Disclaimer: I do not own Back to the Future.

January 1, 1885
12:00 AM PST

Dr. Emmett Brown was in a state of shock, to say the least - as he heard the familiar sound of three sonic booms. His young friend, Martin Seamus McFly, had simply been trying to warn him of something - until a bright flash of light almost blinded him. As he tried to take a deep breath, the DeLorean time machine hit the ground quite hard.

Doc, as Marty had called him, sighed - just as he closed his eyes tightly. Perhaps, if he quite tried hard enough, he'd actually be able to wake himself up - and realize that the whole thing was simply a dream. Come to think of it, he was feeling quite exhausted.

As he finally forced himself to opened his eyes, he glanced at that the "Present Time" on the display panel - and he was dumbfounded by what he saw. If the situation was different, he might feel very ecstatic. However, his emotions couldn't be further from that. After all, he had inadvertently left his Marty stranded thirty years in the past!

"Great Scott!" muttered Doc, as he couldn't stop staring at the display panels. "While I did often dream of visiting my favourite historical era, the Old West - this simply..." He swallowed, as his palms felt very sweaty. "This really is not what I... This is just so..."

Doc then opened up the DeLorean doors, as he figured that it really might be a good idea to stretch his legs. After all, with a time machine to call his own - he could simply return a minute from when he left 1955. That way, Marty would not really miss him.

As he stepped out of the car, he noticed that the night was calm - and even the moon and the stars were shining very brightly. Come to think of it, he could hardly recall the last time the night sky seemed so clear. In addition, the crisp night air quite seemed to do wonders for his psyche - as he would have to figure out what exactly went wrong.

"After I get Marty and myself back to 1985," muttered Doc, "I'm going to destroy this blasted machine! This has caused me nothing but disaster, and now poor Marty is left in 1955 - with no one to turn to. If I don't manage to fix this thing, then Marty will..."

Doc sighed, as he knew that he should stop thinking so pessimistically. He thought of the one expression that he often said to Marty. If you really put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. He figured that the current situation was no exception.

Besides, it wasn't exactly true that Marty would simply have nobody to turn to. There was Doc's younger self, of course - who, at the moment, would be helping the slightly younger Marty return to 1985. He really began to think of how his younger self would react to Marty's return. Without a doubt, his younger self would be rather confused.

Still, he knew how much Marty would miss life in the 1980s. Marty sure was passionate about his hard rock and heavy metal music - while, in 1955, rock and roll music was still in its infancy. In addition, Marty would really miss his girlfriend - Jennifer Jane Parker.

"Great Scott!" gasped Doc, as he started to realize something else. "If Marty doesn't make it back to 1985, then he wouldn't be able to marry Jennifer. This might result in a time paradox. Not only is Marty's life at stake. The space-time continuum is, too."

He then recalled how Marty's future didn't exactly look bright. He certainly wished for nothing but a happy future for his friend. Still, he really couldn't help but worry about how changing Marty's future would affect of events of the days he spent in 2015. Of course, he knew Marty had already managed to change the timeline for the better.

Granted, that was before the whole mess of Biff Tannen of 2015 getting his hands on a sports almanac - and deciding to give it to his younger self in 1955. He just hated to think of how bad his counterpart's life was - as well as that of Marty's counterpart.

However, he and Marty did manage to erase the timeline - didn't they? He did manage to take a good look at the newspaper headline, just shortly before lightning happened to strike the flying DeLorean. He went from being "committed" to being "commended".

He smiled, as he thought fondly of the day that he was commended. Indeed, it simply was proof that not all of Hill Valley viewed him as a "nutcase" or a "crackpot scientist". It sure was always a nice feeling - knowing that there were, in fact, some people who respected him. He felt bad for how the day was much less happy for his counterpart.

Granted, if the timeline was erased - than it wasn't as if his counterpart ever existed, right? It sure was merely an echo of how his life might've been, had Biff been allowed to keep the sports almanac. Still, he couldn't seem to stop from feeling a little guilty.

