Fizzarolli Family Follies

by TheCat1987

Summary:

A day of cleaning in the attic discovers old memories and insight into how our favorite charming jester came to be at the Buckzo Family Circus.

Notes:

Thank you to ParkRyder525 and AnimeToonzForever not only for these ideas of Fizz-centered stories but to connect them into a three part arc with Fizz.

I've hinted a bit at my interpretation on how Fizz came to be at the Buckzo Family Circus so this would be a good opportunity to go into what I think led Fizz to his new family. And just to set things clear. The flashbacks would take place before Obstacle Course Run and Carnival Hijinks. And definitely before Playful Payback since this would be before Fizz started staying with the Buckzo family full time. He's still staying with the other performers when he first came but after Blitzo rescued him, the sleepovers they'd consistently had would eventually turn into Fizz just staying with them full time.

I imagine Fizz's time at the orphanage not being the best since he wouldn't exactly fit in with the other kids and his horns being different would turn parents off to him. And Greed imps I imagine aren't very nice so they'd be very judgey about orphans. Not that the staff were very nice either so that's why Fizz ran off.

Since he's been hurt before, Fizz would want to be as professional as possible so when he's caught fooling around, he immediately shapes up to try and clean off. Buckzo feels weird about it since even though he's a performer, he's still a kid so he'd need to relax a bit more. He was just annoyed at the kids being messy since he'd have to hose them off again.

When Fizz sees the papers in Buckzo's office and assumes the worse, he runs away and Blitzo takes intitiative to tell everyone and they go looking for him. When he sees him being chased by dogs, he goes after him right away since that's his new buddy.

I also imagine this taking place at least a year or two before the events of The Circus so no Stolas. But I do have a cute little foreshadowing moment with Fizz being given a rooster plushie to cuddle.

And don't worry. We'll see more with Fizz's biological parents next time.

Chapter 1: From Humble Beginnings

“Bleh. Stupid rain…” Blitzo grumbled as he waited for his mother to pull down the stairs to the attic.

“Well we can’t really perform if no one shows up, dear.” Tilla reasoned, locking the stairs in place. “I’ll go up first to turn the light on and you three follow me, okay?”

“Yes mom.” Barbie and Blitzo nodded.

“Yes ma’am.” Fizz smiled.

Tilla climbed up first, letting her eyes adjust to the dingy attic before pulling the light cord. “Eesh…we really ought to clean up here more often.” she coughed, stepping aside to let the kids climb up.

“I hope there aren’t any bugs up here…” Barbie muttered as she stayed close to her mom.

“We can just squash ‘em if they get near us.” Blitzo reasoned.

“So what’re we doing up here again?” Fizz wondered, looking at the boxes of junk.

“Well, we’re just going to look and see if there’s anything we want to get rid of. Old toys you don’t play with anymore, baby furniture, clothes that are too small–stuff like that.” Tilla explained, holding up a feather duster. “I’ll take care of dusting in high places for you kids. You just pick a box and start looking through it, okay?”

Soon enough they all began to clean. Tilla opened a window to let some fresh air in so they wouldn’t cough and sneeze the whole time while working. Blitzo found a box of old chewed on toys from their teething days. They were bitten to pieces and had dried drool on them but seeing them again did feel pretty nice.

“Hey I remember this. My old cherub chew toy.” Blitzo laughed, gnawing on it a bit. “Serves those fluffy freaks right.”

“That’s definitely a give away.” Tilla told him.

Fizz began digging through some old clothes, laughing at how cutesy they were. “Oh I bet you guys looked adorable in these!” he giggled, holding up some orange and green onesies.

“H-Hey put those down!” Barbie blushed, looking at her mother with pleading eyes. “We’re getting rid of those, right mama?”

“Yeah they’re a bit too small now.” Tilla nodded in agreement before leaning down to whisper in Fizz’s ear. “We’ve got plenty of photos of them in their old baby clothes.” she told him, making the young imp giggle and her twins groan in embarrassment.

“If dad didn’t want to sell this junk, I’d shred them.” Barbie grumbled before a piece of paper caught her eye. It was old and wrinkly but the words were clear as day on it. “This says ‘Please take care of Fizzarolli’? Is this…?” she whispered.

Fizz stopped rummaging to take the old note from Barbie’s hand. “That’s…the last thing they left me…” Fizz whispered.

“What happened at that orphanage?” Blitzo wondered. He knew Fizz came from there and suddenly showed up at the circus but nothing else.

Tilla stopped dusting and placed a hand on the young imp’s shoulder. “Fizz…you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” she reassured him. She knew this was a sensitive topic for the young lad.

“No…I think I’m ready.” Fizz told her, taking a deep breath as Blitzo and Barbie looked at him with curious eyes. “I don’t remember the early stuff but from the stuff I do remember…the orphanage wasn’t that nice…”

{FLASHBACK}

“Fizzarolli! Will you quit juggling and get back to your lessons?!”

A young Fizz yelped, before he dropped the beanbags he found, quickly scribbling down on his homework. He hated doing these stupid lessons; it was so boring. He just wanted to go play outside.

Fizz winced as he heard some other imp kids snickering at him.

“Dumb Horns got in trouble again…” one boy whispered.

“What an idiot…” a girl giggled mockingly.

Fizz felt his face heating up, just trying to focus on his work. Why were they making fun of his horns? So what if they didn’t match up quite right? Everyone had different horns so his looking different shouldn’t matter…right?

The head of the orphanage soon clapped her hands to get the kid’s attention. “Parent’s Day will be coming up very soon. You all need to be on your best behavior. Understood?” she told them.

“Yes ma’am!” the kids replied.

Fizz could only nod before staring down at his paper. He hated Parent’s Day at the orphanage more than anything. At first he got excited because he thought his parents would come back for him. If they left him there, maybe they couldn’t care for him at the time but would return. But a few nasty comments from some lunkheads pushed that thought out of his head.

Then he thought he would find a nice new family to take him away from the orphanage. He was cute enough so he thought he could charm some new parents to want to adopt him. He put on his best smile and was on his best behavior those days. And at first they seemed nice enough when they talked with him. But whenever he’d listen in to their meetings with the head of the orphanage, he always heard the same thing.

“He’s just not what we’re looking for…”

“Those horns don’t look right…”

“If he’s that nice, why would his parents give him up? He must be a troublemaker.”

Those comments stung more than any bullying from the other kids or scoldings from the orphanage staff. Seeing how two-faced these potential parents really hardened his heart. If they weren’t going to give him a chance, why should he even try?

{END FLASHBACK}

“How could they be so mean?” Barbie fretted, Blitzo immediately hugging his friend.

“You deserve way better than that buddy.” Blitzo reassured him.

“Yeah…that’s why I took the chance to leave that place.” Fizz told them, surprising the twins. “While everyone was busy downstairs, I grabbed what I could and left.”

“That was dangerous of you…but I can’t really blame you for wanting to leave.” Tilla told him.

“How’d you get here?” Barbie wondered.

“Well…I spent a few weeks trying to make some money performing on the streets.” the shorter demon explained. “I didn’t know where I was going to go but I knew I needed money anyway. I actually slept at the Elevator station since so many hellborns come and go all the time. That’s when I saw a flier for your circus.”

“It was surprising to see such a young performer come to our little circus. But we’re happy he did.” Tilla smiled, gently patting Fizz’s head. “Dante and Nyx were more than happy to look after you when you first came to work for us. But I think Blitzo and Barbie helped you a lot, dear.”

“You were kinda quiet when we first met you, huh.” Barbie recalled.

“Well…I wasn’t used to being around kids if they weren’t being jerks.” Fizz mused.

