Author's Notes:

This is a story I wrote during much of 2003 for my web site. I have not revised it in the intervening years and am posting it, here, as is. I am undecided as to whether this is good or bad.

Obviously, this takes place in an alternate universe.

Disclaimer for this and subsequent chapters: I do not own the canon characters. They belong to Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Candice is 100% mine and, no, she is not meant to be an interpretation of me. I don't do Mary Sues.

Let the story commence!

Haven't We Met Before?

Chapter 1

Hill Valley, California

January, 1989

Martin McFly had never been aware of a life other than the one in which he currently lived. He had heard the term "old soul," but he didn't think twice about it for he believed that a person could only live one life. It was as simple as that. Martin McFly had once believed that reincarnation was nothing more than a crock of shit.

"Had" would be the operative word.

Marty was never quite sure what triggered the night terrors that he began to experience in early 1989. At least he had assumed they were dreams as he was at a loss for a better explanation. The terrifying dreams had snuck up on him, but the strangest thing was that he had absolutely no memory of them afterward. At least that was the scenario initially.

A week before the onset of these dreams, Marty was at Doc's home paying him an overdue visit. He had been swamped with commitments to college, his job and his band. Therefore, he hadn't visited Doc since sometime before Christmas. Marty felt immensely guilty for that lapse of time, but he knew that Doc would understand that it couldn't be helped.

When he arrived at the home, Clara had told him that Doc was upstairs in the attic. He was apparently sorting through the junk that had amassed up there. Marty, deciding that he would never see Doc do something like this again, had gone up to offer his services and, perhaps, some good-natured ribbing.

Upon his arrival in the attic, Marty found Doc rummaging through a box with some old photos and papers in it. Doc made no acknowledgement of hearing Marty come up behind him as he continued to work. Doc plucked one particular photograph out of the rather large box and looked at it wistfully.

"What do you have there?" Marty asked, announcing his entrance.

Doc, who had been lost in thought, jumped a mile at the voice. "Marty, you startled me," he said. "This is nothing, just an old picture."

"Marty peered over Doc's shoulder. He recognized one person as a younger version of Doc, but the second person was a stranger. The two were smiling for the camera and something about the picture conveyed to Marty that the two were good friends.

"Who's the other guy?" Marty asked.

"An old friend from school," Doc replied vaguely as he waved Marty off and threw the photo into a pile. I don't even remember his name."

Marty picked up the picture that Doc had tossed aside and he felt the strangest sensation wash over him. However, before he could grasp what the feeling was, the thought left him.

"It looks like you guys were good friends," Marty probed, knowing that Doc knew more than he was letting on. "Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"No," Doc said as he turned his attention back to the box. Marty frowned at Doc's behavior. He had caught the inventor's sad expression when he had entered the room, so he didn't buy the crap that Doc was trying to feed him now. He looked back at the photo and couldn't help but notice the feeling of déjà vu that had implanted itself in his mind.

"Weird," Marty thought as he set the photo back on the pile where Doc had left it.

"What brings you by?" Doc asked, hoping that Marty would forget the subject at hand.

"Nothing special. I haven't been by in a while and I thought I'd come over," Marty replied. "I'm not intruding, am I?"

"Of course not," Doc said.

"Were you looking for something in particular? Do you need any help?" Marty asked as he eyed the incredible mess. "Perhaps, a magic wand so you can make this crap pile disappear."

"Not really," Doc said, answering the questions as he leafed through some more papers that Marty guessed to be notes of some kind.

"Are you sure that you don't want to talk some more about that photo?" Marty asked tentatively.

There it was. Doc sighed, knowing that his friend's curiosity never remained at bay too long. "I'm quite sure, Marty," he said softly

Just like that, the subject was sealed shut. Marty knew that he wouldn't be getting any information from his friend right now. However, Marty would soon learn more about the mystery person and his tie to Doc than he had ever wanted to know.

