After Stolas left the mansion, things got back to normal for Fizzarolli and Asmodeus in the Lust mansion. Fizz was happy to finally be back home and spent most of his time trying to relax and get back in shape. He hadn't seen or heard anything from the imps, so he thought he'd enjoy the day and prepare a romantic candlelit dinner for him and Asmodeus.
He had planned everything perfectly. The table was set with a beautiful white cloth and candles. There were roses everywhere, and soft music was playing in the background. It was a perfect night for a romantic dinner.
Fizzarolli waited anxiously for Asmodeus to arrive. He had sent him various messages throughout the day telling him that he had a nice surprise waiting for him when he finished with his work. Fizzarolli was excited to spend some quality time with his boyfriend. They hadn't had a chance to be alone together since this whole imp-hellhounds matter started and Fizzarolli was returned home, so he wanted to make sure that everything was alright between them and keep the romantic spark of their relationship alive.
At last, Asmodeus came home. He looked tired and stressed.
"Are you alright?" asked Fizzarolli, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine," replied Asmodeus. "I just had a long day."
Fizzarolli smiled and wrapped his arms around Asmodeus.
"Well, I've got a surprise for you," said Fizzarolli. "Come on."
He took Asmodeus by the hand and led him into the dining room.
"Wow, this is amazing," said Asmodeus. "You really went all out for this, didn't you?"
"I wanted to make it special for us," replied Fizzarolli.
"It's perfect," said Asmodeus. "Thank you."
They sat down at the table and began eating dinner. Fizzarolli had prepared several courses including a special pasta served al dente along side steamed vegetables seasoned lightly before being tossed through garlic butter . They talked about their days and what had been happening lately in Hell-City.
After they finished eating, Fizzarolli brought out dessert. It was a chocolate cake with strawberry sauce on top with many little sugary hearts on top of it.
"This looks incredible," said Asmodeus. "I can't wait to try it."
"Go ahead," replied Fizzarolli. "It's all for us to enjoy!"
Asmodeus took a bite of the cake and moaned in pleasure.
"This is amazing," he said.
"I'm glad you like it," said Fizzarolli.
Asmodeus finished the cake and smiled at Fizzarolli.
"This was the best night we've had in a long time," he said.
"I'm glad," replied Fizzarolli. "I wanted to make sure that everything was okay between us."
"Everything is fine," said Asmodeus. "Don't worry."
Fizzarolli smiled and leaned in to kiss Asmodeus.
After they had cleaned up the kitchen and gone to bed, Fizzarolli snuggled closer to Asmodeus.
"I love you so much," he said.
"I love you too," replied Asmodeus.
The following day, Fizzarolli received a call from Stolas. He told him that he planned to go visit Mammon together to try to convince him in joining their cause.
Fizzarolli agreed to meet with Stolas and they went to see Mammon.
"What is this all about, Stolas?" asked Mammon when they arrived at his palace.
Behind Mammon, the two could see that the workers were still trying to repair the damages of the explosions from the heist.
Mammon invited them inside and had them seat in his fancy tea room, which was still intact.
"What can I do for you?" asked Mammon as he sat down across from them.
"I want to talk to you about the lower class," explained Stolas.
"The lower class?" repeated Mammon.
"Yes," replied Stolas. "We need your help."
Mammon laughed.
"Ok, next joke please" said Mammon.
"No, I'm serious," said Stolas.
"So you want me to help you with this 'lower class' problem?" asked Mammon.
"Yes," replied Stolas.
"And why would I do that?" asked Mammon.
"Because it's the right thing to do," replied Stolas.
"The right thing to do?" repeated Mammon.
"Yes," replied Stolas.
Fizzarolli looked at the two powerful princes while they kept discussing, unable to join the discussion.
Mammon finally turned to look at Fizzarolli and said: "You know, I've heard about your little adventure. And I've got to say, I'm surprised to see you here vouching for this bufoon after all that happened. Do you have no self respect at all, Fizzarolli? You should be ashamed of yourself."
Fizzarolli felt his heart sink. He looked at Stolas, who seemed equally shocked.
"I- I didn't expect this from you, Mammon," said Fizzarolli. "I thought you would at least try to help us solve the problem."
"Oh please, they brought this upon themselves," replied Mammon. "If they had worked hard enough, they wouldn't be in such a mess. And you should be thanking me! I gave some of them a job, I am one of the good ones!"
Fizzarolli looked at Mammon in disbelief.
"How can you say that?" asked Fizzarolli.
"It's the truth," replied Mammon. "Look around, my palace is still in ruins."
Knowing that the discussion was going nowhere, the two got up from their chairs and left the room.
As soon as they were outside, Stolas turned to Fizzarolli and said: "I'm sorry, Fizzarolli. I didn't know he would react like that."
Fizzarolli shook his head.
"It's okay, Stolas," replied Fizzarolli. "I just can't believe that Mammon wouldn't help us."
"I know," said Stolas. "But don't worry, we'll figure out another way".
"I hope so," replied Fizzarolli.
That night, Fizzarolli was seating on his sofa watching the TV. Asmodeus came into the room wearing his robe and sat next to him, wrapping his arms around him.
"Are you okay?" asked Asmodeus.
"I'm fine," replied Fizzarolli. "I'm just tired."
"You look stressed," said Asmodeus. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing," replied Fizzarolli.
Asmodeus kissed Fizzarolli's cheek and rested his head on his shoulder.
"I'm here for you," said Asmodeus.
Fizzarolli smiled. He was glad to have Asmodeus by his side. He snuggled closer to him and sighed. He just wasn't sure he wanted to talk to him about Stolas' plan. He knew what Asmodeus thought of their plan, and didn't want to fight him. He wanted to keep the peace.