“Ah ya just needed to loosen up a bit.” Blitzo told him. “We were surprised when dad introduced you to us but I liked you from the start.”

“You did?” Fizz blinked in surprise.

“Of course I did, ya goof.” Blitzo giggled. “I mean, I did save your butt.”

“Yeah…it wasn’t long after I started staying with Miss Nyx and Mister Dante.” Fizz recalled.

{...}

Fizz had been staying with the other performers since he was hired on as one of the younger clowns. He was glad he was staying with people that understood his love of performing but he still felt…shy. The other performers were nice enough but aside from when he was in the tent doing his clowning, Fizz mostly kept to himself. He was a shy kid normally but after how he was treated at the orphanage, he didn’t want to get hurt again. If he just did his work, he’d be able to survive and have a roof over his head and food in his belly.

Then Blitzo came into the picture.

“Hiya!” Blitzo smiled.

Fizz jumped up from his seat by the trailers, stunned at the sudden noise. He looked up and saw one of the twins staring at him with a big goofy smile. “Uh…h-h-hi?” Fizz tried.

“My name’s Blitzo! What’s your name?” Blitzo wondered.

“Uh…F-F-Fizzarolli.” he told him.

“That’s kinda long. I’m gonna call you Fizz!” the younger imp decided.

“Okay…?” Fizz was utterly confused by this kid. Most kids didn’t really like him so Blitzo just randomly coming up to say hello was strange. “Do you need something?” he wondered.

Blitzo scrambled onto the crate that Fizz was sitting on to get a better view. “Nah. I just wanted to see how you’re doing. You’re new right? Are the other performers being nice? Do I need to kick their butts? I can, ya know.” Blitzo rambled, making Fizz giggle.

“N-No no. They’ve all been really nice.” Fizz assured him. “So…do you perform too?”

“Well not yet.” Blitzo replied, kicking his feet out. “My dad has Barbie and I do little stuff to get demons to come see our show but we mostly do practice and chores and junk.”

“Yeah? What can you do?” Fizz wondered.

Blitzo grinned as he hopped off the crate. “Watch and be amazed, Fizz!” Blitzo declared. He soon began to try doing a tumbling routine, falling on his side a bit but he quickly got up. He tried doing a cartwheel but he fell on his face. He then ended it by trying to blow up some balloons to make a balloon animal but he just made a knotted mess that immediately popped. “Eh…ta-da?” he tried.

Fizz giggled and clapped before jumping down from the crate. “That’s not bad,” he told him.

“Well, Barbie helps me sometimes but I can kinda do this circus stuff.” Blitzo replied, leaning in to whisper. “She wants to be an acrobat but I wanna do clown stuff.”

“I could…help you if you wanna.” Fizz offered.

Blitzo’s eyes widened before he took his hands. “Really?! That’d be so cool!” Blitzo squeaked, jumping up and down in excitement.

This was the beginning of a very strange friendship. Fizz would learn from his fellow clowns how to hone his skills. Thereafter practice or on his days off, Fizz would teach Blitzo what he learned. He was clumsy and got distracted but when Blitzo put his mind to it, he could pull off some amazing stunts. He just seemed to get nervous if he messed up.

Practice sessions soon turned to playing together and Fizz was so happy to call Blitzo his first real friend.

(...)

“Come on Fizz! Let’s go get some cotton candy!” Blitzo giggled, scampering through the circus grounds.

Fizz chased after his friend with a laugh. “Slow down, Blitzo! You’re gonna trip!” Fizz called.

Blitzo scoffed a bit as he turned to his buddy. “Pssh! I know these grounds like the back of my–HEAD?!” Blitzo tripped over a rock and rolled forward a few feet before landing in a mud puddle. He pushed himself out of the mud, spitting out the goop. “Bleh…”

Fizz moved up to him, crouching down to his side. “Are you okay?” he wondered.

Blitzo turned to him before giving him a sheepish grin. “At least it wasn’t poop.” he told him, making his friend laugh.

“Yeah you’re stinky enough.” Fizz joked, squealing when Blitzo pulled him in the mud.

“Ha! Now you’re goopy!” Blitzo cheered.

The two boys wrestled and rolled around in the mud, their craving for cotton candy forgotten. They were going to probably need a bath later but it was worth it. Barbie walked up to them, looking at the two goofy boys in disbelief.

“You guys are so gross…” she commented before grinned widely. “Room for one more?” At their nod, Barbie leaped into the mud puddle, splashing the boys.

Barbie wasn’t sure how to feel about Fizz at first but if her brother trusted him, she trusted him too. And he was pretty fun and funny to play around with. But what she liked about him was he wasn’t just wild. He could be pretty down-to-earth and easy to talk to. He might get pulled into Blitzo’s antics but he had a bit more common sense.

She could appreciate that.

The kids were so distracted by their muddy playtime that they didn’t notice Buckzo walking up to them. He let out a loud cough, gaining their attention. “What do you dunderheads think you’re doing?” he questioned.

“Uh…playing?” Blitzo tried, blinking in surprise when Fizz stood up and tried to wipe himself off.

“I-I’m sorry Mister Buckzo. I’ll go clean up right away.” Fizz told his boss quietly before heading over to the water spout.

Buckzo watched the young boy walk off before looking down sternly at his kids. “Don’t mess with him, okay?” he warned.

“Yes papa…” they sighed, wincing when he gave them a bonk to the top of the head.

Meanwhile, Fizz went to wash off the mud as best he could, cursing himself for being so careless. “Stupid stupid stupid! You looked so unprofessional!” Fizz rambled to himself as he tried to scrub the mud off his clothes. He always tried to be as clean and calm as possible so he would be in good standing with his bosses. If they thought he was mature, they’d keep him around.

He couldn’t risk looking like a distracted dummy again.

Once he was cleaned up enough, Fizz went to apologize to his boss. “E-Excuse me? Mister Buckzo?” Fizz tried, knocking on his trailer door. He was surprised to see the door was open and his boss wasn’t there. Curious, Fizz went inside the trailer to get a good look at where his boss worked. He hadn’t been in here before since his interview and audition were in the big tent so this was a total mystery.

“Wow…he needs to clean up more.” Fizz commented before he saw some files on his boss’s desk. Curiosity soon turned to panic as he saw a newspaper clipping with his face on it and a missing child poster from the orphanage. There were even official documents from Greed’s city offices.

“They know…” Fizz panicked, feeling his breathing quickening.

{...}

“You didn’t tell them you ran away?” Blitzo gasped in surprise.

“I was scared they’d send my butt back to Greed.” Fizz reasoned before his shoulders slumped. “I didn’t know they would look into me.”

“Fizz we loved having you around but you were still a child. We had to make sure things were okay. If you ran away from somewhere, we had to know why.” Tilla explained gently. “We were never going to send you away if you didn’t want us to.”

“I wish I knew that before I got scared…” Fizz sighed.

{...}

Fizz didn’t know where he was going but he knew he couldn’t stay at the circus. They knew he lied! They knew he was a runaway! He couldn’t go back to the orphanage! Who knows what they’d do to him?! He’d never be allowed outside again and those little shits would make fun of him for being booted from the circus! The place kids always threatened to run away to!

It was too good to be true…a place where he could be himself? Performers that understood him? Bosses that treated him well? New friends that actually liked him?

“I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up…” Fizz cried, his run slowing to a walk. He looked around, not familiar at all with where he was. He was lost in the streets of Imp City, scared and confused; how was he supposed to find his way back to the Elevator Station?

Or…how was he supposed to find his way back to the circus?

“Ah!” Fizz cried out as a car drove by, splashing water from a puddle onto him. He was so scared and frustrated that he kicked the nearest thing–a can–into the alley. Unfortunately for him, the can hit a very angry dog which growled at him.

