(*FUN FACT: THIS WAS THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE SHOW I EVER SAW. *)

SO YOU SKINK YOU CAN DANCE

THE MONSTER TRUDGED THROUGH THE CITY, CRUSHING CARS AND TRUCKS beneath its massive feet. Its loud roars shattered windows, each heavy footfall shattered the concrete. People scattered like cockroaches, no more than ants to the monster. Its roars could be heard for miles.

The military had been called in to stop the monster, but everything they tried had failed. Their bullets did little more than tickle the monster's thick hide; the tank shells barely felt like a bee sting. The helicopters were the equivalent of annoying flies to the monster, nothing a flick of the tongue and a few bites couldn't solve.

Nothing was safe from the monster's rampage.

################################

Vinnie sat in front of the television, transfixed by what he was seeing. Monster movies were so much fun to watch – all the destruction, the monster or monsters tearing everything up and beating each other like they were pro wrestlers. He loved watching the cities crumble beneath the monsters and watching the people running away in terror.

The only thing he liked more was being able to hear it. The volume was so low that he could barely hear the people screaming and the monster roaring. Now if only he could find the remote.

He was expecting it to be in its normal spot, right next to the television on the wheely-cart thing. But it wasn't there; at least, not that he could see.

The remote control for the television was gone!

"Where is it?" he asked frantically as he ran around the day camp, turning over beds and pillows, looking under and in kibble bowls. He looked in the fire hydrant, the exercise tubes, the tree, but the remote was nowhere to be found. "What have you all done with it? WHERE IS THE REMOTE CONTROL!"

Blythe had come into the room just as Vinnie had begun his little tirade. "What's his problem?" she asked.

Sunil latched onto her leg, trying to get as far away from Vinnie as he could. "Happens every week. Someone walks off with the remote control for the TV. Vinnie gets upset if he can't hear his favorite monster movie or watch his favorite show."

"What show? You mean Shake-A-Leg?" Blythe asked. "I'll be honest, I don't really care for it all that much."

"Hush!" Sunil shouted. "Never, never, EVER EVER EVER let Vinnie hear you say that! He thinks it's the best reality show dance competition on TV."

Pepper dropped the remote next to Vinnie and cowered, covering her head with her front paws and tail. "HereitisVinnieI'msorryIforgotIhadit!" she said hurriedly.

Vinnie picked up the remote, turned up the volume, and changed the channel. Everyone slowly came out of hiding and observed the mess Vinnie had made – kibble was strewn everywhere, bowls were shattered, water leaked from several bottles, the exercise tubes were busted, the arm chair was torn, the fire hydrant had been broken in two, the tree was missing several limbs and its tire was flattened, beds were torn apart and left their fluff all over the place, and yet there Vinnie was, ignoring the mess he made just because he wanted the remote control.

"Don't make me plead and don't make me beg," the announcer said, "what's the name of the show?"

"Shake-A-Leg!" Vinnie cheered along with the television audience.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Blythe said as she started to clean up. "You guys go through this every week?"

"Pretty much," Sunil answered. "It's sort of a ritual."

"Yeah, and it leaves us with a huge mess," Pepper said. She started eating some of the kibble on the floor. "But you can't argue with free kibble. Am I right, Minka?"

"Kibble kibble kibble kibble kibble," Minka cheered as she threw pieces of pet kibble into her mouth.

"Not to be a bother to anyone," Zoe said as she hung from the roof, "but could somebody kindly help me down?"

Minka swallowed the food in her mouth. "Coming right up!" She hopped up what was left of the tree, leaped, and latched onto Zoe, pulling her down from the roof. "There we go. Wish we had a trampoline. That would be fun."

Russell cleaned some kibble and bed fluff off of his fur and out of his quills. "Okay, that's it. This madness with the remote has to stop. That thing needs a permanent home. Mrs. Twombly always has to clean up after that crazed gecko because he goes on a rampage every week at seven! Six central."

"Um, you guys are aware of DVR, right?" Blythe asked. "Record it. That way, Vinnie will never miss an episode. Besides, it's on DVD. If a gecko can learn how to work a TV remote, I'm sure he can learn how to work a DVD player. Right, Vinnie?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," Vinnie said as he danced along with the people on the television, clearly not listening.

"Yeah, we would," Pepper said. "But there's a problem."

