Chapter Text
Jimmy was holding a casual conversation with Gem at her kingdom of Dawn. The day was lovely and the sky was clear. Jimmy had flown over to visit Gem and catch up.
While Gem mostly preferred to keep out of the drama of the server, Jimmy was willing to fill her in on what she'd missed. Most of it seemed to center around him anyways.
The toy jokes were still going strong, and now even Fwhip was calling him unfit to be the Sheriff now. Jimmy supposed firing him over the Warden prank hadn't made Fwhip super keen on him either.
But what did they expect him to do? Take everything lying down? Deep down he knew his reaction was half of why they poked and prodded at him, but he couldn't help himself. With every joke he felt backed further into a corner. So he did his best to poof out his feathers and appear more threatening. Praying that they would leave him alone. Even deeper down he knew it didn't work like that.
Jimmy shook his head, he'd gotten lost in thought. He glanced over at Gem who seemed to be distracted by something above him. Before he could turn he saw a few shadows cross overhead.
He glanced up in time to see a flash of wings before a group landed near them.
Jimmy frowned at the sight of a tall God wearing a toga leading the pack. Joel. Following closely behind was a group of people he didn't really feel like seeing. Sausage was tucking his moss colored wings away, Fwhip dusted himself off and leveled a grin towards Gem and Jimmy, making up the rear of the group was Oli.
A group that typically meant something was about to go terribly wrong for Jimmy. He glanced nervously around himself, trying to discreetly locate danger. Finding nothing immediately suspicious he folded his arms, ready to face this new threat.
Gem offered a swift hello and stepped away from Jimmy slightly. Obviously attempted to take herself out of the crossfire. Jimmy couldn't really blame her.
Traitor.
Joel smirked down at him. Curse this tall bastard.
"Well well well, look who we have here." Jimmy rolled his eyes at the lackluster greeting.
"What are you fellas up to?" He quipped back cautiously.
Sausage spoke up, "Nothing much, Sheriff!" His tone was cheerful but it was obvious he was hiding something devious.
Jimmy resisted the urge to fly away right on the spot, he didn't want to appear as if he was overreacting. He knew that would only increase the teasing. Besides, they'd catch him easily.
He instead chose to raise an eyebrow at the leader of Sanctuary.
Fwhip stepped forward, not even bothering to hide his grin.
"Well Sheriff, we know how hard you've been working. Ya'know, keeping us safe and all. We wanted to extend our gratitude!"
This was it. The prank was bound to ensue.
Jimmy couldn't even bring himself to react as he saw the flash of brightly colored liquid and then heard a potion bottle smash at his feet. He had expected something similar from past encounters.
It took a second and the group leaned towards Jimmy with bated breath. He frowned.
And then everything began to burn. Despite himself he let out a pained hiss that quickly evolved into a scream and the burning became more intense. He curled into himself, his eyes swimming with tears and blackness edging his vision. There was frantic shouting around him and muffled cursing from Gem.
From far away he felt cool hands scoop him up far too easily. The next thing he knew, his vision was swimming as whoever was carrying him flew off into the air.
A distant rumble of thunder was the last thing he heard before he passed out completely.
Muffled voices mixed with strange croaking noises. Jimmy tried to stir slightly but there was a sharp pang behind his eyes that made him whimper instead.
The voices grew quiet and he could hear muffled footsteps coming toward him.
"Jimmy?" The voice was gentle, filled with concern.
He tried to respond but he couldn't force out any words. Only another long whine left his lips.
He heard the voice tut sympathetically and felt a damp cloth get placed against his forehead. He was grateful for the cooling sensation.
His body didn't feel half as warm as it had before, but the rag still felt nice. His body did feel strange, though.
He tried to name what was odd but instead got distracted by a dragging sound and then the rustling of fabric. He realized the person near him had sat down.
Was he sick? He hadn't had anyone care for him in a long time.
Where exactly was he?
He tried to push his eyes open again. His eyelids felt like cement on his face. With a strenuous amount of effort he finally managed to muster enough strength to peek through his eyelashes.
Swimming colors slowly came into focus. A faint green glow came from one corner of the room and illuminated the features of the person sitting next to him. Dark messy hair and a large hat sat comically on her head.
Shubble.
The name floated into his mind just as the witch caught his gaze and smiled at him.
"Hey Jimmy, how are you feeling?" She whispered softly.
Jimmy tried to answer but his throat felt restricted. He wheezed slightly and Shubble seemed to catch on. Gently she helped him sit up and sip out of a cup of water. The water felt incredibly refreshing. It was only then that he noticed the disproportionate size of Shelby and the glass she was holding.
They felt huge.
He swallowed nervously, had they shrunk him again?
As he opened his mouth to speak, it dawned on him that this was a new and undiscovered horror.
"What happened?" He spoke in a voice that wasn't his own. Hadn't been for years, around twenty years in fact.
Shubble seemed to notice his jolt of panic. She held up her hands reassuringly.
"Jimmy, it's going to be ok. I'll explain everything once your fever goes down, but right now you need to rest. Ok?"