“Uh…nice doggy?” Fizz tried before scampering off, the dog chasing after him.

The young imp ran as fast as he could, trying to escape the vicious hellbeast. He jumped and dove wherever he could, trying to outsmart it. But this dog wasn’t a quitter. Maybe he was just in a bad mood? Or maybe he was hungry? Fizz wasn’t willing to check since he didn’t want to get bitten.

It didn’t help that he managed to piss off more dogs by tripping into them and accidentally stepping on the tail of one. “I’m sorry!” he called to the dogs as they barked at him.

He climbed over a fence into the nearby dump, tearing his clown outfit as the dogs started jumping at the fence. Fizz panted a bit before laughing in triumph. “Ha! Can’t get me now!” he taunted.

He then heard some growling behind him, causing him to fall back and freeze.

Fizz was horrified to see a much larger junkyard dog snarling and drooling, glaring at him with piercing eyes. He glanced between the fence and the bigger and scarier dog stalking towards him. Even if he could climb over the fence, the street dogs would be waiting for him. But if he tried to run through the dump, this hulking beast would bite his butt clean off.

He was a goner either way.

Fizz shut his eyes, not wanting to see when he got eaten. He heard the dog growl and charge at him when a loud yelp made him open his eyes. The dog was pawing at his snout, looking like it was hit with something. Fizz saw a rock in front of the dog and gasped in shock when he saw Blitzo on top of some garbage with some more rocks.

“LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!” Blitzo yelled, chucking rocks at the dog’s feet to scare him away.

Not wanting to be hit in the snout again, the dog ran off deeper into the dump to find something else to eat. Fizz could only watch stunned as Blitzo climbed down, staring defiantly at where the beast stood.

“No one messes with my buddy!” Blitzo called before turning to Fizz. “Are you okay?”

“You…came looking for me?” Fizz whispered.

“Well yeah. We’re friends, ya goof.” Blitzo smiled, offering his hand to the shorter imp.

Fizz slowly took it, propping himself up before hugging the taller imp boy. He wailed on his shoulder, so scared and relieved that this whole mess was over. He didn’t know what he was going to do next but maybe it didn’t matter. Blitzo came looking for him and called him his friend.

Maybe that was enough.

{...}

“You chased a junkyard dog away? That takes guts, bro.” Barbie nodded in approval.

“I wasn’t going to let that stinky dog eat my buddy.” Blitzo reasoned, hugging onto Fizz protectively.

Tilla sighed as she placed a hand on her son’s head. “I’d prefer you didn’t run headfirst into danger but I’m glad you saved Fizzy.” she told him, giving him a kiss on the head.

Fizz looked up at Tilla with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m really sorry for being so dopey…I know you’d never send me away.” Fizz told her.

“Hey these two do doofy shit all the time. You doin’ it too means you’re a part of the family.” Buckzo chimed in, having climbed up the ladder to check on their progress.

“Where have you been?” Barbie wondered.

“You think climbing up ladders is easy with these big fuckin’ horns? It ain’t, little lady.” Buckzo snarked before looking at the piles of junk in the attic. “Ya find some good shit to sell?”

“I think we can sell off a lot of stuff to make some more room up here.” Tilla nodded, looking around the space. “Maybe we can make this another room.”

Buckzo grinned at the possibilities. “Like our own little love nest?” he suggested, giving her a seductive smile.

“Yuck! That’s boring and gross!” Blitzo grouched. “You should make it a secret fort! That’s way better!”

Tilla laughed as she stood up. “Well let’s try to get everything out first before we decide what to do, okay?” she told them.

Fizz giggled as he started to find more things to give away or looked too junky. It was funny thinking how much he changed since that day. Even when Blitzo dragged his crying butt back to the circus, he was shocked that Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla weren’t mad at him for running off. They were just happy he was safe and unharmed.

Tilla immediately wanted to repair his costume since it had gotten torn and Buckzo wanted to make sure he hadn’t gotten hurt. It was so strange to the little guy being looked after like this but it felt nice. Even if they wanted to scold him for putting himself in danger, Fizz wouldn’t have minded that too much since it just meant they cared.

But what really won him over to his new strange family was Blitzo’s childish offer of having a sleepover with him.

{...}

“Alright Fizzy you’ll be sleepin’ in here with Blitzo tonight.” Buckzo told the young boy, opening the kid’s bedroom door. “Barb, you don’t mind sleepin’ in the other room for the night, do ya?”

“No Papa.” Barbie replied before turning to Fizz with a smile. “Night Fizz.”

“G’night Barbie Wire.” Fizz nodded shyly, slowly stepping into the bedroom.

Buckzo knelt down to Fizz’s level, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Look, what ya did today was pretty stupid.” he told him sternly. “Runnin’ off like that? You really could’ve gotten hurt.”

“I know…I’m sorry…” Fizz whispered.

“Well don’t do that again, capisce?” the taller imp went on. “We don’t want anything happenin’ to ya.”

“You’re…not gonna send me away?” Fizz blinked.

“Are you nuts? No way!” Buckzo assured him. “You’re a good kid and my kids like ya so we want ya to stay. You’re a damned good performer, ya know.”

“I just thought…with those papers on your desk.” Fizz tried, wincing when he got a bonk to the head.

“First, don’t go peekin’ in my trailer. That’s grown up shit.” Buckzo warned. “Second, I only had that crap because we were callin’ ‘em to get permission for you to stay here. Guardianship shit, y’know? You’re my employee but you’re still a kid so we’re gonna look after ya.”

“I…I won’t have to go back to the orphanage?” Fizz whispered.

“No fuckin’ way.” Buckzo replied with a wry grin. “You’re stuck with us, ya little nut.” Fizz giggled as Buckzo ruffled his spines before standing up. “Welp I’m fuckin’ beat. You get some sleep too, alright?”

“Yes sir.” Fizz nodded as he went to crawl in the spare bed.

Blitzo trotted into his room past his dad, having just finished brushing his fangs and washing up for the night. “All ready for bed, papa.” Blitzo told him.

“Good to know your breath doesn’t stink.” he joked before looking down at his boy. “Ya did good lookin’ for Fizz, kiddo.” he told him, a hint of pride in his voice.

“He’s my buddy. And no one’s gonna mess with him while I’m around.” Blitzo declared, giggling when his father mussed up his spines.

“G’night ya little nut.” Buckzo smirked, leaving the two boys alone as he shut the door.

Blitzo waited until his father went to say goodnight to Barbie before walking over to Fizz’s bed for the night. “You okay in that bed? Is it too lumpy? Do you have to go pee?” Blitzo rambled.

“I’m okay. And I went to the bathroom before I came in here.” Fizz giggled before giving Blitzo a genuine smile. “Thanks for rescuing me…and thanks for being my friend.”

“Hey you’d do the same for me.” Blitzo reasoned before giving him a stuffed rooster. “Here. Barbie said you could use this tonight.”

Fizz took the toy, running his hand through the fluffy feathers before smiling at his new friend. “T-Thank you.” he whispered.

“No problem!” Blitzo grinned as he hopped into bed with his horse plush. “G’night Fizz!”

Fizz laughed as he snuggled into his bed, holding his rooster plush closely before drifting off to sleep.

“Night Blitzo…”

{...}

One sleepover turned to many more before Blitzo and Barbie asked if Fizz wanted to stay with them in the house instead of having to go back to the trailers every night. Buckzo and Tilla were considering asking Fizz to move in but didn't want to pressure him. But they were pleasantly surprised when Fizz agreed to move in. Barbie didn't mind moving into the spare bedroom since three kids in one room would've been too much. And she would need her privacy when she got older. Blitzo was so happy to have his new buddy staying with him and Fizz just felt happy that he was wanted.