"It doesn't work?" Blythe asked. "I think I can get Jasper to help fix it."

"No, it works just fine," Pepper replied. "It's just that a certain hedgehog filled its memory with every episode of The Duchess of Lancashire Lane. Why not something cool, like Game of Thrones or Transformers Prime?"

"Those shows are way too violent," Russell protested. "Besides, DLL is the classic tale of a young duchess and her trials and tribulations on Lancashire Lane." He then added, in a fake British accent: "I'll naught have it deleted."

Vinnie let out a loud scream, startling Russell and forcing him to roll into a ball. "What is that guy's deal? Is there even a brain in that head of his? When he does his four-in-one, he needs to do a three-eighths turn, not one-quarter! For crying out loud, I thought everyone knew this!"

An idea came to Blythe, something she hadn't even considered until just now. She remembered earlier her father telling her something about going across country, and she knew exactly what to do. She knew that she had to get Vinnie to come along, knew that he would not want to miss out on this opportunity.

"Hey Vinnie." Vinnie put up a pad, silencing her. "Uh, what?"

"Three, two, one, and….Commercial." He turned to Blythe. "You say something?"

"Well, the other pets were just telling me that you really like this show."

"Are you kidding? I don't just like it. This show is my life. It's the reason Benjamin Franklin invented television in the first place."

"I think you got your inventors mixed up there, Vinnie."

"I do?"

"Not important. Anyway, sometimes my dad can take me along on his trips, as long as it's not during school and he's not going to be away for a week or more. And I know that next week he's going to Los Angeles."

"Yeah, cool, say hi to Tara Strong and David Kaye if you happen to see them, commercial's almost done. Show comes back in thirty seconds."

"Vinnie, how would you like to come with me and my dad to Los Angeles and see a taping of Shake-A-Leg? Live. On location. In Hollywood."

Vinnie fell silent. His bulbous gecko eyes remained glued to the television. His forelegs fell slack.

And then he let out a scream so loud and so high-pitched it rattled the windows and Zoe's eardrums.

He began happily bouncing around the room, chanting: "I'm going to Hollywood! I'm going to Hollywood!"

"I guess there are two things that set him off," Russell said flatly as everyone moved to get out of Vinnie's way…again.

##################################

Three days later, Blythe was on the plane, ready to go to Los Angeles. She had a window seat, allowing her to see outside or let some sunlight in while she read her book – anything to help her ignore the balding man seated next to her. She'd put Vinnie in a pet carrier, which was now situated under the seat in front of her. She was about to put in her iPod and listen to some music – she was in the mood for Skillet – when she heard Vinnie calling out to her.

"Are we there yet?"

"We haven't even left the airport yet," Blythe replied, keeping her voice down so no one else could hear her. "Just relax."

Just then, Roger's voice came over the PA system. "This is your pilot, Rockin' Roger speaking. We'll be boogying right out of here in two shakes of a fish's tail….Just as soon as our toilet paper supplies have been refilled." Blythe cringed; couldn't he have made another announcement, like he was waiting on his copilot or something? "Could be worse," Roger continued. "Last month they didn't put enough gas in the plane. How do you manage to pull that one off? It's, like, Number Two on the 'Ready To Leave' checklist, right after your keys."

Blythe smacked her hand against her forehead. Really, Dad? Do you say this on every flight?

"I can't wait," Vinnie said from inside his pet carrier. "Can you believe that we're going to go see a live taping of Shake-A-Leg?"

Blythe got down on the floor and reached a hand into the little crate, making it look like she was petting him. "That can't be the only thing you want to do," she said quietly. "Visit Hollywood Boulevard? Learn how to surf? Go swimming with some sharks?"

"No, no, and definitely no," Vinnie replied. "Just my show – that's all that matters!"

Blythe rolled her eyes.

####################################

It took them a while, but they had finally finished cleaning up the mess that Vinnie had made. Everything had been put back where it was supposed to be, all the kibble had been cleaned up, and Mrs. Twombly had fixed the armchair again – last time was when Penny Ling nearly ripped it in half during a fit of rage – and that would have been the end of it, had Russell not insisted that they spend every minute the last three days looking to make sure that everything was exactly the way it was before Vinnie's rampage.

Minka hopped down from the tree. "I've got it! I know how we can solve our remote control problem!"

