, the timepiece rather small especially in his large hands. Amazing what the Guild of Clockmakers were able to do these days.
'Yes, good point. Well hurry along.' Carrot said cheerfully and carried on proceeding down Elm Street as Jayson trotted along Treacle Mine Road and then up Sheer Street.
He knew now why he really had attacked his parents back then. He had been angry at them for leaving him, they had chosen to die helping the city in a pointless battle rather than staying to be with him and his attacks on them had been in a way his revenge on them.
'Better speed up Sergeant!' someone called to him from the railings outside the Watch house.
'Whatever you say Captain Sammy boy!' he taunted.
'Will you stop calling me that?' Junior moaned as Jayson passed him.
The one thing that hadn't changed was Junior. There was no mistaking him as the son of Commander Vimes, the same profile and looks, even bearing. There were no iconographs of Sir Samuel in his youth but no doubt he was the spitting image of Junior although probably skinnier.
Jayson logged in with the desk Sergeant, the grand-daughter of Fred Colon who had to retire a couple of years ago but the legacy continued, in fact she was rather cute...
'Come on then partner, we have crime to fight.' Junior called for him from the doorway.
Jayson gave Sergeant Colon a dazzling smile to which he got a faint blush and smile in return to before he turned to Junior rolling his eyes.
'Whatever you say Captain... we all know why you've advanced so far...' Jayson taunted playfully.
'Look who's talking' Junior retorted.
'Yeah well I can bang heads together just as good as you!' Jayson replied as they both started proceeding along Lower Broadway still bickering.
'Now I'm home...' Jayson thought and sighed contently.
Author's Note: Well i guess from some of the reviews I got for the last chapter I may as well just burn these chapters along with the rest of this fic. Then again I'm not Terry and don't claim to be so I can't stick to his rules if I'm not in his class of style. Though I am proud of the fact that I've created a villain that seems to be hated by a lot of people. Like someone said, the villain is always put down... but where's the fun in that? If the story is going to be predictable then I may as well put it in favour of the villain. Also here the line gets blurred cause he's a cocky, arrogant, annoying bastard/hero and those things are usually good qualifications for a hero. Besides he has a deal with Lobsang so he has some protection. But fine I could always write a sequel where Jayson gets his comeuppance, a little Karma courtesy of the Sweeper.