I think I keep jinxing myself with stuff for this story. :) As I said, it will be the only one I do, but I might add more one-shots here and there to it depending on my muse.

Now, this chapter will be a bit dark as it is expanding more on what Ozzy was talking about in the last chapter with how he and Fizz first met.


Chapter 4

Sometime ago...

Ozzy barely caught the smaller being that was thrown at him by Mammon. "Give him new limbs!" The greedy being said, his voice angry. "Give him cheap stuff or whatever! I don't care!"

Ozzy didn't question Mammon, knowing the greedy being didn't truly care about the smaller being that was now shaking badly in his arms. He looked at him and sighed, seeing that Mammon hadn't allowed the smaller being to change out of the hospital gown he was wearing. He had to have been cold since hospital gowns weren't meant for warmth. Ozzy cradled him a bit closer, one hand resting on the smaller being's side, unable to imagine how he felt about having no limbs.

Wordlessly, Ozzy took him into his palace, seeing Fizz look at him with so much fear and distrust. Mammon hurried off and the larger being sighed, going into his room and gently holding Fizz, who was still shaking in his arms as the larger being sat down on the bed.

Fizz felt tears begin to fall and felt a soft material gently brush over his face, wiping away the tears. He looked to see it was Ozzy's gloved hand as the being smiled gently at him. "Don't cry," he said soothingly to him, which surprise the smaller being. "You're okay, Fizz."

More tears fell and Fizz couldn't stop the sobs that left him. He was in pain, afraid, and didn't know what else to do as he couldn't escape without arms or legs. Ozzy looked at him with concern and sympathy, letting Fizz cry as he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around the smaller being, not only for warmth, but to comfort him too.

A few hours passed before Fizz passed out from crying and, not having the heart to put him in the guest room, Ozzy simply lay down on the bed and held the small being comfortingly, falling asleep.

Fizz woke up the next morning, but kept his eyes shut as he was comfortable. He felt a hand rub his back and opened his eyes to see Ozzy looking at him. "Good morning," he said, smiling. "I just realized I never told you my name. You can call me Ozzy. And do you prefer your full name or Fizz?"

The smaller being blinked and then shrugged. "Fizz is fine," he said before he looked and realized where he was. "Um...,"

"Don't worry," Ozzy said, gently rubbing his back. "You cried yourself to sleep and I just couldn't leave you like that."

Fizz was stunned. "But...why?"

"Because I wanted to show you I wasn't like Mammon," he said, seeing the jester's cap had come off and the skin on his head looked irritated. "Hmm. Let's get you into something more comfortable."

The smaller being was stunned again as Ozzy pulled out a shirt from a nearby closet. "It's a bit big, but it's comfortable," he said. "Can I help you put it on?"

"Sure," Fizz nodded as he didn't like the hospital gown. He saw Ozzy go behind him and he tried to turn his head. "Where are you going?"

"I figured you would feel more comfortable if I wasn't facing you directly once the gown comes off," Ozzy said, pausing.

"Wait," the smaller being said. "I...Can you stand in front of me? And...I don't want to be unable to see."

The larger being immediately picked up on the subtle clues. "Alright," he said and then had an idea. "How about this? I put the shirt on you and as I fix it over you, I'll untie the gown and you can slide it right off under the shirt. That way, you're covered."

Fizz was a bit stunned, but nodded and true to what he said, Ozzy did exactly that and the jester breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a lot better. He then watched Ozzy pull out some material and within a short period of time, a mismatched jester cap was on his head. It didn't match the shirt, but Fizz didn't care. He moved his head from side to side and heard a sweet, jingling sound. "Bells?" He asked curiously.

The larger being smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, got a little carried away in creating it," he said. "I thought the bells would make it look a bit better since it's kind of mismatched."

The smaller being giggled. "I don't care if it doesn't match. I like it," he said before wincing a little. "Though...um...,"

Ozzy then saw the irritated skin on Fizz's head. "Oh, here," he said, grabbing something and gently rubbing it on the irritated skin. Fizz relaxed as whatever Ozzy had done was soothing.

"What's that?" He asked.

"A lotion for irritated skin," the larger being said, readjusting the jester's hat carefully.

Fizz bit his lip and looked up at Ozzy, who smiled gently at seeing the uncertainty on the smaller being's face. "You okay?" He asked him gently, one gloved hand gently brushing over the left side of the jester's face.

"Just...kind of overwhelmed, I guess," he admitted right before his stomach growled.

"And hungry too, apparently," Ozzy said, chuckling lightly. "I could go for some breakfast too. Anything you want in particular?"

Fizz shrugged, but kept quiet, which didn't set well with the larger being. "Hey, don't be afraid," he said soothingly, again gently brushing his gloved hand over one side of Fizz's face. He then gently picked him up, frowning as he felt how light Fizz was. Too light. "Okay, you're getting a full breakfast," he said.

"Um, I don't really need much," the smaller being said quietly.

Ozzy stopped in his tracks and looked down at Fizz. "Don't need much? Fizz, I don't need a doctor to tell me that you're underweight and haven't had a decent meal in a while." One hand gently rested on Fizz's side and gloved fingers could almost feel the smaller being's ribs sticking out. "Your ribs are nearly sticking out," he said in concern.

Fizz bit his lip and squirmed a little because Ozzy's gentle touch was tickling him. But the larger being noticed and smiled. "Oh?" He asked before purposely tickling the smaller being's ribs, making sure to keep his tough gentle.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!" The jester laughed and squirmed to escape.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" Ozzy cooed, his gloved hand slipping under the t-shirt his guest wore and as soon as Fizz felt the gloved fingers wiggle over his stomach and his belly button, he shrieked with laughter.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed out. "STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP!"