Fizz wiped at his eyes from the happy memory before looking down at the note from his biological parents, folding it up and tucking it in his shirt. He was still upset with them for leaving him at that shitty orphanage but in a way…maybe that wasn’t the worst thing in the world. When he left that crappy place with crappy staff and crappy kids, he found a new home with the best bosses/guardians ever, some great performing peers, and the best friends he could ever have.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows but even with the teasing, getting into trouble, scoldings, and struggles, he wouldn’t trade this for anything. He had no idea where his mother and father were but for now, he didn’t care. His home was the Buckzo Family Circus.

And he was proud to be a part of that family.

[To Be Continued]

Chapter 2: Blood Is Not Thicker Than Water

Summary:

One day when the circus gets more audience members than usual thanks to Buckzo splurging on more fliers to spread in the other rings of Hell, two unexpected guests show up that make Fizz feel more confused than ever.

Notes:

thank you to ParkRyder525 for help with this one and the names for Fizz's mother and father.

CW/TW for the slap Fizz gets in this one.

We finally have the first and probably only appearance of Fizz's birth parents because I imagine if they were willing to leave him at a crappy orphanage only to return now and try to take him away, they wouldn't be good people. I imagine them as opportunists willing to use Fizz's fame and talent to try and get rich themselves. But unlike the circus, Fizz wouldn't have a choice with these two. I also imagine them as a combination between Rooster and Lily St. Regis from Annie and Matilda's terrible parents. Pretending to be nice but revealing their selfish colors in the end.

Fizz wanting to at least try to get to know them is understandable since they're a missing part of his life he's been wanting to know about. But these two weren't ready to be parents so they ditched Fizz at the orphanage and tried to make ends meet without him. Seeing how talented he is to be a star on the poster for the Imp Circus, they'd want to use him to make money on talent shows all over Hell. And Vox's show would be the worst place for him to go. If Mammon's bad, I imagine Vox would be worse.

Buckzo didn't trust these guys at all so sending Blitzo to spy on them was the best thing he could've done. And when he saw them return, he knew things went south so he immediately called the cops. We'll see the aftermath of that in the next chapter.

“Fizz? You ready?” Blitzo tried.

Fizz looked over to his best friend, having just finished putting his shoes on, turned to him with a smile. “You know it buddy.” he nodded.

Today was a really good day for the circus with a larger crowd than usual. Buckzo had taken it upon himself to put out posters in the Elevator stations in the other rings to see if he could bring some new blood to see their show. Imps lived all over Hell so if they knew about a circus full of imps, that would be good publicity.

Fizz remembered how exhausted his boss looked when he had returned home from a day of putting out posters. He asked him if it was worth tiring himself out but Buckzo just ruffled his spines and gave him a grin. The ringmaster assured him that it might’ve been a pain in the ass but it’d be worth all the new attendants they’d get to see their show.

Fizz took his friend’s hand to take their spots for their performance. The crowd looked pretty excited and the young imps noted a lot of faces that didn’t look familiar to either of them. If word of mouth worked in their favor, they’d be one of most well-known circuses in all of Hell. He decided to do his best to impress the new crowd so they’d come back again and again.

Little did he know, amongst the crowd of imps and the occasional sinner that wandered out of Pentagram City to see the show, a duo of imps were watching Fizz very intently.

“Is it really him?” the woman whispered.

“Look at those horns. It has to be him.” the male reasoned.

(...)

“Phew! I’m bushed!” Fizz yawned as he stretched his arms over his head.

“Aw you did great, Fizzy!” Barbie smiled, poking his sides. “Yeah you really knocked their socks off!” Blitzo added, grinning as he joined his sister in poking Fizz’s tummy.

“G-G-Guys, that tickles!” Fizz laughed.

Their tickling and teasing attack was interrupted when two grown up imps approached the trio. The male was dressed in a fairly nice suit and fedora while the woman was wearing a dress and pearls. Upon closer inspection, Blitzo noticed the guy had a horn pattern like Fizz and the lady’s head was round like Fizz’s.

“Excuse us kids but could we talk to Fizzarolli here?” the man requested.

Blitzo and Barbie were skeptical about leaving Fizz around these strangers but Fizz assured them it was okay. He was used to meeting strangers and there were plenty of adults around to make sure he was okay. The twins eventually conceded but decided to go get their parents just in case.

Something felt really weird about these two.

“So did you enjoy the show?” Fizz asked.

“I gotta say, son, you did a great job.” the man smiled.

“You really have grown into a talented young man.” the woman added, kneeling down to the boy’s level. “We’re really proud of you.”

Fizz looked them over before cocking his head in confusion. “Do I…know you?” he asked, still a bit confused.

“It’s been 12 years but…we’d recognize our son anywhere.” the woman told him, tearing up a bit as she took his hands.

“We were surprised to find you in Pride when we had to leave you in Greed. But we’re glad you’re safe.” the man added.

Fizz was stunned into silence. These imps…were his parents?

Blitzo and Barbie returned with their mom and dad, looking worried as these strangers were very close to Fizz. Tilla stood behind Fizz, placing a hand on his shoulder as Buckzo moved himself between the strangers and his surrogate son.

“May we help you?” Tilla asked, keeping her tone level as the imp woman stood up to stand with her husband.

“Oh my apologies, miss. I’m Sally and this is my husband Fitzgerald.” the imp woman introduced, linking arms with her husband. “We’re…Fizzarolli’s mom and dad.”

“WHAT?!” Blitzo and Barbie gasped in shock. Tilla’s eyes widened in surprise but Buckzo was skeptical.

“How do we know you’re not bullshitting us?” he questioned, moving an arm protectively in front of Fizz.

The two imps looked at each other before letting out sighs of regret. “We were in dire straits back then. Our apartment wasn’t fit for raisin’ a kid. We didn’t have enough money to raise him right so we had to give him up.” Fitzgerald explained.

“It was one of the biggest regrets of our lives that we had to leave him at that orphanage in Greed. But they could look after him better than we could.” Sally added.

“Why didn’t you come back, huh?” Blitzo questioned, moving to stand by his friend. “He was waiting for you and you never came!”

Sally looked at the young boy with a regretful look on his face. “We wanted to be sure that Fizz would have a good place to live before we came for him.” she told him. “It took a lot of hard work finding a good place to live and having stable incomes but we managed to do it.”

“We were shocked when the orphanage told us he ran off.” the older male admitted, scratching the back of his head. “We never thought we’d find him again.” He then pulled out a flier for the circus out of his jacket pocket. “But we saw this and…we knew it was him.”

The ringmaster looked at the strange couple and Fizz; their story matched up to what he learned from Fizz and those assholes at the orphanage. And when he went to look up Greed’s family records, the names from Fizz’s file matched up.

“So what do you want with him?” Buckzo questioned slowly.

“We wanted to see if Fizz would like to return home with us.” Sally explained, offering her hand to her son. “You’ll be able to have a normal life and be with your family.”

Seeing the twins were about ready to riot, Fitzgerald stepped in. “I get this is a lot to take in so how about you take tomorrow to spend with us, okay kiddo?” he offered. “We wanna make up for lost time.”

The Buckzo family looked at Fizz who was just stunned from everything. “I…I need to think about this…” Fizz told them.

Tilla pulled Fizz closer to her before giving his biological parents a firm look. “This is a lot for him so please come back tomorrow.” she told them.

“We understand ma’am.” Fitzgerald nodded, giving her a tip of his hat. “We’ll be back tomorrow morning then.”

Sally opened her arms for a hug from Fizz but when he didn’t look receptive, she stood up and gave him a wave. “We’ll see you soon, son.” she told him before walking away with her husband.