"How's that, Minka?" Sunil asked.

"Well," Minka said, "I figured we're always losing it, so maybe we should always keep it in a place where we'll always know where it is, and no one – and by no one, I mean Vinnie – will destroy Day Camp looking for it."

"Great idea," Penny Ling said. "But just one question: Where are we going to keep it?"

"Follow me," Minka said as she hurried out the little pet door leading onto the shop floor. The other pets followed close behind her. She pointed up to one of the air vents, pointing to a small black object wedged between the blades.

The remote control.

"Not a bad idea, Minka," Russell said. "Just one question."

"And just one answer."

"How, pray tell, are we supposed to USE the remote when we can't reach it!"

"One step ahead of you, Mr. Needlemouse," Minka said. She climbed up a nearby table, leaped off of it, jumped off of a shelf, off of one of the rails of the upper level, swung off the chandelier, and pulled the remote out of the vent. "See? What'd I –" The air vent opened, the sudden gust pushing her off before she could finish her sentence.

#################################

The four hour flight was over, and Blythe and Roger had taken some time to stretch their legs before going to the television studio. It wasn't that far of a walk from Hollywood Boulevard, and was situated on a lot encompassing around five thousand square feet. The parking lot was filled with cars belonging to staff, crew, and viewers who had paid hundreds of dollars for tickets – the show wasn't even supposed to start filming for another six hours.

The building itself was tall in the center with a wide base. Two satellite antennae and a radio tower were built onto the roof. The main colors were beige and peach, and they made the building look like it was wearing one of those striped uniforms people in prison wore back during the 1920's. A large billboard was hanging off of the front, showing two dancing people with the words "SHAKE-A-LEG" underneath. Come tonight, the sign would be lit up, the lights glowing for miles.

Blythe, Roger, and Vinnie were part of a small group of tourists who had come for the live taping. So far they'd seen the judges' seats, the audience bleachers, and the main stage.

"Now that we've gotten a look at the set," the tour guide said, "let's shake-a-leg – see what I did there – to the parking lot. There you can see the oil stains left by some of the dancers' cars."

So enthusiastic about a stain on the ground, Blythe said as she cradled Vinnie in her arms. She moved with the group, not wanting to get left behind.

"I can't believe we're actually here, Blythe," Vinnie said, stopping her. He spotted some of the dancers stretching out their arms, legs, and backs, getting ready for this evening. "Look! There's Igor Tokamanov, and Igor Posakov! And Igor Kokolov!"

"Back up a minute," Blythe said as she followed Vinnie's pads as he pointed to the three tall, handsome men scattered around the stage. "Do you mean to tell me that all the dancers are named Igor Something-Or-Other?"

"Of course not," Vinnie said as he pointed to two exceptionally beautiful women. "There's Karina Tamalov, and Karina Mishnev, and Karina Ivanov – don't see her around anywhere. I've been watching these guys dance since my first molt. And now here they are, in person, standing right in front of me!"

"They're so graceful and lithe," Blythe pointed out. "Kind of makes you wonder how they maintain their composure with all these cameras pointing at them."

"These guys are professionals," Vinnie said as he leaped out of Blythe's arms. "They're so focused on what they're doing that they don't even notice the cameras. Not everyone's as camera shy as you are, Blythe."

How true that statement was. If Blythe so much as saw a camera, be it a simple Kodak or a video camera, she froze up. There was just something about knowing that either now or sometime later on down the line, at least one person was going to be seeing her on film. It didn't exactly terrify her, but it did make her feel incredibly self-conscious when she really had no reason to feel that way. Ironic, considering that when she was younger, Blythe always wanted to be on television.

"For them," Vinnie continued, "it's all about the dancing."

"Yeah, I'd like to get past my camera shyness," Blythe said, "but I don't see it happening any time soon."

"Not me," Vinnie replied. "I'd go on TV in a heartbeat just to have a chance to dance with these living legends. Blythe, thank you so much. I may not be on TV, but just being here to watch my idols in person means the world to me."

"What are friends for? Now let's make your dreams even better and go get some autographs!"

######################################

Pepper came bouncing into the room, holding a small stool in her tail.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed.

"I am afraid to ask exactly what you have got," Sunil said.