The next day, Fizzarolli woke up early in the morning. He made breakfast for himself and Asmodeus, then Asmodeus went to the kitchen to cook something else. He was in the middle of preparing when Fizzarolli entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"Good morning," said Fizzarolli.
"Morning," replied Asmodeus.
"What are you doing?" asked Fizzarolli.
"Cooking," replied Asmodeus.
Fizzarolli smiled. "What are you cooking?"
"I'm making pancakes," replied Asmodeus.
"Can I help?" asked Fizzarolli.
"No! I want you to relax Fizzy. It's my turn to cook."
Fizzarolli smiled and sat back down. He watched Asmodeus as he cooked, and it made him happy.
Asmodeus finished cooking and brought the pancakes to the table.
"Bon appetit," said Asmodeus.
They ate in silence.
After they finished eating, Fizzarolli asked Asmodeus if they could go to the park together.
"Of course," replied Asmodeus.
They left the mansion and headed for the park.
The two sat down on a bench and looked around. They could see couples walking hand in hand, and royal children playing with their parents. It was a beautiful day.
"It's so nice to be here with you," said Fizzarolli.
"It's nice to be here with you too," replied Asmodeus.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," said Fizzarolli.
Asmodeus smiled and wrapped his arm around Fizzarolli's waist.
"We can," he replied.
"Well actually, what about going shopping?" said Fizzarolli, his eyes glowing.
"Shopping?" repeated Asmodeus, surprised.
"Yes! Let's go shopping! I need some new clothes!"
Asmodeus chuckled. "Okay, let's go."
They got up from the bench and walked to the mall.
As they walked through the mall, Fizzarolli saw a store selling clothes that he liked.
"Oh, I love this one!" exclaimed Fizzarolli, pointing at a pair of tight pink pants.
Asmodeus looked at the pants and smiled.
"They'd look good on you," he said.
"I know!" exclaimed Fizzarolli.
They walked into the store and looked at the pants.
"How much are they?" asked Fizzarolli.
"They're on sale, only five bucks!" replied the salesman.
"Five bucks?!" exclaimed Fizzarolli. "That's cheap!"
Fizzarolli bought the pants and wore them immediately.
"How do I look?" he asked Asmodeus.
"You look great," replied Asmodeus. "Nice butt. I like your butt."
Fizzarolli laughed. "Thank you. You're not bad yourself."
"I have another store I'd like to visit," said Fizzarolli.
"Okay," said Asmodeus.
They entered the new store and looked around. There were many different types of lingerie and sexy outfits.
Fizzarolli picked out a few items and went into the changing room.
Asmodeus waited outside.
"What do you think?" asked Fizzarolli, emerging from the dressing room.
Asmodeus' eyes widened. He looked at Fizzarolli and smiled.
"You look amazing," he said.
Fizzarolli smiled and twirled around, showing off his black leather outfit.
"You really think so?" asked Fizzarolli.
"Yes," replied Asmodeus. "You look sexy."
Fizzarolli blushed and looked away.
"Thank you," he said.
They left the store and walked back to their mansion.
When they tried to open the entrance door, they were surprised to notice that they couldn't.
"What's going on?" asked Fizzarolli.
"I don't know," replied Asmodeus. "Let me see."
He opened the door and entered the mansion.
"What the hell is going on in here?" asked Asmodeus.
"I have no idea," replied Fizzarolli.
"It looks like someone broke in," said Asmodeus.
"Oh my god, you're right!" exclaimed Fizzarolli. "What do we do?"
"Shh, let's see if we can find out what happened," said Asmodeus.
They walked through the mansion.
The rooms were filled with broken furniture and trashed paintings.
"Who would do this?" asked Fizzarolli.
"I don't know," replied Asmodeus.
"Look!" exclaimed Fizzarolli. "The television! It's broken!"
Asmodeus looked at the TV. It was cracked and smashed.
"I think that's enough proof," said Asmodeus.
"What do you mean?" asked Fizzarolli. That's when he noticed a letter on the table.
"Oh my god, what is this?" asked Fizzarolli.
He read the letter.
Dear Fizzarolli and Asmodeus,
We hope you enjoyed the surprise as much as we're going to enjoy your money. You've been warned.
Love,
Striker
Fizzarolli gasped and dropped the letter.
"Striker?" he repeated.
"I can't believe it," said Asmodeus. "Who's Striker?"
Fizzarolli explained everything that had happened with Striker to Asmodeus.
"I can't believe this," said Asmodeus. "And you had no idea that this Striker guy was working with Blitzo?"
"No," replied Fizzarolli. "I had no idea."
"This is bad," said Asmodeus. "This means that Blitzo and his crew are probably behind this too."
"But Blitzo... He's not as bad. He just has a terrible life. I saw it. We shouldn't let thugs like Striker affect our opinion of the other imps. We should help them."
"You still want to help them? Even after all they did to you? I love your good heart Fizz but... I don't get it. They kidnapped you and tortured you, didn't they?"
Fizzarolli nodded.
"I know," said Fizzarolli. "But they're not all bad. I know they're not."
"So you think that Blitzo is different from the other imps?" asked Asmodeus.
"Yes," replied Fizzarolli. "Blitzo is different. Moxxie and Millie too."
"I'm not so sure about that," said Asmodeus.
"He didn't mean to hurt me," said Fizzarolli.
"Are you sure about that?" asked Asmodeus.
"Yes," replied Fizzarolli.
"Okay," said Asmodeus. "I trust you."
"Thank you," replied Fizzarolli. Now let's try to clean this up and then meet up with Stolas.
Asmodeus nodded. "Okay, let's do it."