The larger being smiled and let Fizz up, adjusting his hold on him so that the smaller being's head rested against his shoulder. "I won't hurt you, Fizz," he promised. "Now, let's get some breakfast."

When they arrived in the kitchen, he set Fizz down on the counter, making sure the smaller being was propped up so that he didn't fall over while the taller being began making breakfast, making pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and fruit.

Fizz's eyes grew wide at seeing the food, which Ozzy noticed and smiled. "There's plenty of food," he said to him, sensing what the smaller being was thinking.

"It...smells really good," the jester said, inhaling deeply.

The larger being smiled and soon served two plates on the nearby table before going over to the counter and picking up the smaller being, setting him in a chair before sitting near him. "Is it okay if I feed you?" Ozzy asked Fizz gently.

Biting his lip and thinking for a moment, Fizz sighed and looked dejectedly at himself, knowing he would need help now that his limbs were gone. A gloved finger gently tilted his face back up to look at the larger being, who smiled gently. "After breakfast, we'll see about getting you some new limbs," he said. "And good ones too."

The jester perked up a bit at that and nodded. "Okay," he said. "Just...please don't belittle me."

"I would never," Ozzy said before feeding Fizz a bit of pancake.

The jester couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a full meal, but the larger being insisted on him eating everything on the plate in front of him and the smaller being had to admit the food was really good and when he finished everything on his plate, Ozzy served him a second helping of everything he had cooked. Fizz didn't complain, gladly eating it until he leaned back into the chair, sighing in satisfaction. "Come on, Fizz, just a couple more bites," the larger being said.

The jester chuckled. "Can't remember the last time I had a full meal like this," he admitted.

"Well, you won't be going hungry under my watch," Ozzy promised as Fizz ate the last two bites of his food. "Alright, let's go see about ordering you those new limbs. I want your opinion on them."

"Really?" The smaller being asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because unlike Mammon, I want you to have the best, especially if it's coming from my factories," the larger being said. "I make things to last, not break down. Cheap machinery breaks down and costs more to fix than to have good machinery that lasts."

Fizz liked that idea. "Okay," he said with a nod. "If you're sure."

Ozzy picked him up and then looked thoughtful. "Just a heads up, you're going to be a cyborg once the plates for your new prosthetics are in place. I can make them so that they attach easily and come off easily if need be." He then grew more thoughtful. "Need to make them waterproof and everything else too."

"Indestructible?" The jester asked, liking that idea.

"Not entirely, but to a point," Ozzy said.

"Can they be stretchy too?"

The larger being smiled. "Let's go see."

The larger being had not only personally created the jester's new limbs, but had been beside him when it was time to attach them along with the new plates for the prosthetics. Fizz had been afraid and the only thing keeping him from rolling off the operating table was Ozzy's hand behind his head, rubbing gently to calm him down. The doctors had made sure to numb his shoulders and his thighs, occasionally asking if he felt any pain from the procedure.

He hadn't and he noted that staying awake, though numbed up, had been worth it as Ozzy told him stories and helped take his mind off of everything.

Present day...

Ozzy was pulled from the flashback by small hands on his face and he looked to see it was Oliver, who looked concerned before signing with his hands.

"Ozzy? Are you okay?" He asked. "Fizz asked you about a board game to play and you didn't reply."

"Ah, sorry, little one," Ozzy replied, using sign language. "Got lost in thought. What board game do you want to play?"

"I'm not picky. Anything really. I'm kinda bored."

Ozzy smirked at his young charge. "Bored, are you?" He asked, lifting his hands and making goblin fingers at the boy.

Oliver's eyes widened and he quickly tried to scramble away, but the larger being caught him, tickling the boy's sides playfully and making him silently laugh and squirm around. Fizz chuckled as he watched them before seeing Oliver reach for him and the jester winked before springing up at Ozzy and tickling his neck, making the larger being howl with laughter and try to catch the jester, who jumped away and caught Oliver in his arms, the boy silently laughing in delight as Fizz took off down the hallway of their family friendly home, Ozzy following after them quickly before he reached out, catching them both in his arms.

"Gotcha!" He said with a grin.

Fizz laughed happily and Oliver's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter before he hugged his guardians, who hugged him back before setting them down and moving his hands in sign language again.

"Oliver, what would you say if I told you I could work on a device to help you hear our voices and others?" He asked. "Mind you, I don't mind speaking to you like this. I was just curious if you'd like that."

Oliver fell into thought. "Can you really do that?" He asked, his eyes hopeful.

Fizz gently touched Oliver's shoulder to get his attention and smiled. "Ozzy built my limbs, kiddo," he said to him. "He can build anything. He'll do it for you, but only if that's okay with you."

The boy was thoughtful before looking curious. "I've never been able to hear before," he admitted. "What will it be like?"

"Kind of hard to describe," Ozzy said truthfully. "It might be a bit overwhelming at first, but we'll help you get used to it. And I can even have a volume button on the side of the device so that if it gets too loud, you can turn down the volume."

Oliver bit his lip in thought before smiling and hugging Ozzy, who hugged him back and the boy nodded, signing the word 'please'. The larger being nodded. "Give it a couple weeks and I'll see what I can do," he said to the boy, who nodded.

Fizz smiled. "Was that what you were thinking about earlier, big guy?" He asked as he stretched up to Ozzy's shoulder while Oliver was content to be carried by his guardian.

"No," Ozzy said. "I was thinking about when we first met and how I made your limbs. Guess that gave me the idea to ask our little one about a device to help him hear."

"And we'll help him with adjusting, like how you helped me learn how to use my new limbs," Fizz said with a nod.

Both smiled as Ozzy carried both his favorite jester and his charge to the living room and pulled out some family board games, the afternoon passing quickly for them all.


Okay, originally this was just going to be a flashback, but the idea with Oliver came up too. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418