Fizz waited until they were out of sight and drove off before collapsing to his knees. “I feel sick…” he moaned.

Tilla scooped the young boy up in her arms before carrying him back to the house. The poor thing looked so pale and shaky from seeing his birth parents so suddenly. While she maintained her composure around them for Fizz’s sake, she was ready to give them an earful for what they put him through.

Blitzo and Barbie moved to their dad’s side, very confused and worried. Buckzo wasn’t looking much better, feeling overwhelmed with anger at those bastards for showing up now and worrying about Fizz. Ultimately it was up to Fizz if he wanted those pricks in his life one way or another but…could they take him away even if he said no to their offer?

“Dad…we’re not going to lose Fizz, are we?” Blitzo asked.

Buckzo looked down at his son and daughter before giving them a one armed hug each. “I hope not, kiddo…” he confessed.

(...)

Barbie and Blitzo were sent upstairs so Tilla and Buckzo could talk to Fizz. They wanted to protest but the twins knew it was serious so they conceded. Fizz was sitting at the kitchen table, Buckzo nearby while Tilla served him some tea. Hopefully it would settle his tummy since he looked like he was going to throw up.

“So…how are you feeling kid?” Buckzo asked, placing a hand on the young imp’s shoulder.

“I feel…confused…” Fizz admitted, taking the cup in his hands.

“Well this is a lot to take in, sweetie.” Tilla reasoned as she sat with him.

Fizz took a small sip before letting out a sigh. “I…I’ve wondered what it would be like if I met them,” he confessed. “Suddenly seeing them I just…froze.”

“Well…what do you want to do?” Buckzo wondered. “You wanna get to know them or tell ‘em to fuck off?”

“Dear…” Tilla frowned, giving him a warning look.

“I…I want to at least get to know them. One day with them can’t hurt, right?” Fizz reasoned.

Tilla nodded in understanding before giving him a hug. “Do what you think is best…but we’ll always be here for you, Fizzy…” she told him.

Fizz leaned into the hug, feeling a little better. “Thank you…”

Meanwhile, Barbie and Blitzo were panicking at Fizz’s parents suddenly showing up like this. What if they convinced Fizz to go with them and leave the circus? Technically he was under a guardianship and not actually being adopted. Could they force their parents to give Fizz up? They looked like they had money so maybe they could hire lawyers to win Fizz back.

But…if they did have money…would Fizz be better off with them?

Working at the circus was fun but it was a lot of hard work. Performing and doing grunt work was a pain in the butt. Their childhoods weren’t exactly normal but…did Fizz want that? He always felt a little out of place sometimes and was only recently getting closer to TIlla and Buckzo. Maybe he secretly wanted to be with his parents.

“Rgh! This sucks!” Blitzo ranted as he kicked a pillow across the room. “Why did they have to come back now?!”

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Barbie hissed, though she wasn’t thrilled either. “If they came back, maybe they felt bad about leaving him.”

“If they really felt bad, they shouldn’t have left him in the first place.” Blitzo grumbled, clenching his fist a bit. “Barb…I-I don’t want Fizz to go…what if his parents take him and we never see him again, huh?”

“I don’t want him to go either…but if they try, we’ll fight for him.” Barbie promised her brother.

“You…you mean that?” Blitzo whispered.

“Of course. Just because he’s gonna spend the day with them tomorrow doesn’t mean he’s gonna want to go with them for good.” she reasoned.

Blitzo sat on his bed, holding his horsie plushie to his chest as he started to tear up. “Fizz is…he’s…important…” Blitzo sniffled.

Barbie felt her own eyes start to water as she hugged her brother. She always liked Fizz but Blitzo…there was something that made them feel like two peas in a pod. Sure they squabbled and argued but they always had each other’s backs. Fizz was super important to Blitzo and Blitzo was Fizz’s first real friend.

No one was going to take that away from them if she had anything to say about it.

“It’s gonna be okay, bro…I promise.” Barbie promised, rubbing his back to help him calm down.

“I don’t…want him to go…” Blitzo hiccuped.

Fizz, who had been listening outside of the bedroom, felt his stomach twist as he heard how upset Blitzo and Barbie were. And while they were trying to hide it for his sake, he could tell Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla weren’t happy with the idea of his biological parents trying to come back into his life now. A part of him wanted to take his boss’s idea and tell them to hit the road and never see him again.

But another part of him was thinking if he told them to screw off, he’d never know what they were really like. At the very least, he could get some closure with his birth parents if he spent the day with them.

Maybe find that missing piece in his heart.

(...)

The next morning, Fizz was sitting outside on the porch waiting for his folks to show up. Blitzo insisted that he wait with him since something about those two made him feel twitchy. He wanted to make sure no funny business happened on his watch.

Funny stuff belonged at the circus.

“Fizz? You okay?” Blitzo asked.

“I guess I’m a little nervous.” Fizz admitted, looking at his friend. “What if they were looking for me this whole time? Would I be a bad kid if I didn’t want to go with them?”

Blitzo felt a little relief wash over him knowing Fizz didn’t want to leave. But he tried not to let it show. “They’re the ones that left you. You found us. If they don’t like it, they can shove it.” Blitzo told him before giving him a sly smile. “But if you can score a good meal out of ‘em, today won’t be a total bust for ya.”

Fizz laughed a bit as he looked up at the sky. “Yeah maybe it won’t be so bad.” he nodded, perking up when he saw his parents drive up.

Tilla and Buckzo stepped outside to greet the older imps, Tilla had a neutral smile on her face while Buckzo was doing his best to keep himself calm. Though his eyes were narrowed at the fancy-ass car on their property.

“Hello again.” Sally greeted with a smile.

“Hello.” Tilla nodded. Buckzo gave them a nod of acknowledgement, keeping a careful eye on the couple. “So where’re you gonna take Fizz today?” Buckzo questioned.

“Well since he’s been living in Pride for a few years, maybe he can show us around. How about it, sport?” Fitzgerald suggested.

“Yeah that sounds nice.” Fizz nodded, trotting over to them.

“We’ll bring him back tonight.” Sally told them, ushering Fizz to their car. “Say bye Fizzarolli.”

Fizz waved a bit before getting in their car, soon driving off with his folks.

Tilla let out a deep breath as she went to make some tea to calm her nerves. Buckzo, seeing his son staring where his friend once was, leaned down next to him. He knew his boy would be worried sick so he gave him the best advice any father would in this situation.

“Follow him.”

(...)

Fizz was pleasantly surprised when they took him to Satan’s Pizzeria to play some games and have an early lunch. This place was usually reserved for special occasions with the Buckzo family. But then again, they were happy to see him so maybe they wanted to splurge.

“Here ya go, sport.” Fitzgerald offered, handing Fizz a bunch of tokens. “Go enjoy yourself in the arcade.”

“What kind of pizza would you like, dear?” Sally asked.

“Green pepper.” Fizz smiled proudly before heading over to the play area. “Thank you!”

Blitzo, who had tailed them since their first stoplight, crept his way inside to stake out the situation. He found his way in the playscape and climbed up to the top to get a better view. It was weird coming here without getting any food but this was important.

He watched Fizz happily playing some games and winning tickets. Whenever they went here as a family, they only had a set amount of tokens to use so if you wanted tickets, you had to choose your games wisely. And the food here, while tasty, was still pretty pricey. Were they just showing off? Showing they could take him places like this more than they could?

He looked at Fizz’s parents who were just watching their kid; didn’t they want to play with him?

“At least my mom and dad play a little…” Blitzo grumbled to himself.

After a few hours of gaming and eating pizza, Fizz’s folks took him to the boardwalk to check out the batting cages. This was surprising to Blitzo, who was peeking out from behind a garbage can, since Fizz never showed that much interest in sports.