What did he have to feel guilty for, though? Not only did he manage to avert his own bad life, but he also really managed to avert Marty's bad life. Tears filled his eyes, as he tried to imagine what alternate Marty's life was like. Surely, it wasn't a nice life.

The whole world just seemed to, overall, be a bona fide dystopia. He thought of how the US was still at war with Vietnam - and, for all intents and purposes, the US rather seemed to no longer be "the land of the free". In fact, he wondered how the Tannen regime had affected people outside of the US. Were there any truly safe places left?

Marty did mention that his counterpart was sent to as boarding school in Switzerland. He rather wondered if, in the Biffhorrific timeline, it was still the "neutral country". On a positive note, it was probably better than Marty staying at the Pleasure Paradise.

He couldn't even began to imagine what types of horrible abuse alternate Marty had suffered, at the hands of his so-called stepfather. From the little information that he garnered, though - Biff really seemed to having nothing but loathing for poor Marty.

Doc then took in a deep sigh, as he tried to put the thoughts of that horrible world out of his mind. The world sure no longer existed, right? There were no alternate unhappy versions of him and Marty. In fact, it was a real good thing that they managed to stop the timeline from ever occurring. It was something he should be happy about, right?

Suddenly, he began to realize how exhausted he felt. He had to have been awake for over 24 hours, now. Come to think of it, he just hadn't slept a wink - since he woke up from his rejuvenation surgery, which he underwent in 2015. He sure needed to sleep.

Where exactly could he get some sleep, though? It would be quite cramped inside the DeLorean, after all - especially at his height. He was considerably taller than Marty, in fact. He wondered if Marty would be able to sleep comfortably inside the DeLorean.

He sighed, as he just didn't know of where else to sleep. At least, there seemed to be no other people around. Otherwise, he realized that the DeLorean was very bound to attract a lot of attraction. After all, automobiles were not yet invented in this era.

He then remembered that he had some blankets stashed in the trunk. As he glanced up, he saw that there wasn't a cloud in sight. Perhaps, it would be safe to just sleep on the ground. After finally having some very much needed sleep, he would actually be in better shape to examine the DeLorean. That was his best bet, for right now.

As he opened the trunk, he realized that he did not have any food. He would have no choice but to walk into town, and stop inside a restaurant. However, would he just be able to find his way into town? He then remembered that he had a compass on him.

Of course, this would mean interacting with some people from this time period - which might be very risky. On the other hand, though - he finally had the chance to visit his favourite era. Perhaps, it wouldn't hurt to just take some advantage of his situation.

"Ah, what the hell?" muttered Doc - as he used the same expression he did, when he decided to read Marty's warning letter to him in 1955. "If I can remain inconspicuous, and I am mindful not to get too involved... I might as well have a little bit of fun. This certainly is a fortunate situation. At least, I didn't end up back in the Dark Ages."

As he spread out the blanket, he thought about Marty. If his teenage friend was able to travel to any time period that he wished, just what would he pick? More than likely, it would be back to the 1970s - even if Marty had already lived through that decade.

Marty would probably wish to attend a concert by his favourite 1970s rock band, Led Zeppelin. He was just twelve years old, when the group disbanded. Granted, it might actually be risky - even if Marty had simply used a ticket that was previously unsold.

Doc sighed, as he lay on the blanket. He really figured that, after he and Marty finally return to 1985 - he would destroy the time machine, for once and for all. Of course, it might be unfair to Marty - as the teen would never quite have the opportunity to take the time travel trip of his dreams. However, he realized that it would be for the best.

He hoped that Marty would understand. After all, the teen already knew what it was like to be almost erased from existence. In addition, Marty really had a good taste of what a dystopian alternate reality was like. Those two factors should be convincing.

Doc closed his eyes, as he tried to get some sleep. He figured that it might take a few days, at the most. He would simply be mindful to limit his interaction with other people to when it was necessary. After all, he was currently a whole century into the past.

As Doc began to feel drowsy, he did his best to clear his mind. With a time machine at his disposal, there was no real need for him to worry about Marty - as, at this point in time, 1955 rather was well into the future. He knew that he would be able to fix what went wrong. After all, if you simply put your mind to it - you can accomplish anything.