even achilles broke

Prologue

Jimmy's feet sunk into the sand as he ran, tears escaping his eyes.

His... his kingdom was destroyed, everyone was gone. Everytime he closed his eyes, he could see flickers of fire. They were all dead, every one of his people and his friends- the other emperors- had disappeared. He was... alone.

And it was all his fault.

All because he wanted his stupid cod head, all because he wanted to be the Codfather, all because he was too prideful and egotistical. He killed them, he destroyed everything he had.

His knees locked, sending him right into the sand.

He fell, feeling his body give up. He was exhuasted from running, he was still running. He needed to get far away where he can bury the disappointment and pain.

The mixing of the hot summer rays and his wetsuit made the exhaustion pull him into a deep sleep.

---

When Jimmy woke up, he got to work. He couldn't just give up. He needed a place to stay while he thought of what to do, he needed to contact authorities to have himself punished. He killed people, he was a murderer.

It was a shabby little place, he didn't care how it looked at the moment. He found that the landscape where he was located was beautiful, with the rainbows of color in the terracotta and the dome shape that surrounded him. It felt like a suitable way to punish himself for now, being all alone.

The mesa was quiet.

It was hot, it was sticky, it was sandy. His wetsuit attracted so much sand that he was getting itchy all over. It was painful the way it rubbed against his already burnt skin. It was the opposite of the Cod Empire, the place that was filled with water and felt warm but not too hot.

One thing he noticed was that he had lost his hybrid traits. He lost the gills on his neck, there were only scars there now. The inbetween of his fingers were no longer webbed and his skin felt... like human skin. It was no longer a damp and slippery feeling, it was rough like he remembered Joel having.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he heard the crunching of sand outside of his shack. He had heard nothing of the sort in the past days, weeks(?) that he had stayed there. He looked out the cracks of the wood, seeing... someone.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Jimmy's heart stopped and his mouth went dry. No, it couldn't be.

He slammed open the temporary door, the person screaming in fright at the sudden movement.

Her hands were shaking as she held them out in front of her, as if it were to protect her. He recognized the pink hair but that was it.

She looked different than what he had last remembered.

She still had the long pink hair but she had ears poking out of them, just like a calico cat would have. Her fingernails were long and pointed, like claws. Whiskers were poked out of her face, she was a cat hybrid. Similar to him, she had scars under her chin where her gills used to be, the only trait she had left was her pink hair.

"W-Who are you?" She asked, stuttering as she took a step back.

Jimmy sucked in a breath. She didn't recognize him. She didn't know what he had done, didn't know of his crimes.

He shouldn't lie, he shouldn't to his own sister.

He gave her a smile, "Just a friend."

---

He found out that there were more empires from Lizzie.

Everyone he knew and then one was added. They weren't dead, he made everything up. Somehow, this world had empires and they claimed them as their rulers. Lizzie was a mayor of an Animal kingdom of sorts.

He sent her off with some water and a hearty dinner.

He was thrilled to have at least known he didn't kill them. Grian doesn't need to know what happened.

The next few days were filled of farming and hauling water into the basin. There was no water for miles around, it took hours for him to even walk up the top of the basin wall. Whenever he felt lonely, he reminded himself of Lizzie, remembered the smile she gave when he made his best meal, when he gave her a spare bottle, when he sent her off with a torch and brand new sword that Jimmy had originally created for himself. With her new cat features, they didn't change her smile. He could imagine he was playing with her back in the palace, splashing around with the shadowy figure of their older brother.

His foot slipped.

Jimmy screamed as he slid down the slide. It appeared that there was a hollow pocket that he had slipped through. He tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dark cave area.

Looking around, he discovered a mineshaft.

It wasn't in bad shape at all, the only signs of wear was the place he fell through, the pillers there were all broken, probably from him.

A chest caught his attention.

His hands itched, it felt like he needed what was in the chest. His hand moved to open it but he stopped. Why was he getting impatient about a chest? Something was in it but he shouldn't glorify an object, just like he had with his Cod head.

Despite that, he flicked the lid open, gasping at the sight.

A cowboy hat sat apon some clothes.

He pulled it out and looked over the clothes. They weren't gross or worn at all, they actually looked new. A pair of jean with a holster belt was neatly folded. Holding it up, they were decently long but not too much that someone like Jimmy would trip. Next was a collared flannel shirt. It was a white-gray color. The fabric was warm and coarse to the touch but he liked it. Next was a brown vest. It was pretty ordinary, probably made out of authentic leather. A badge sat on the right side of the chest, right on the heart. It was shining in the dim light, it didn't look dirty or scratched. A pair of boots was underneath the pile, they were brown cowboy boots that Jimmy had seen from movies as a child.

Curiously, he held the clothing up.

His wet suit was becoming stinky with sweat and uncomfortable, it wasn't appropriate for this weather. But these clothing? Looked perfect.

He tried them on to find that they fit exactly to him. He didn't have to tighten the jeans, they fit to his waist, the boots were his exact foot size and even the vest seemed to be tailored to him, accounting for his ackward hight and stance.

He assumed he looked as good as he felt.

The clothing was comfortable, it was way better than what he had on before. The way his boots would clink as the gold spurs tinked across the wood of the tracks made him smile.

He looked at the hat.

Under it was a blue bandana, his favorite color. Putting it on, it wasn't too tight around his neck. He liked that it hid his scars from his gills.

Before he knew it, he put the hat over his head. It wasn't too tight and it wasn't loose. It conformed right to his head.

It felt natural for him to have this hat on, it was his. Or it was now.

Something lit inside him like a fire. He was going to be this person that the hat made him, he was going to be strong and powerful.

He made a silent vow that his retribution for the wrongs he had done would be to protect everyone.

He would become the Sheriff.