“Uh…I’m not sure about this.” Fizz admitted as he was given a helmet and a bat.

“Oh you’ll be fine sweetie.” Sally encouraged.

“And you won’t know until you try, right?” Fitzgerald reasoned. “Just keep an eye on the ball.”

Fizz was trembling a bit as he waited for the ball to come. He heard the *thunk* of the pitching machine before swinging, surprised when he made a hit. “I…I hit it?” he blinked, smiling a bit as his parents cheered him on.

“That’s our boy!” the older male cheered.

“Keep going, Fizzarolli!” the woman clapped.

Fizz had no idea that hitting a baseball could be fun like that. Sure he’d play with juggling balls and balance on big rubber once for his act but this was pretty fun too. And this was at the pier this whole time? Maybe he could come back here again whenever he was feeling stressed out. It did help him feel better.

They spent the rest of the day walking the pier, looking at shops and Fizz telling them about his life with the Buckzo family. They were very surprised that Fizz wanted to be a performer since he spent a lot of time working at the circus. But Blitzo was happy Fizz was bragging about his time at the circus.

“So you perform regularly?” Sally gasped in surprise as they were all sitting with their ice cream cones.

“Well yeah. I wanted to earn my keep and it’s really fun.” Fizz told them brightly.

“But isn’t it…odd that they’re having a child perform?” Fitzgerald reasoned. “I mean, what kind of guy has his own kids perform in a circus?”

“W-Well…he wanted to make sure they were ready before they did…” Fizz replied. “I helped them out a lot too.”

“Fizzarolli you don’t need to do that if you come with us.” his mother assured him. “You can do so much more.”

Fizz took a bite from his cone, looking down at the ground. “Well…I like performing with them.” Fizz told them, surprising his folks. He was surprised at his own assertiveness before looking them in the eyes. “I…I love performing with Blitzo and Barbie. I love learning about the circus business with Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla.”

“Fizzarolli, they can’t give you a stable home.” Fitzgerald told him. “You’re living in a glorified shack in the middle of nowhere. Do you even have friends outside of those two creepy twins?”

“Blitzo and Barbie are not creepy.” Fizz retorted, standing up on his side of the bench. “And I do have friends. They’re weird but they’re better than those crappy kids in the orphanage you left me at.”

“We didn’t have a choice, dear.” Sally tried, hoping to calm her son down. “We couldn’t provide for you but now we can. We always kept your baby photo with us.”

Fizz looked at a picture of himself as a baby impling in his mother’s arms. For a brief moment he felt empathy for his parent’s plight. But insulting his family? His friends? Nuh-uh! That made him lose any sympathy for these people.

“Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla aren’t perfect but they care about me.” Fizz frowned. “I don’t need fancy trips out or going out to eat a lot. Even when I’m scolded or teased, I know it’s coming from a place of love.” He glared up at his parents, feeling even more angry. “And you insult my family? Who does that?!”

“Fizzarolli, you are our son.” Fitzgerald began, his voice becoming firm. “We can give you a better life. And if you want to perform, we can give you better opportunities.”

At his confusion, Sally pulled out a flier for a talent show from Vox-Tech studios. “While Vox is a sinner, his shows can be broadcast all throughout Hell. You are talented, son, so you can use that better than just some rinky-dink circus.” she tried.

“Not interested. I want to go home.” Fizz told them firmly.

*SMACK*

Fizz felt a sharp sting on his cheek as he felt his father’s hand hit his face, knocking him to the ground. “Don’t be so spoiled. We gave you a great day and now you’re going to come with us.” he told him, his voice becoming cold.

“Dear, that was too much.” his wife reasoned, looking down at Fizz pitifully. “We can’t have him going on TV looking like that.”

“Fortunately the auditions aren’t for a few days.” he sneered, looking down at the frightened child. “We can make sure your TV ready.”

Fizz was so scared he could barely move as Fitzgerald grabbed him by the arm. “N-N-No! Leave me alone!” Fizz cried, trying to pull away.

“Stop your whining! You’re our son so we know what’s best for you!” the male told him.

“Clearly being raised by those circus people made you into a little delinquent.” Sally added, tutting in disapproval. “But we can raise you better now.”

Fizz tried to pull himself free, kicking and scratching at his father when something clocked the taller imp in the back of the head. “What the heck?” Fizz gasped, taking this chance to get his arm free.

“Fitzy!” Sally gasped before glaring at the baseball that hit him. “Alright who hit my–OOF!”

Fizz blinked in shock when a very goopy funnel cake smacked her in the face. He looked up and saw a furious Blitzo staring them down. He jumped off of the top of the game booth and took Fizz’s hand.

“Come on!”

Without question, Fizz followed his buddy away from the boardwalk and into the city. He didn’t know where they were going but he didn’t care. Anywhere was better than with those selfish jerks.

“You…came for me?” Fizz panted.

“Of course I did! You’re my friend!” Blitzo told him, turning to him with a smile. “I’m always gonna be there for ya.”

Fizz felt himself tearing up once again but this time from happiness. Blitzo was the best friend a kid could ever have. He really owed so much to Blitzo and his family.

No…they were Fizz’s family too.

(...)

“Mama!” Blitzo called, dragging Fizz along behind him back to the house.

It was a long run from the boardwalk through the city but a quick jump onto the back of a bus brought them back home. The sight of the old house in the middle of the circus grounds was comforting to the two boys.

Tilla, hearing her son’s screams, immediately ran outside. “Blitzo? Fizzy? What in Hell happen–oof!” She was bombarded by her boys tackling her around her legs, blathering in absolute distress.

“Mama! They hit Fizzy!”

“They were saying mean things about you guys!”

“I clocked his dad with a baseball and his mom with a funnel cake!”

“They were going to take me away!”

Tilla’s eyes narrowed at the thought of those two fuckers not only hitting Fizz but trying to steal him away. But thoughts of vengeance had to wait as she had to comfort her boys. “Shh…it’s okay.” she soothed, gently kneeling down to hug them.

“I…I’m sorry I went with them…” Fizz sniffled, clutching onto her dress. “I was so stupid…they just wanted to use me…”

“Don’t say that, Fizzy,” she reasoned, rubbing his back. “You wanted to get to know them. Even if it wasn’t the best outcome, you still know now.”

“I wanna stay with you and Mister Buckzo…” Fizz whispered.

Tilla gently kissed his head, letting a tear fall on his head. “Oh sweetheart...of course you can.” she told him. A loud crash caught the group’s attention, seeing a car speed down the road. Fizz froze up in Tilla’s arms; he didn’t want to be taken by them.

“Boys go inside and stay upstairs. We’ll handle this.” Tilla ordered, standing up and ushering them inside.

The boys quickly ran into the house and to their room. Fizz was so glad Miss Tilla wanted to keep him safe. But would she and Mister Buckzo be enough to chase them off? He didn’t want them to get hurt because of him.

Cash, who had been inside the house, stepped out to protect his wife and kids. They watched as the ragged couple screeched to a stop, stepping out of the car. The husband was looking furious while the wife was trying to look semi-calm.

“Where is he?!” Fitzgerald questioned.

“Did our Fizzarolli come back here? We’re so worried.” Sally told them, though her voice didn’t match her words.

“He isn’t ‘your’ Fizzarolli anymore.” Tilla told them firmly, crossing her arms in disgust. “If he doesn’t want to be with you, you can’t force him.”

“I am his mother, you stupid giraffe!” Sally retorted. “He belongs with us!”

“Then why didn’t ya keep him, idiots?” Buckzo scoffed. “What, ya couldn’t handle it?”

