The Defective Heart

The garish light was almost blinding to his sensitive eyes. It stung his eyes as he recalls the last time he saw his sister. Both Fizz and Verosika were wrong in thinking Blitzo never cared. Blitzo did care and if he had to be honest with himself, he cared a little too much, loved a little too hard, and let the fear of disappointment ruin him. Blitzo remembers these stark white corridors and waking up alone, in a hospital room. A single naked lightbulb swinging over his head. Gritting his teeth, he soon realized he was strapped down onto a hard bed. His head felt woozy. He had to be given a butt-load of sedatives. He groans as the pain relievers wear off. Half of his body is burned, a bandage was wrapped over his left eye. And life looked abysmal to the young fifteen-year-old. Dried tears crested his eyes, making them burn and sting. He wanted to die. He was in so much pain and agony.

And the horrible part, the part he couldn't stand, was that no one knew where he was or how he got here. There wasn't much left back at Loo-Loo-land. Blitzo feared what Mammon would do once he got word that his amusement park went up in flames. Blitzo shudders. he could barely move, barely speak. His ribs were broken, wrapped in gauze. He lifted a shaky hand, closing his eyes as he felt the crude stitches in his chest. Blitzo was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV drip. His amber eyes glaze over as he searches the empty room with a pitiful gaze.

A shadowy hand reaches out, gripping his wrist. Blitzo's eyes fill with tears as his lower lip wobbles as his gaze fell into his sister's tired eyes. She had been with him, never leaving his side, unless nature calls. Never straying too far.

"Are you okay?" she asks past the forming lump that lodged in her throat. Blinking past tears, Blitzo could only nod. His throat feeling raw. He sqeeze her hand.

Barbie-Wire took a shuddering breath. "Don't worry B, I'm here and I'll take care of everything. You're my twin after all," Barbie says while reaching up. She gently wiped a stray tear from Blitzo's eye.

"You're my hero Blitz. If you didn't push me out of the way, I would've met a grisly fate. I owe you my life, brother." said Barbie. " What are brother's for" Blitzo answers. "Where's Fizz?" Blitzo asks, wincing with a sudden twinge of pain. "He's in bad-shape, little brother," Barbie replies, but it's not your fault she rushes to reassure him. " What you two did could've cost you your lives. You're both lucky to be alive"

"Your lucky to be alive little B," " Who all died in the fire Barbie?" at first Barbie didn't look at him. She had lost so much in the span of forty-eight hours.

Barbie-Wire didn't look him in the eye. Swallowing thickly, she fought to get the words out of her mouth. That's when Blitzo realized something was dreadfully wrong. Where was his mother?. His mother wasn't here. He felt dread fill his stomach and his heart sank. His hand shook as his fingers ran over the stitches. His body flared with pain as a scream bubbled up his throat. He had killed his own mother in a reckless act of defiance. He had severely hurt his best friend. Even though it was Fizz's hair-brained scheme to surprise Mammon with a going away talent show. Barbie couldn't form the sentence that lingered in Blitzo's mind. She didn't have to say a word. Blitzo just knew. What could be worse than knowing he had inadvertently killed his beloved mother?

Barbie-Wire rubs circles in his hand. She was two hours and nine minutes older than he was. She would often gloat about it. Grinding in that because she was older, she was always right. Oh Satan, how she hated being right tonight. It was bad enough she lost a mother. If the paramedics hadn't pulled Blitzo out when they did, she would've lost him too.

They were all each other had left now. Their father was a lost cause, never sticking around. He had sent Tilla money to feed the children, but he never really wanted to hold them. And he especially hated Blitzo, born with a heart defect. He saw his son as weak and it was the defenseless who were often killed for food. Tilla had run away, taking her children. She sought refuge in a traveling circus where she raised twins. Now that Tilla was gone, it was up to Barbie-Wire to fix this. " She'll always be with us. She's right here, Blitz, Barbie spoke, pressing her palm against her brother's chest. " Mom wanted me to give you this, as a birthday gift," Says Barbie, pulling out a little black oblong box. The scarlet imp bows his head. "You open it for me. "his voice is hollow and devoid of emotion. Barbie-Wire opens the box and there sat Tilla's red skull choker: a crimson gleam catching Blitzo's eye. " Take it away from me, I don't deserve this Barbie, you take it, she was your mother too" " She was, but this is your gift, your inheritance, little B, don't blemish her memory with your refusal" " you're not alone Blitzo, I'll always be there for your Fizz, he'll forgive you. It was as much as his fault as it was yours.