Pepper flipped the stool over her head and planted it on the ground. She brushed the fur and dust off of the top with a paw. "Introducing the Peppermatic 2000 Version 4.0 Beta! Whenever looking for your remote control, you'll always be able to find it on the Pepermatic 2000 Version 4.0 Beta! That'll be forty-nine ninety-nine, plus tax."

"I'll take three," Penny Ling spoke up.

Pepper chuckled. "I was joking about the price. I'm not trying to sell this thing. I'm using it to solve our constantly losing-the-remote-followed-by-Vinnie-losing-his-temper problem. Let's demonstrate. I need a guinea pig. Russell, would you mind?"

"What are you trying to insinuate?" Russell asked. "That just because I'm a hedgehog I'm related to a guinea pig?"

"No, Rusty," Pepper said with a laugh. "I'm asking you to be our Vinnie for a few moments."

Russell rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay."

"Here's your motivation," Pepper said. "Your favorite show is on. You want to watch it, but you can't change the channel because you can't find the remote. Duchess of Lancashire Lane comes on in less than thirty seconds and it's a brand new episode. You have ten seconds to find the remote. And…GO!"

Russell was off in a flash, racing around the room, knocking things over, throwing toys everywhere, disorganizing beds and pillows – not exactly like Vinnie's outbursts, but it was close enough for a demonstration; after all, Russell didn't want to ruin the hard work they'd done fixing the day camp up after Vinnie's last outburst the other day.

He turned to the stool Pepper had brought, saw the remote sitting on top. He ran over to the stool and grabbed the remote in his paws; pulled as hard as he could.

The remote wouldn't budge. He pulled and pulled as hard as he could, using all of his hedgehog strength, but only succeeded in tiring himself out.

Russell collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. Pepper stood over him, laughing.

"I glued it to the stool," she said as she laughed. "We'll never lose this thing now."

Russell slowly climbed to his paws and tried to pull the remote off the stool again, glaring at Pepper the entire time.

"Pepper, there's no way we can use it now, either!" he cried.

Pepper's eyes went wide. "Ooh, I hadn't thought of that. Anyone know how we can remove a remote that's been superglued to a stool?"

Russell smacked a paw against his forehead.

#####################################

Blythe was surprised at how kind and friendly all the dancers and the staff were. She was expecting them to be more jerkish, only caring about how good they looked on television and how much money they were getting from the studio. Instead, they treated Blythe with the same respect they would a friend of theirs, even though she didn't even know anyone's names until Vinnie had pointed them out. The three Igors never spoke down to her and one of them – she forgot which one; a slight problem when everyone has the same first name – continually called her Miss Blythe, and the three Karinas – the third one had just come out of her dressing room – were so kind that Blythe was a little taken aback.

She was now carrying a stack of signed pictures from all six of the dancers. She shook hands with one of the Karinas before heading back over to Vinnie, who was waiting impatiently by one of the stage lights.

"Wow," he breathed as he took the photos from Blythe. "I can't believe you got them all, Blythe."

"It wasn't easy," Blythe said. "When everyone's got the same first name, it's hard to tell who's who."

"Who cares? You got me autographs from every dancer on the show! This is a dream come true! How can this day get any better?"

"I don't know," Blythe said coyly. "Maybe by meeting…THE JUDGES!"

Vinnie's already huge eyes got even bigger with surprise. He started hyperventilating with excitement. He looked around, spotting the judges' table nearby.

"Oh my good gecko gosh!"

"Go dance for them," Blythe suggested. "If they like you, maybe they'll put you on TV as a guest dancer or something."

"You think so?"

"It's worth a shot. I can't stand being in front of cameras, but you don't have any problem with that. Come on, just try it. This is your big chance to show the world just how great of a dancer Vinnie Terrio really is."

Vinnie's eyes narrowed in determination as he turned to the judges. He held his pictures out to Blythe. "Hold my autographs." The second the pictures left his pads, he strutted his way over to the judges' table. He climbed to the top of the table.

Vinnie being there surprised the judges; two of them simply stared at him, the third one spit his coffee out, hitting the other judge in the face.

"And….What, exactly, do we have here?" one of the judges asked.

Vinnie took a deep breath, calming him down from the excitement, and began to dance. The judges watched in both amazement and confusion as Vinnie moved, his feet almost a blue as he twisted and spun his body. He struck one final pose, kneeling down and with his arms outstretched, waiting for their critique.

