Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors. I really wish I did, but I don't. *sobs* I also wish I could draw like that… *sighs dreamily* but that's not gonna happen in this lifetime XD

Author's notes:
Me: Thanks for reading ^^ Sorry about the cliff hanger ending. Had no real idea how I was gonna continue *sweatdrops* Anyhoo, on with the fic!! Leon won't be making his appearance in this chappie.

Reader: So he is going to appear?

Me: Err… *sweatdrops* I'm not entirely sure about that…

Chapter Two

            "What is this?!" Ronnie gasped, whirling to face Count D. "Th-that's you! But-but how?! I mean you and him?!" she stammered, her gaze shifting from the raven haired man standing beside her to the one lying on the couch.

            At the sound of the writer's voice, the D that was comfortably reclining suddenly stiffened. Ronnie rubbed her eyes, and when that brief moment of blindness lapsed, her jaw dropped. It was no longer the pet shop owner that was on the plush furniture. Seated graciously with her arms on her lap was a sandy blonde woman. A pair of small glasses framed her green eyes, and her angular features stared back at the brown haired woman. Gone were the Chinese robes, replaced instead by a loose green cotton shirt and faded jeans.

            D only chuckled in amusement, he was used to seeing confusion and shock on his customers' faces, and Ronnie proved no different.

            "She… you… what the?" she gawked, her mind reeling. "Why is there a woman in here? I was expecting an animal."

            "It's not a human." D smiled, walking towards the blonde. "It's actually a very special breed of reptile."

            "I write romantic fiction, not science fiction." Ronnie clarified, and yet she found herself inching towards the creature. She noticed the blonde bore an uncanny resemblance to a character in one of her novels.

            "This is a reptile, a lizard actually. It's not dangerous, at least not in this condition." D assured her, and gestured that the writer touch the blonde.

            Trembling, she reached out to the seated bespectacled animal, and felt its scale-like texture brush beneath her fingers. The cool smoothness was a delicious feeling, and she soon found herself absently caressing its nape. Her eyes were locked in its green gaze, as if she wanted to drown in their endless depths.

            D nodded in approval when he saw the blonde nuzzle against the writer's arm.

            "It likes you." He said simply. "Are you interested in buying it?"

            Ronnie nodded, not even looking up at the count. She had seated herself beside the lizard, and it let her run her fingers through its sandy locks. D seemingly faded into the darkness and returned shortly after. In one hand he held a piece of paper, in the other a pen.

            "Of course, before I sell you this animal, you have to sign a contract." He informed her.

            "Certainly." She replied, forcing herself to face the count.

            "There are three conditions that you must always follow. If you were to break one of these, the pet shop will not be held accountable for anything."

            "What sort of conditions?"

            "First," he began, holding up one fine-boned finger. "You must burn a special incense everyday."

            "Incense, got it."

            "Second, feed it insects or fresh vegetables and water, nothing else."

            "Ah, it has a delicate constitution? Much like me." The writer joked, trying to lighten the somewhat formal demeanor the Count had taken.

            "And third, under no circumstance are you to lock it in a room smaller than this one."

            "Wait, the bedrooms in my flat aren't as large as this one, does that mean I can't close the doors?"

            "You may close the door, but you must never lock it."

            "Is it claustrophobic?" Ronnie blinked.

            Count D's eyes narrowed into jovial slits. "Will there be any problem with the stated conditions?"

            "I…" she trailed off unsurely, but her eyes fell upon the green eyed creature. "I'll follow them, I promise."

            "Very good. Please sign here." The Asian man pointed to the dotted line at the bottom of the contract. Nodding, Ronnie scribbled her signature then visibly paused.

            "One more question, if I may." She ventured.

            "Certainly, Miss Ronnie."

            "Is it female?" she whispered, somewhat fearing that she would offend the blonde creature.

            "Ah, it is still physically juvenile. It will take one more month for it to fully mature and until that time comes, one can't be sure of its gender." D chuckled.

            "What?!" the author gasped, "You mean to say it could be male? But… but it looks like a woman." She turned to her new pet and blinked once more in surprise. A red haired boy of twelve with the most curious blue eyes shyly approached her.