_

Blitzo grew up loud and bombastic. He was seventeen now, with plans for starting his own business. Blitzo found it strange being alone around Fizz. he could never find the right words to apologize. The scarlet imp felt uneasy as he had just pawed through his sister's mail to find that his wayward father was in town. Stag had head about Tilla's death. But that's not what brought him to the greed ring. What had driven him out of his rat hole was who had received her heart from his deceased wife. A wife who had lied to him, and told him that his son was a still born to keep him from putting the impling out his misery when it was revealed to the nomad that his son was born sickly.

A wife who had divorced him over twelve years ago when the twins were born. To put it simply, he went out for a pack of cigarettes and a gallon of milk and never returned. Until now. He was coming to collect on Tilla's life insurance, and turn his children over to Cam, a social security worker who worked for the Ring of Greed. Among the other rings, Cam was known as a crude negotiator. He wasn't expecting Barbie-Wire to take charge. nor Fizzorolli to speak out against him. " Stop this foolishness and quit hiding behind your sister. Man up Blitzo for once in your pathetic life," Stag sneers. "Fuck off, old man. Neither of us wants anything to do with you, let alone see your ugly face. Go lick someone's ass and stay out of our lives. It's bad enough here, hisses Blitzo. " Call off your bitch boy, growls stag. " Don't fucking call her that, you sorry excuse. A rat has more decency than you," Blitz snarls, his eyes alight with a fevered hatred as Barbie pulls him behind her back.

"Grab your shit and go!" Barbie snaps, a feral hiss in the back of her throat, trying to keep Blitz from maiming his father. From within the big top, Fizz's eyes narrow. His new extensions were in the mail courtesy of Ausmodeous. Fizz was wheelchair bound for the time being. His ears burn with rage. Fizz grins with his teeth. What the hell was going on?. did Stag really think he could split the twins up? If he did, he'd never see his best friend again. Blitz had stayed with him through the horrific surgery. despite being attached to a heart monitor.

Fizzorolli didn't want that. He wanted to keep Blitzo around, if anything, to rub it in his face that he wouldn't be here much longer. He wanted to keep Blitzo all to himself. The young harlequin had suffered through a lot, and he wasn't even an adult yet. Stag sneers, barreling his chest up to Barbie, and narrowing his eyes at his daughter. " Is that a challenge, little girl?" "No asshole its a promise!" Snarls Barbie. _

It had been three weeks since they had last seen Stag, but he was always around. It unnerved Blitzo to see his father so nonchalant. When Barbie was always there for him, encouraging him, and supporting him from the shadows. Even when Blitzo found he couldn't do the same for her, that no matter how hard he tried, he kept messing things up.

It hurt, it physically hurt, her to see her brother crumbling before her eyes and falling apart and down the seams. She knew he blamed himself. Barbie also knew that she had to keep her brother away from Stag. Tilla was the reason he was alive, why Barbie tried so hard to keep Blitzo from falling apart. She didn't know how to comfort her grieving brother, and Stag was only making things worse.

Fizzorolli was the embodiment of a toxic relationship. He strung Blitzo along like a lovesick fool. He was the one who introduced Blitzo to the limelight. Fizz was looking to sell Blitzo's image to Lord Mammon or Ausmodeous. Whichever paid the highest. Fizz made a promise to himself while back in the hospital. He would get even with Blitzo. No Robo-Fizz would be complete without a broken-hearted harlequin. It took months of Barbie laying down the law, putting her foot down and refusing to have Fizzorolli over. the clown was trying to take away the only family she had left. Eventually, she pried her brother's eyes open to the surrounding truth. They avoided Fizzorolli like the plague. Fizz couldn't sell Blitz if he couldn't find him.