"Okay, I'll be honest with you," the female judge said. "That was totally disjointed and lacked any sort of emotion. Probably because you're just a lizard."

"The problem is," one of the male judges added, "the actual routine was awful. He waddled out like some duckling who had just hatched."

"Look, little fella," the third judge – the other male judge – said. "You can't just wave your arms around like you're someone's pet bird. Whoever trained you needs to start over."

"No, this pet lizard just needs to go back to whatever pet shop he came from. This is a show for humans, not animals."

Vinnie was heartbroken. He was expecting them to praise him, but instead, they ridiculed him, gave him a negative critique. How could they? They were supposed to be impressed; they were supposed to like him; they were supposed to give him a spot on the show! Instead of seeing a talented gecko, all they saw was a regular gecko.

His tiny lizard heart was shattered. It had been his dream to be on this show, to dance alongside his idols, his icons, to be a star and show the world that a gecko could be just as talented as a human being.

And now his dreams had been shattered.

Now his dreams had been destroyed.

He slowly walked away from the table, tears filling his eyes, not caring that he had fallen to the floor, not caring that Blythe was still wearing that pretty smile of hers or holding his souvenirs. He felt like he had no more reason to live.

"How'd it go?" Blythe asked. Her smile faded when she saw Vinnie's downtrodden face.

"They think I'm just a trained pet," Vinnie said quietly. "What was I thinking, trying to impress them? No one's going to take a GECKO seriously as a dancer."

"Wow, Vinnie. I – I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I planted that idea into your head."

"No, Blythe. I had wanted to do this since I started watching this show. But now…." His voice trailed off.

Blythe was about to say something when Roger came running up to her, dressed in a shirt and hat and carrying flags bearing the show's logo.

"This is the best trip ever!" he laughed. "Why didn't I think of this before? I'm gonna go get some more posters. You want one, Blythe?"

"No thanks, Dad," Blythe said. "I think my walls are already full."

"Suit yourself, more for me." He ran off, giggling with glee the entire time.

Blythe turned to Vinnie, but Vinnie was gone! She looked around, barely managing to see him exit out of one of the back doors and into an alleyway.

She felt so sorry for him. Sorry, and guilty. If she hadn't asked him to come out here, if she hadn't told him to dance for the judges, he wouldn't be so upset. He would still be his normal self, laughing and smiling and just being the lovable goofball she knew him as. But the way he was acting now….It worried her. It scared her. She was afraid he was losing the will to live, and in an alley like that, in a city as large as this one – one nearly five times the size of Downtown City – who knew what sort of trouble he was going to get himself into.

####################################

The pets had spent the last few hours racking their brains, trying to figure out how to keep the remote in plain sight so Vinnie didn't have another outburst when he came back. They'd managed to get the remote unstuck from the stool – it wasn't easy, and they nearly broke the remote with that screwdriver – and now the room had gone silent as everyone had gone off by themselves to think.

Penny Ling sat on the arm chair, tapping a paw against her chin.

"Can we put a leash on the remote?" she asked. "We wouldn't lose it that way."

"The remote isn't a dog, Penny Ling," Minka said. "Besides, you can't walk a remote. It doesn't have legs."

"Minka's right," Pepper put in. "You really need to think these things through."

I didn't hear anyone else coming up with any ideas, Penny Ling thought.

"Are you still on about this remote control business?" Zoe asked. She had been in the fire hydrant, chewing on one of her toys. "Well, you need not worry any longer, for Zoe has already taken care of it."

"Huh?"

"It was so simple, actually," Zoe continued. "Since Vinnie has a fit every time his favorite show is on, I simply got rid of the TV."

The other pets stared at her, their eyes wide, their jaws dropped. "What?" Zoe asked when she saw their faces.

"Zoe, what did you do?" Russell asked. Sunil screamed and fell back, fainting in shock.

"It was on that little rolling cart thing, so I just wheeled it out the door and out of sight," Zoe answered.

"Zoe, think about this for a minute," Russell said. "Vinnie goes ape when he can't find the remote, right? What do you think will happen if he can't find the TELEVISION!"

"Oh, well, I, uh….Oh, wow, I hadn't thought of that." Russell chattered in annoyance. "I'll be right back; gonna go get the TV." She sidled away, a worried look on her face, silently scolding herself for being so foolish.