Nearly a week later, a terrified Marty twisted and turned in his sleep. The image in his mind was extremely vivid. All Marty could see were flames and he could even feel the searing pain as the flames burned his skin. He tried calling out to someone, anyone for help, but his voice refused to work. It was like someone had ripped his vocal chords from his throat. He had an overwhelming, suffocating feeling that he was trapped and he was going to die. Then everything went black.

And Marty woke up.

He sat in his bed, shaking as he tried to get a bearing on his present surroundings. There were no flames, no smoke, and no burns on his skin. He was back in his own room all right. He tried to recollect the dream that had terrified him so, only to come to the disconcerting realization that he could not remember one little tidbit of the dream he had just had.

Another week would pass before he had the time to visit Doc again and what a tiring week it had been. Marty awoke every night to this dream only to not remember a single detail when he awakened. While it didn't totally deprive him of sleep, the dream did deprive him of enough sleep to make a noticeable difference. Doc was quick to comment on that very detail.

"What ran over you?" Doc asked as he got a look at his friend's tired face.

"Thanks a lot," Marty said. "I've just been having some really weird dreams lately."

"What about?" Doc asked.

"That's the weird part, Doc," Marty said. "I can't remember anything about them."

"Nothing at all?" Doc asked, surprised.

"Nothing at all," Marty said. "I am startled awake, but I don't know why."

"Strange," Doc said. "Maybe it's stress-related. You said yourself that you have been overburdened lately."

"Maybe," Marty said, though he sounded far from convinced.

"When did these dreams start?" Doc inquired.

"A week ago," Marty said. "As far as I'm concerned, they've been bugging me a week too long."

"Are you sure that dreams are the cause of this?" Doc asked.

"What else could be waking me up like that?" Marty countered.

Doc had to admit that he didn't have an answer for that one. The subject then shifted to other things until Marty looked at his watch and announced that he had to go.

"I promised that I would meet Jen at the pizzeria. Her cousin is visiting town and Jen wants me to meet her.

"That's nice," Doc commented.

"Jen says that her cousin, Candy, is a little eccentric. She's into occultism and stuff like that."

"It should prove to be an interesting evening," Doc said, raising an eyebrow at the description.

"Man, Doc!" Marty said. "When you say that things are "interesting" you usually mean it in a bad way."

"I didn't mean it that way," Doc insisted. "I was just saying that this evening sounds a little out of the ordinary.

It turned out to be just that. Marty arrived at the pizzeria and found the booth where Jen and her cousin were sitting. He went right over to meet them.

"Hey, there," he said as approached the raven-haired young woman sitting in the booth with Jennifer. "You must be Candy." He extended his hand in greeting.

"Candice, please," the woman corrected as she shook Marty's hand. "Candy is something you eat, it is not a name." Jen laughed and Marty smiled as he sat down next to his girlfriend.

"Sorry, Marty, that was my fault," Jen said.

"Forget about it, Jen," Marty replied.

"Marty, I already ordered us a pizza," Jen announced. "It should be here in a few minutes.

"No anchovies this time, I hope," Marty said making a face.

"No, I learned my lesson last time," Jen said. "I didn't know you were allergic to them."

"Neither did I until it was too late," Marty said as he cringed at the memory.

The trio made small talk while they waited for their food. Marty couldn't get over Candice's appearance. When Jen had described Candice to him, she had not mentioned that Candice was an actual Goth girl and it wasn't merely confined to her black hair. She wore the complete ensemble from the midnight black lipstick down to the pentacle around her neck. However, she seemed nice and the more Marty talked to her, the more like his girlfriend she seemed even if her outward appearance would never register it. Finally, the food arrived and the trio dove in, hungrily. Marty had taken his first bite of the food when he heard Candice's comment.

"Marty, you just have a fantastic aura around you," she said.

Marty nearly choked on his pizza as he glanced at Candice. She was wearing a deadly serious expression. Marty managed to swallow the bite without further complications.

"Excuse me?" Marty said. "What do you mean by that."