Blitzo was torn between the love of a sister and the tight friendship of a best friend. It was hard for Blitzo to admit to himself that Fizz was just using him.

On a chilly night, the theme park was empty and Blitzo was just walking around shutting things down and was readying himself to head back to the trailer park that was located nearby. Barbie wanted him by a certain time, and he was already running late.

A shadow lurks in the darkness, his glowing green eyes locked on Blitzo. A row of jagged, illuminated by the dying lights of the theme park. " You've been avoiding me, my melancholy friend" "it's just your image. We could be rich, kings in our own right" " Are you going to let your sister fight your battles, BlitzO, or isn't your mother's heart strong enough to wrestle me, if I win, I get to sell your image, and then I get to tell you I told you so when we're basking in the limelight's glow. "Fizz, Barbie's right, you don't know what you're doing!, the last time you got that look in your eyes you set Loo-Loo land aflame with that botched stunt. " We set Loo-Loo land aflame," Fizz growls, pouncing on Blitzo slamming his back to the ground. A clawed hand disappears up his shirt. Fizz rubs Blitzo's chest, straddling his waist. Ugh! stop it Fizz, get your hand out of there!" Blitzo growls. Fizz uses one claw to tear his shirt open, bitting off the buttons with his mouth. " It's a win - win, BlitzO, unless this is how you repay me after all of my hard work. It was I who talked to Mammon. I am the one who got you this job. I'm the one taking care of you, not Barbie!. I'm the one keeping your father at bay. Cam is right outside these steel doors. "Your safe inside Loo-Loo-land BlitzO nowhere else, unless you sell me your image so will never be apart. " I need you BlitzO, I want you. Can't you see how delusional your sister has become? And how easy it is for us to be together, to stay together. " Just ditch your sister" Blitzo shudders, feeling Fizzorolli's hot breath ghost along his neck. Blitzo closes his eyes and moans and the jester grins down at him. " I'll make you pay for you've done to me, Fizzorolli sneers into his ear. "your mine. Whatever fancy little delusions you have masquerading as dreams needs to die BlitzO"

Fizzorolli was never the same. He was always hurting Blitzo to get a laugh, then blaming Blitzo for hurting himself when the jokes cut too deep. It sickened Barbie to see Blitzo being strung along like a hapless marionette. Fizz would lie in on thick too, especially when both Lord Mammon and King Ausmodeous paid a visit. Fizzorolli knew in his head that he'd get Blitzo to join him. He had a way of getting to the Harlequin that most didn't have access to and if it was for King Ausmodeous stepping in a buying the lewd creature, he might've succeeded and she would have lost her brother to the inane clown. When Fizzorolli was gone, the only left one. Their father, Stag and Cam. Not to mention, she was beginning to see the telltale signs that her brother was substance abusing. Drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Blitzo began cutting. His face would lose all color. Barbie threw out all the razors when she caught her brother in the bathtub. His head bobbing above the waterline. slit wrists, blood spider-webbing across the tile. It broke her heart.

Barbie herself had nowhere to turn to. Bills were piling up and Mammon was breathing down her neck. She tries to cheer him up, tells him she loves him and kisses his bandages. But she was reaching her breaking point. That's when she thought one drop of Beelzebub juice wouldn't hurt her. Boy, was she wrong. Stag had slipped into the park late at night, and wraps at the door. Through the grief and misery Barbie was thinking about her brother. Blitzo opens his eyes as he feels someone crawl across him. Reaching out, Blitzo pulls Barbie to his chest and places her head above his heart and closes his eyes. He doesn't say a word as Barbie burrows his head into his chest. " I failed you, I failed mom, I'm nothing more than a washed up, rodeo clown, you're better than me" " Shut up before I slap you," Barbie says grumpily. "I'd never forgive you if you took my brother away from me" she told him sternly, searching his eyes. Will get through this together, like we do everything else"