###################################

Vinnie had come back into the building, and was now sitting against the wall, a trash can nearby. He was looking at his signed photographs, wondering if they were even worth it anymore now that he had been ridiculed by the judges. He sobbed as he stared down at the six pictures, before dropping them in the trash can.

"There you are, Vinnie." He looked up, saw Blythe standing in the doorway, a glittery blue dress draped over one arm. "You mind telling me why you're throwing your autographed photos away?"

"I'm done dancing," Vinnie said softly. "I always thought it was what I was meant to do. It always gave me so much pleasure. But let's face reality, Blythe. I'm an animal, not a dancer. So, uh, what's with the outfit?"

"Bought it in the gift shop. I was thinking I could use it as a base to make you a dance outfit of your own. Who knows – maybe those judges will take you more seriously if you look the part."

A stage hand walked past, shadowed by the dancers. "First up is Igor Pokamanov and Karina Ivanav. Then Igor Poskov and Karina Mishnev. And then Igor Komakalov and Karina Tartarov."

One of the Igors spoke up. "I'm supposed to dance with Karina Mishnev."

One of the Karinas spoke up. "And I must dance with Igor Komakalov."

Another of the Igors spoke up. "If you dance with him, then who am I going to be dancing with?"

"You're supposed to be dancing with Karina Tartarov," one of the Karinas said.

Someone didn't read the schedule, Blythe thought as she watched the scene unfold.

"Wait a minute," the stagehand said. She flipped through the papers on her clipboard. "Oh shoot, I forgot that Karina Tartarov is on vacation." The other dancers moaned in annoyance; one of the Igors smacked a hand against his forehead. "We'll figure something out, folks, we're on in less than ten seconds."

Blythe heard the announcer's voice come over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, don't make me plead and don't make me beg, what's the name of the show?"

"Wow. Sounds like a full house out there," Blythe said.

The stagehand turned to her. "You. Your name Karina?"

"No, it's Blythe."

"Close enough. Get that costume on now, you're our third dancer."

"Wait, hold on, you've got the wrong girl! I don't dance!"

"You do now. Hair and makeup!"

Blythe turned to Vinnie as two more stagehands approached. "Vinnie, you have to help me! I can't go out there I front of…CAMERAS!"

"Didn't you tell me you always wanted to be on TV? At least one of us can live their dreams tonight." He turned and walked towards the door, just as the stagehands forcibly escorted Blythe to the dressing rooms.

#################################

It had just stared to rain. But the rain didn't bother Vinnie; he was still feeling upset about what happened earlier. He felt as though nothing could cheer him up. Not here, and not back at Day Camp. It didn't matter if he was watching his favorite monster movies, or if he was just spending time with his best friend Sunil. His dreams had been destroyed; how could he ever be happy again?

####################################

The other pets had gone out to help Zoe get the television back, leaving Russell alone to think of a way to keep Vinnie from going nuts again. He'd even considered building a second Littlest Pet Shop across the street to hide from Vinnie when Shake-A-Leg came on.

"We got the TV back," Minka announced as the other pets came through the door, wheeling the television along with them.

"Great!" He plugged the television into the wall and turned it on, only to be greeted with a screen he'd never seen before. " 'Enter date and time'?" He picked up the remote and studied the buttons, but all he knew was how to change the channel and the volume. "Does anyone know how to program a TV?"

"I do not, but I think Mrs. Twombly did it last time," Sunil said.

"Guys," Penny Ling said, her voice cracking as tears of fear formed in her eyes. "If we can't program the TV, then, then – THEN VINNIE'S GOING TO DESTROY LITTLEST PET SHOP AND WE'LL NEVER HAVE PEACE IN OUR LIVES AGAIN!"

Russell looked at the remote in his paws again. It didn't seem too difficult; he'd seen how Mrs. Twombly did it. All he had to do now was remember exactly HOW she did it.

#######################################

The rain seemed to fit Vinnie's mood perfectly. He had been walking down the street for what felt like hours, wallowing in his own self-pity, lamenting the fact that he no longer considered himself a dancer, not after what happened back at the studio. He didn't care that the people on the street stared at him, he didn't care that the cars passing by on the road splashed him with water.

Nothing mattered to him anymore.

"I'm no dancer," he muttered to himself. "I'm a fraud. A pet lizard. That's all I am. That's all I'll ever be."