“You think we were ready to raise a little brat in Greed? Do you know how expensive it is to raise a kid?” Fitzgerald ranted. “The damned condom broke and we were up shit creek! The little bastard’s lucky we didn’t leave him on the streets! He should be grateful we dropped him with a bunch of other kids and want to take him back!”

“So why come back now?” the taller imp woman questioned. “I doubt it’s an attack of conscience.”

“If we had known the boy had talent, we would’ve kept him. He’d be a TV star instead of working in a tacky circus like yours.” Sally smirked, her semi-motherly tone disappearing completely. “If he won on Vox’s talent show, we’d be set!”

“Tough shit! Ya ain’t getting him!” the ringmaster snarled.

“Oh please! You’re just his guardians! We’re his parents.” the imp male bragged. “Any idiot in a court of law knows we would get custody since he’s underage.”

“We’d actually raise him into a proper boy. Not some ragamuffin circus brat raised by a short drunkard and a tall freak.” the woman added smugly.

Tilla was ready to punch her lights out but Buckzo stopped her. “Cash what are you–?” she whispered before he shushed her.

“You jack-offs need to get off our property now.” Buckzo ordered.

“Or what?” Sally sneered.

Cash just smiled as a bunch of cops rolled into the circus, surrounding the Greed Imp couple. When he saw Blitzo running back with Fizz and the marks on his face and arm, that was more than enough evidence to call the police on these two morons. Normally he hated cops but in this case, he’d make an exception to save Fizz.

“You two are under arrest for attempted kidnapping, assault of a minor, and trespassing.” one of the cops stated, placing the duo in handcuffs.

“What?! This isn’t fair!” Sally cried, struggling as they dragged her off. “Fizzarolli! Rescue your mama! Please!”

“You can’t keep us from our son! He’s ours!” Fitzgerald shouted.

“Sir, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. So shut the fuck up.” the cop told them.

As the moron duo were placed in the back of the police car, another officer went to talk to Cash and Tilla. “Will you be willing to bring Mister Fizzarolli in to talk about what happened?” he asked.

“Of course. He just…has had a long day.” Tilla explained.

“Well it is getting late. You can come in tomorrow morning.” the cop replied before tipping his hat. “Have a good night folks.”

Once all the commotion had died down and the police cars had left, Fizzarolli soon returned downstairs with Blitzo and Barbie. He looked up at his very tired boss before hugging him, which Cash eagerly returned.

“You’re safe now, Fizz…” he promised.

[To Be Concluded]

Chapter 3: Rainbow After The Storm

Summary:

While Fizz's biological parents faced justice for harassing their kid and the Buckzo family, Fizz is still feeling down about everything that happened. Fortunately Blitzo comes up with a plan to cheer his buddy up and calls in the best reenforcements he can.

Notes:

Thanks to ParkRyder525 for help with this one and for AnimeToonzForever for giving me the idea to combine this idea with the others for this mini-arc of sorts.

I wanted to focus on the comfort in this one because after what happened with poor Fizzy, he needed all the hugs and cuddles and reassurance that what those creeps did wasn't his fault. So Blitzo having the idea to cheer Fizz up with Ozzie talking to him and setting up a party to cheer him up and celebrating his first full year with them was the best way to go about it.

Fizz takes on a lot of guilt so I think he would feel bad this whole mess happened because of his parents but the people that really matter to him would assure him he had nothing to do with Fitzgerald and Sally's actions. I also wanted to include Dante and Nyx with Fizz's cheer up party since they were the ones closest to him when he first arrived and look out for him when Buckzo and Tilla aren't able to. It's why they trusted them to look after the kids when they were away on their vacation.

Also, surprise! Kurt and Stolas appear as well!

After something heavy like this, I might work on lighter and fluffier and funnier stories for a bit.

After that whole debacle with Fizz’s birth parents, Fizz needed to take some time off from performing to clear his head. The past few days had been a blur with Fitzgerald and Sally being arrested, having to go to court to prove that they willfully abandoned him, and showing the documents that he was under the guardianship of the Buckzo Family Circus. In the end, Fizz’s biological parents were sent to jail for the assault and trespassing and they were given a restraining order to stay away from the circus and Fizz.

His parents tried to use crocodile tears to try and sway Fizz but he wasn’t going to be fooled. Hitting him in the face? Talking badly about his friends and bosses? Nearly kidnapping him? He was done with them.

But it still hurt like a sonuvabitch that they only wanted him after he was useful.

He had been in a funk for a while and it was starting to worry Blitzo’s family. He wasn’t even up for eating with the family; Tilla would bring food up to him and he did eat but he just wasn’t ready to eat with others.

Blitzo came downstairs after making sure Fizz was still sleeping to eat some breakfast. He sat with his father and sister while his mother was fixing breakfast.

“He still ain’t comin’ down?” Buckzo guessed. At his son’s nod, Cash let out a frustrated sigh. “Dammit…those shitheads really fucked with his head.”

“I’m jealous you clocked them with a baseball and a funnel cake.” Barbie admitted.

“I worked with what I had.” Blitzo reasoned, his eyes narrowing. “They were really making him feel like crap. But when they hit him? I saw red.”

Cash gave his son a proud smile as he mussed up his spines. “Ya did good lookin’ out for him, kiddo. The funnel cake was a nice touch.” he told him with a wry grin.

“The way they talked about him was disgusting. He’s not a toy you can just leave wherever and come back later. He’s just a little boy.” Tilla stated.

“I wanna cheer the little guy up…but I don’t know how.” Buckzo sighed.

The family sat down at the table, absolutely bummed out from seeing Fizz look so sad. He was a real bright spot in their strange family and did so much for them all. And after the bullshit he went through, he deserved something nice.

Blitzo then blinked as a small smile crossed his face. “I think I have an idea. Mom, can you call Stolas’s house?” Blitzo requested.

(...)

Fizz, getting sick of just staring at his wall in his room, decided to get some fresh air by the obstacle course. He thought a change of scenery would do him some good but the minute he reached the tires, he just sat in one and began to lose himself in thought. One problem Fizz had was he was very hard on himself and tried to hide how he felt if he was upset. The circus was someplace he felt safe and like where he could be himself.

If his ‘parents’ took him away from that…it was too scary to think about.

Fizz let out a sigh before he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Fizzy?”

Fizz looked up and was stunned to see Ozzie looking at him with worried eyes. “Ozzie? What are you doing here?” he blinked in shock.

“I heard you were feeling icky so I wanted to see you.” Ozzie told him as he sat next to him. “What’s going on?”

“Oh…I-I didn’t mean to worry anyone. It’s just…been a crazy time lately.” Fizz told him.

“What happened?” the fluffy rooster wondered.

Fizz looked at the young Sin before burying his face in his hands. “I’m just…so mad at myself,” he confessed. “My…birth parents came to see me and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“Whoa…what were they like?” Ozzie asked.

“At first I thought they were nice. A little awkward but nice enough.” the young jester explained. “They wanted to spend the day with me so I took it. We went to Satan’s Pizzeria and I played some games and ate some pizza. That was nice…if a little lonely since I was the only one playing games. Then we went to the boardwalk and I tried a batting cage and that was fun. But when we got ice cream…things went bad.”

“How bad?” Ozzie winced.

“They were asking me questions about my life at the circus and began trashing on Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla and Blitzo and Barbie.” Fizz frowned. “I wasn’t going to go with them anyway but insulting my family? Uh-uh! No one does that!”

“Good on you, Fizz! Tell those creeps off!” Ozzie nodded in approval.

“They had the gall to ask if I wanted to go with them and be their little cash cow. And…I got hit across the face.” the young imp sighed, not able to look Ozzie in the eye as the sin gasped in horror.