Her words were soothing, and despite his initial panic, he couldn't help but let waves of exhaustion wash over him.
He nodded tiredly, rubbing his eyes. Shubble gently reached down and pulled the covers over his shoulder and he let himself relax.
As he drifted back to sleep, Shubble tiptoed away and the muffled voices resumed.
The next time Jimmy woke up was to the smell of food. He didn't feel feverish anymore. He felt surprisingly ok, despite the circumstances. His stomach growled and he slowly opened his eyes.
Sitting next to him was shockingly enough, Sausage. He smiled apologetically at Jimmy and reached to help him sit up. His touch was incredibly gentle.
"Shelby left to catch a nap. I'm here to make sure you eat." He supplied simply.
Jimmy nodded at this. Despite his slight distrust of the man, he and Sausage were usually on amicable terms when Joel or Fwhip wasn't involved. Sausage hummed to himself as he helped Jimmy eat, the process took a while and by the time they were done Jimmy felt full and sleepy. He blinked at Sausage who laughed.
"Well, I'll go see if Shelby is awake. I'm sure you have some questions?"
Jimmy nodded, feeling a little more apprehensive. Sausage smiled again before getting up. He ruffled Jimmy's hair as he made his way out of the room. Jimmy frowned and tried to fix his hair as he examined his surroundings.
The room was fairly small, only a bed nestled into one corner and what looked like a makeshift fireplace and cauldron against the opposite wall. At the foot of the bed was a window that let light stream in. He recognized the trees that populated the Evermore. By the light he reasoned it was likely around midday.
Just then movement broke his gaze away. Shubble stumbled into the room, hat and hair askew and bags under her eyes. Sausage followed behind with another chair in tow.
Shubble settled into the closest chair and reached over to feel Jimmy's forehead. She seems satisfied and cleared her throat.
"So Jimmy, how are you feeling?" She spoke hesitantly.
Jimmy considered this. Despite his obvious incorrect sizing and age, he felt ok.
"I'm ok." He said after a moment's concentration.
Shubble grinned at that. She seems relieved.
"Good good, I'm glad. I'm sure you're wondering what's going on?"
Jimmy nodded.
"Well, I can explain some of it. But Sausage will have to explain other bits." Sausage nodded, and Shelby continued. "I'm sure you've noticed something isn't quite right with your body."
Jimmy nodded again, this time with a frown.
"These dummies decided to mess with a potion recipe of mine," she shot a glare at Sausage who had the decency to look sheepish. "Anyways, It was a potion meant to effect sizing but somehow they added too much magma cream and not enough glowstone. Instead of messing with how small you are, it made you shrink in age instead." She paused and glanced at Sausage.
Sausage took his cue and nervously began to explain the events that led up to their disastrous prank on Jimmy. He finally ended with how Joel had been the one to carry him to Shubble's.
This surprised Jimmy. He tried to hide it, but evidently his expressions were far easier to read on his 6 year old face.
"I think he feels really bad." Sausage admitted.
Shubble shrugged, "Well it's good he thought of me so fast. Any longer and Jimmy wouldn't exist."
Jimmy startled, and Shubble reassuringly waved her hands.
"I was able to stop the age regression. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to cure you right away," she held up a finger to silence Jimmy before he could fly into a stream of questions.
"This kind of magic needs to work itself naturally out of your body. Tampering with reality too much can create other problems. Trust me, I know. "
Jimmy only nodded. He could imagine the sort of mischief the witch could get herself into.
"So do I have to grow up all over again?" He whispered.
Shubble shook her head. "You'll age a LOT faster than normal. I reckon by a couple weeks, you'll be back to normal.
There is something you need to be careful of though, Jimmy.'
Jimmy leaned forward attentively and nodded.
"There are going to be certain points where you won't be able to take care of yourself and temporarily feel and think like a child. You'll need to have someone look after you."
"Can't you do it?" He asked quietly. He didn't really know who would want to take care of him.
Shubble shook her head.
"The Evermore is much too dangerous for a child. And besides you already have some volunteers."
Jimmy was confused.
"Wait, who?" He asked.
Shelby gestured to Sausage who grinned at him.
"Thunderdaddy and I are going to help out to make up for our prank gone wrong. " he announced triumphantly. Jimmy could only stare in shock for a moment.
"A-are you sure?" He asked, trying to hide his confusion. Why would Joel and Sausage want to do something like that? He was sure no one would blame them if they shirked the duty to someone else. As far as Jimmy was concerned, Joel didn't like him and Sausage just enjoyed teasing him.
"Of course! And I'm sure Hermes will love having another friend!" Sausage supplied helpfully.
And Jimmy remembered all at once that these two were the most likely candidates because they were the only ones with a son. Of course.
Jimmy could only smile weakly. It wasn't like he had any other options.
"Sounds like fun." He responded shortly.
Sausage cheered and began discussing things with Shelby. Something about potions and what Jimmy would need.
Jimmy tuned them out. This was going to be an odd couple of weeks.