The Comfort of Broken Glass

The Monster Lurking Beneath

It wasn't long after the high speed case with Joey for Jimmy to realise that Joey was acting weird… Weird in the way that it seemed like he had no idea that there was more to the mirror. But that had to be simply untrue! Joey wouldn't bother taking a Mirror from Joel unless it had a bigger purpose right? He had to know and was just trying to get Jimmy to put his guard down. That's what Jimmy repeated in this head over and over, but it was getting harder to believe as time went on and Joey was just… Talking about how much he loved Xornoth while he, ever the narcissist checked himself out in the mirror. Talking his mouth off about… Certain topics that Jimmy would love to never hear about again.

God he was really towing the line of Joel level simping here.

"-And then ZorZor completely disappeared! Oh how I miss him! I know he said that he would be gone for a while but every second without him is simply torture!" Joey cried out, Jimmy just rolled his eyes. Sure he probably should have had some sympathy for someone who was just wailing to a mirror like this. But this was Joey, the man who fell in love with a demon and was now talking like a lovesick teenager. So can you really blame him?

"I just wish I could see him right now! Him with his red eyes, and his powerful Maleficent horns!-" Joey cut himself off as he looked back at the mirror and let out a school girl squeal. "You can show me ZorZor! Oh wonderful I just knew there was more to you!" Joey squealed.

That made Jimmy horn into Joey's incoherent blabbering. Xornoth was here? Jimmy got into a fighting stance and looked up before him.

And lo and behold there Xornoth. Just seeing the demon made Jimmy freeze up in anger or was it fear?

Jimmy tried his best to conjure up some water from the depths below. The water falted as Jimmy released something.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. That wasn't Xornoth was it? The Xornoth up there seems much more like a memory. Jimmy let his arms fall back to his sides as he examined the 'demon' before him.

Watching the image before him it became increasingly obvious that it was Xornoth. But it wasn't him. It was the past, well a few months ago now when Xornoth would randomly teleport around the CodLands to torment him.

Jimmy tuned into Joey's incoherent babbling about Xornoth, and speaking truthfully it was starting to creep him out. Jimmy was getting close to just praying to the Codfather to make this stop! It was becoming easier to at least turn out the fellow ruler at least. Joey's lovesick confessions get stuck in the back of the CodFathers mind.

If Jimmy could show Xornoth through the mirror then surely he could show other people or things. Sure it may just be a part of his memory but he may be able to send a message! To Joey admittedly. But it was still someone.

But how would he be able to do that? What did he do? He just needed to break down what he did just moments before.

Joey was talking about Xornoth. Nothing special there he had been doing that the whole time the mirror had been in Joey's hands. He said something about 'show me him? Was it a command? Did that mean that Joey could control or at least influence him! Oh God, this is bad!

Wait… it didn't happen straight away. Was it him? After all of Joey's slop about the demon, the thought of him slipped into his mind?

Jimmy couldn't help but step back at that. It was possible. But how would he test this theory? All Joey talked about was himself and Xornoth. Well mostly there had been a few times where he had gone off about the other empires. Once Joey had made a passing comment on the weather and how it had been getting colder, wasn't it the middle of summer?

What if he just needed to think about other rulers? That did seem too easy? I mean the passing thought of his family had crossed his mind wouldn't Joey have noticed? Actually knowing Joey he was probably too caught up in his dream land to notice.

With that Jimmy jumped off his train of thought and started to think about his Sister the Ocean Queen. Memories of when they were kids, then the Cod War and that terrible day where Lizzie embarked to the surface. Leaving Jimmy alone in the ocean. The Cod quickly changed his thoughts to something happier. Yes he had very much forgiven Lizzie, but that didn't mean the scars of the past had healed. Scott, their relationship was a bit… Complicated when they first met but it was easy to fall into the flow of memories. At some point down his trip down memory lane it got hard to tell that Scott wasn't here with the projection on the Mirror. The Cod was only cut off by his yearning by the Jungle King.

"Scott! That..! Elf from Rindell!" Joey yelled clearly, annoyed by the development in the plot. Jimmy stumbled back startled by Joey's sudden outburst. That king needed some real help.

Joey immediately started fuming with the problems he had with Scott.

"Was even IS that Elf in power anyways! Xornoth is the first born, he deserves it more! Not to mention how RUDE he is! The last time I needed wool from him he just interrogated me about that… Fish Boy!" Joey finished with a sour face protruding his features.

Jimmy didn't care much for it though as Joey had just proven a very important theory.

He could communicate with the outside world.

Little by little Jimmy's situation with the mirror is looking less and less dire. He was getting close to saying that it was ever much turning to his favor. All he needed to do now was wait.

A smug grin formed across Jimmy's face. If everything went well he could be out of here in a few weeks! This was great news, he just needed to get any of the other rulers' attention. God Jimmy really wished Joel never lost the mirror, it would make this so much easier.

Huh…?

Jimmy's attention was quickly brought to the chains around his wrists. Like they had a Mind of their own they said pulling down on Jimmy catching him off guard. Jimmy flinged his body around madly trying desperately to stay afloat of the water. He kicked his legs and flung his arms around like a drowning man. But it was all for nort. He was dragged under the deep blue depths. His mind struggled to keep up with this new information. As the water rushed past his face Jimmy forced his eyes open only to see Xornoth.

Jimmy had thought that above the water was bad. Now it almost seemed like a paradise. It felt like there were tons and tons of gallons of water pushing down on him, making it almost impossible to think. Jimmy let out a scream only to be muffled by the water. His brain was finally catching up with him.

Xornoth

He was here in the mirror with him! How did he not realize! He must have been the chains. Jimmy felt nothing but despair for the first time in this life. But that feeling didn't last long. Soon all he could feel was anger. He wanted- no needed revenge for his people. His home. He could make him pay.

Jimmy soon put everything into pulling down on the chains, Xornoth was pulling back. But not nearly as hard as Jimmy. He must have been tired. Weak.

Jimmy only exploited this. It wasn't long before he was winning. Jimmy could feel the familiar feeling of water rushing past him. Jimmy's head soon broke the water. Coughing and exhausted Jimmy slowly stood up. None of it mattered. Jimmy could just push through it all. Xornoth didn't stop so neither would Jimmy. Now he was sure that Xornoth was going to pay for everything he had done. All of the crimes he had committed against the empires.

Nothing was going to stop him.