“Those monsters!” Ozzie gasped as he hugged him. “I’m so sorry they did that to you.”

Fizz immediately hugged him back, tearing up a bit as he buried his face in his fluffy feathers. “I…I was so scared they wanted to take me away…” he hiccuped. “If Blitzo wasn’t there to save me, I’d–”

Ozzie felt himself tearing up as Fizz sobbed into his shoulder but the best thing he could do was rub his back and assure him things would be okay. He was almost relieved when Blitzo had told him Fizz’s parents were arrested after trying to take him and hit him. If he was there, he would’ve fried their keisters all the way back down to Greed.

“I feel so stupid! Why did I get my hopes up?!” Fizz wailed. “I wanted to know about them and all I got was a hit to the face and some bruises on my arm!”

“Fizz…what they did was not your fault.” Ozzie told him, looking him in the eyes as he separated for a brief moment. “They were the ones who were jerks. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“B-B-But I wanted to get to know them!” Fizz cried, snot dripping down his nose. “I thought…it would make things make sense.”

“And that’s totally fine. They hurt you and you weren’t gonna go with them anyway, right?” the small Goetia reasoned.

“No…but sometimes I think about what if they were actually nice.” Fizz confessed. “What if they were genuinely good people…would I be able to go with them and leave this whole circus life behind? Or if I chose to stay with the circus…would I be a bad son by not going with them?”

“Fizz…you aren’t a bad kid at all.” Ozzie reassured him, taking his hand. “Don’t let those people get in your head. You made the right call not wanting to go with them and telling them to take a hike.”

Fizz wiped his face on his sleeve as he looked at Ozzie shyly. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do. Heck, I like you.” Ozzie smiled.

Fizz smiled back genuinely for the first time in a while before hugging his fluffy friend. “Thank you…” he whispered, blushing as his stomach began to growl. “Whoops! I guess being sad makes ya hungry, huh?” he laughed sheepishly.

The two then set off back to the main part of the grounds to find some food when Fizz saw his boss walking inside the main tent. The young imp decided to go tell his boss he was feeling a bit better so they went to see the taller imp. Fizz was walking in front of Ozzie so he didn’t see the small smile on the shorter demon’s face.

“E-Excuse me, Mister Buckzo. I wanted to let you know I’m–EEP!” Fizz was startled when a bunch of confetti poppers went off.

“Surprise!” a bunch of young voices cheered.

Fizz was stunned when he saw Blitzo, Barbie, Stolas, and Kurt standing with poppers in their hands. Behind them were Cash, Tilla, Nyx, and Dante flanking a table with Fizz’s favorite snacks and a cake. He looked up and saw a banner that said ‘For The Best Fizz Ever! Happy Anniversary!’

“W-What’s all this?” Fizz asked, letting out a grunt as he was tackled on both sides by Blitzo and Barbie.

“We know you’ve been down in the dumps so we wanted to do something to cheer you up.” Barbie told him.

“I had mom call Stolas to tell Ozzie to come over and he was more than happy to help.” Blitzo smiled, giving Ozzie a grateful look.

Stolas and Kurt soon came up to Fizz next, the prince taking his hands. “I heard about what happened. I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that at all.” Stolas told him.

Kurt then clapped a hand on Fizz’s shoulder, gaining his attention. “You and Blitzo helped me when I messed up with that cannon so I didn’t get in trouble with my dad. I wanna be there for you too.”

Fizz immediately pulled his friends into a hug, relieved they were nice and not jerks. It wasn’t like he didn’t try to make friends with the other kids at the orphanage but they just didn’t like him. They thought he was too weird or too stupid. But Kurt wanted to protect him when Burnie got too close and Stolas was always kind to him since he was friends with Blitzo.

“Thank you, guys.” Fizz smiled, giggling when they hugged him back.

Fizz carefully moved out of the hug as he walked over to Dante and Nyx. They immediately knelt in front of him to look him over. They had only caught a glimpse of the chaos when Fizz’s parents tried to force their way back into his life but when they heard what they did to him, Dante and Nyx wanted to beat the stuffing out of them.

They were tasked with looking out for Fizz when he first arrived at the circus and it was a little awkward but over time, they got used to him being around. He was a sweet little guy and always eager to help out with jobs around the grounds. Anyone that wanted to hurt him or treat him like crap would have to answer to them.

“Fizzy we’re so sorry you got hurt.” Nyx fretted as she hugged him.

“If anyone messes with you, we’ll fuck ‘em up.” Dante promised, placing a hand on his head.

Fizz was so touched even after he moved into his bosses’ home, Dante and Nyx still cared about him. Whenever he needed to talk to grownups that weren’t Mr. Buckzo or Miss Tilla, Dante and Nyx were always ready to help him out. Nyx was very sweet and Dante was tough but he always had a soft spot for kids. He was basically an honorary uncle to Blitzo and Barbie.

“Thank you guys…for everything.” Fizz blushed, giggling when he felt his spines being mussed up.

“We’ve got your back, kiddo.” Dante smiled as Nyx let the young imp go.

Fizz took a deep breath before moving up to Buckzo and Tilla. He felt really bad about worrying them even though Ozzie assured him he wasn’t at fault. But after basically hiding away in his room for days, only leaving to use the bathroom, it was kind of strange seeing them. He was surprised when Cash knelt in front of him and looked at him apologetically.

“Fizz, I am so sorry.” Cash began, surprising the smaller imp. “If it weren’t for those stupid fliers of mine, none of this bullshit would’ve happened.”

“Sir, you were just trying to help the circus.” Fizz reasoned. “I was the one that went off with them…I-I didn’t mean to worry you or make you feel bad…”

Tilla crouched down to his level, gently caressing his cheek. “Fizzy…we were only worried because we care about you. You’re one of us and we’ll always be there for you.” she told him, kissing his forehead.

“You aren’t…mad?” he squeaked.

“We’re only mad at those asshats for hurtin’ ya.” Buckzo assured him. “Hittin’ ya and yanking your arm? I wanted to slug that bastard in the face. I might be tough on ya but that? That was sick.”

Fizz could feel himself tearing up as his guardians hugged him. Even though his ‘parents’ were locked up, he wasn’t alone. He had Dante and Nyx and Mister Buckzo and Miss Tilla to take care of him and look out for him. And he had great friends to make sure he wasn’t alone.

“I don’t mind when you’re tough…” Fizz told him. “Even when you gotta scold me or when you’re teasing me, I know it’s not mean and you care.”

“Well good to know I can tease ya more, pipsqueak.” Buckzo smirked as he rubbed his claws on his head. “But if I ever go too far, don’t feel bad about letting me know, okay?”

“Y-Yes sir.” Fizz giggled.

“This isn’t just a cheering up party, you know.” Tilla chimed in, surprising the small imp as she stood up. “It’s an anniversary party too. You’ve been a part of our circus family for a full year and through the ups and downs, we’re so happy you’re here.”

Blitzo picked up a glass of fruit punch and held it up. “To Fizzy!”

“To Fizzy!” the kids cheered, holding their own glasses up.

The grownups, amused at the boy’s enthusiasm, picked up some glasses of punch and cheered him as well.

The rest of the party soon commenced with Fizz happily enjoying the first slice of funfetti cake and just enjoying the company around him. That hole in his heart was starting to fill as he thought about his new friends and family. Maybe they weren’t blood related but that didn’t matter; they cared about him and protected him and liked having him around.

“So! Ya feeling better?” Blitzo asked as he sat with his buddy while they ate cake.

Fizz turned to him, seeing he had frosting all over his mouth before laughing. “Yeah…I am. Thanks Blitzo…”

This was his real home.

[END]

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 110 of Blitz/Stolas Happier Childhood Memories