            "Will it keep doing that?" the writer giggled nervously, extending her hand to the youth.

            As always, D only smiled enigmatically.

            The trip back home was nothing short of unusual. Never having learned to drive, Ronnie always used public transportation to get around. D had given the lizard a special sedative, one that would supposedly regulate its transformations to a minimum.

            The romance novelist had to take a cab, as D explained the subway or busses might upset it. Almost every time they passed through a tunnel, Ronnie could feel something change in her pet. Mostly it was something minute, like the partition of the hair, or the richness of the eyes.

            But when the driver swerved abruptly to avoid a speeding motorcycle, the lizard's appearance took a drastic change. Hair so pale it was almost white flowed to his back, and the most terrified pair of serpentine green eyes stared into Ronnie's.

            "Ya crazy bum!! Ya don't own the road!!" the driver cussed out the window, too outraged to check how his customers fared.

            Ronnie gathered the frightened boy in her arms, stroking him like one would a child who woke up crying from a nightmare.

            "There, there. It's alright, I won't let anything harm you." She hushed. "No one is going to hurt you if I can help it."

            Gradually, the boy shifted into a girl with sun kissed hair and blue eyes.

            "What am I to do with you?" Ronnie laughed. "Maybe I should give you a name." She murmured just loud enough so only the two of them would hear.

            Trusting eyes shone in delight, and the girl nodded.

            "Let's see… if you don't mind, I'll name you after a character I made. Should I call you Alex? No, I made her into a gold digger who ends up in jail. Maybe Chris? No, he ended up deserting his friends when they needed him the most. Why not Gerry?"

            The girl stiffened and shook her head at the last name.

            "No, huh? Well I don't blame you, Gerry was my flat-mate. Hmm, let me rack my brain for a suitable name… how about Keith? I wrote her to be this orphaned girl who pretends to be a boy so she could survive the harsh world of the nineteen hundreds."

            The red haired girl snuggled close to Ronnie in approval.

            "Good choice, she ends up a wealthy gold mine owner who never gave up her individuality. Even after she got married."

            Finally, after some minutes of silence, the driver announced they reached their destination. They were at a moderately sized flat, where privacy was provided by the trees and plants growing around the compound.

            "Thanks." Ronnie said, handing the man a couple of bills. She felt a constant tug on the sleeve of her sweater, and found the red haired girl to be the source.

            "Yes, I'm coming, Keith." She laughed and proceeded in unlocking the door of their home.

            The door swung open into the living room. The place was sparsely decorated with random pictures and plastic knick knacks. The wide gaps between the furniture made the flat seem empty and somewhat broken.

            "I don't have much stuff," Ronnie explained, "But I have all the essentials for daily living like a tv and a microwave. Oh, do you want me to show you around?" she asked brightly. It didn't seem odd to the gray eyed woman that she was giving a guided tour of her home to her pet.

            "That is the living room, this is the kitchen, here's the bathroom, this is my workspace and these are the bedrooms." Ronnie dramatically gestured to two doors. With a flourish, she opened one of the doors to reveal a small room. Inside was a single-sized bed, a small closet and the rest of the walls were lined with shelves of books. "I wrote five of the books in there. The rest are romance novels of my favorite authors." She grinned sheepishly.

            Keith took in everything with genuine interest. The red haired girl padded to the other door to see what was behind it. But upon touching the knob, she gave a small shriek and held her hand as if burnt.

            "What happened?" Ronnie gasped, rushing to her pet's side. "Are you hurt?"

            The red haired girl answered in the negative, and showed her pale, smooth palm as proof.

            "Are you sure you're alright? Well, that's Gerry's room. Do you want to see what's inside?"

            Keith shook her head and clung to her owner for protection.

            "Alright, alright, I wont force you. I was going to let you sleep in Gerry's room. But if you don't want to be in it, you can sleep in my room."

            The girl brightened and nuzzled her cheek against Ronnie's arm. The writer laughed, "You're so sweet, I don't think I need another month to tell me you're a girl."

            Keith snuggled closer in response.