Jen favored Marty with an I-warned-you look as Candice explained her remark. "I mean there is an air about you," she said. "It's kind of hard to put into words."

"Is that good or bad?" Marty asked.

"Oh, it is definitely good," the woman reassured quickly. "Jen, I think that your boyfriend would make an excellent subject."

"Subject for what?" Marty asked as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Candice has been studying hypnotism," Jen said. "She tried it on me last night, but apparently I'm not a very responsive subject."

"That happens with some people, Jen," Candice said. "What do you think, Marty? Would you like to try it?"

Marty's first impulse was to laugh aloud, but he knew that kind of response wouldn't score any points with his girlfriend. He managed to choke back the laugh that was threatening to escape.

"I guess I'm game," he said.

Candice grinned broadly. "Good! I have a good feeling about you! I can't wait to get started!"

Marty smiled at Candice in return as he wondered just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

Later that evening, the trio had assembled in Jen's room. The first thing that Marty noticed was that someone had rigged up a video camera in a corner of the room.

"What's that for?" Marty asked, growing suspicious. "Blackmail material?"

"I plan to keep the video as proof that the hypnosis worked," Candice explained as Jen turned the camera on.

"Marty, maybe this can explain those dreams that you've been having," Jen said. "If it works."

"What dreams?" Candice asked, interested.

"They're really nothing," Marty said as he was uncomfortable discussing this with someone that he had just met. "Would this hypnosis stuff really work on my dreams?"

"We'll see," Candice said as she produced a small crystal on a chain from a pouch in her suitcase.

Now it was real hard for Marty to keep a straight face. Candice eyed Marty's skeptical expression and promptly rebuked.

"This is nothing like what you see in the movies," she said. "I won't turn you into a zombie and make you commit murder or something." She stood in front of Marty and held the crystal an inch from his eyes.

"We'll start with something basic," Candice said. "I just want to test your trance ability. Ready?"

Marty nodded and Candice started to swing the crystal from side to side, very slowly. "Keep your eyes on this crystal as I speak to you. Relax your body. Feel every part of your body go limp as you draw in each breath. Feel your body grow lighter with each breath. Now relax your eyes. Feel your eyelids growing heavy and give into the urge to close your eyes. Now close your eyes."

Marty's eyes closed. He appeared to be asleep. Candice put the crystal in her pocket.

"Now I want you to concentrate on my voice. Do you understand?" Candice commanded.

"Yes," Marty answered. Jen couldn't believe how monotone Marty's voice sounded to her ears.

"Good," Candice replied. "Now when I count to five, I want you to awaken and remove your right shoe. You will have no knowledge or memory of my instructions. The only thing that you will be aware of is an intense need to remove your right shoe. Ready? One… Two… Now you are coming out of your trance. Three… You are becoming aware of your surroundings. Four… Five… Now you will awaken."

Marty opened his eyes and looked around. "That was it?" he asked, a little disappointed. He brought his foot up and began to unconsciously untie his sneaker as he talked. "I hate to burst your bubble, Candice, but you might have to find another subject. That hypnotism stuff didn't work."

"Marty, look at what you're holding in your hand," Jen said as she tried not to snicker.

Marty looked down to notice that he was holding his right sneaker in his hand. Had he just taken his shoe off? Why couldn't he remember doing it?

"You're lucky that she didn't tell you to dance around like a chicken," Jen said as she took in Marty's perplexed expression.

"We'll save that for another time," Candice said as Marty put his sneaker back on.

"Heavy," Marty mumbled. "Candice, why can't I remember anything?"

"The power of suggestion," Candice replied. "Good news, Marty, you trance very quickly. I'm afraid that the basic exercises don't help you much with your dreams, though. I'm reluctant to try anything else tonight, as it would be hard to induce another trance as heavy as the one you were just in. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I could stop by after work," Marty said. "It might be kind of late. Is that okay, Jen?"

"Sure," Jen said. "I want to see more of this."

"It's a date," Candice said.