"Yo. Dude." Vinnie turned around; spotted another lizard standing nearby, under a plastic folding sign. This lizard was dressed in a small orange jacket with a matching cap and wore a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. "You say you're a dancer, dude?"

Vinnie shook his head. "No. Not anymore. I mean, I used to be, but –"

"Dude, anyone can be a dancer," the lizard said. "Name's L-Zard. You wanna be a dancer, dude? Then you come with me."

Vinnie followed L-Zard into a nearby alleyway. The first thing he saw was a slew of other lizards, each one a different species – gecko, iguana, skink – and each one dancing. Some were break dancing, some were tap dancing, but all Vinnie saw was lizards with talent. Lizards that reminded him of himself, before he made this trip.

"Wow," he breathed. "What is this place, L-Zard?"

"We call it The Docks, dude. It's somewhere for us lizards to just be ourselves, you know." He whistled. "Yo! Lizards! Gather round!" The other lizards stopped what they were doing and joined them. "Vinnie, meet Foggie, Lazy Susan, Fish Sauce, DVGB, Bearded Lady, Lemonface, Tap Dancer, and Skink-a-Dink."

"'sup," Vinnie said sheepishly.

"Yo, Vinnie," Lemonface said, "ya got moves? Show 'em, bro."

"I, uh, I don't think I really know any moves," Vinnie said quietly. "I think my dancing days are pretty much over."

There was a collective gasp from all the other lizards. "Over?" Bearded Lady repeated. "Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie, a lizard's dancing days end when a lizard's days end. Your dancing days are nowhere near over, pal. Lemme tell ya, dancin' is in a lizard's blood."

"Not this lizard," Vinnie replied. "Not anymore."

L-Zard put a foreleg around Vinnie's shoulders. "Your mouth might be sayin' that," he said, "but what is your heart saying?"

"I don't know anymore. I danced for the judges of Shake-A-Leg, but they said that I was just a talented pet who didn't belong on a show for humans."

"The heck do they know?" L-Zard asked. "They don't know real dancing." He snapped his pads together. "Kick it, boys and girls!"

Bearded Lady pressed the Play button on a nearby radio, and the music started up again. Vinnie watched in awe as they all moved gracefully in their own style of dancing, whether it be break dancing or tap dancing. Watching them move like that, he could feel his own spirits rising. He could feel his angst fading away, felt the joy of dance flow through him once more.

And before he knew it, he too was dancing along, shuffling his feet, spinning on his tail.

For the first time since arriving in this city, for the first time since he was given that negative criticism, Vinnie felt alive. Being here, dancing with his fellow lizards….It was his calling, he knew that much was true.

Vinnie couldn't remember the last time he had laughed, couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun. Even as he tripped over his tail and landed on his face, he was laughing the entire time.

This was the best night of his life.

"Vinnie, dude, how can you say dancing is behind you with moves like that? Them judges, they don't know nothing, dude. If they knew true talent, you would crush that dance show."

"The dance….OH NO!"

Vinnie had been so busy wallowing in his own self-pity that he had completely forgotten about Blythe!

####################################

It didn't matter that she was in a beautiful dress. It didn't matter that her hair had been done up in a beehive bun. It didn't matter that there were three pounds of makeup on her face. All that mattered to Blythe was that there were cameras out there, filming at this very moment, with millions of people watching at home. Even if that weren't the case, there were thousands of people in the audience – including her own father! She didn't mind going out in front of a crowd, but add cameras into the mix and Blythe became a nervous wreck.

She collapsed against the wall, out of sight of the crowd – and more importantly, out of sight of the cameras. Her breath was coming in short bursts.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't go out there, in front of a crowd, in front of those cameras, and dance. She wasn't a dancer, and even if she was, she was going to be dancing with a complete stranger. She didn't care how handsome he was; she knew nothing about the man save for his name being Igor Something-Or-Other.

She hyperventilated, trying to slow her breaths down, trying to stay calm despite the cold sweat on her forehead and her entire body starting to go numb with fear.

Vinnie, where are you?

#########################################

"I can't believe how badly I messed this up!"

Vinnie was pacing back and forth, his worry for Blythe growing with every step he took. He knew how much she hated being in front of cameras – even a Kodak camera made her lock up in fright – and how much she didn't like to dance, and he had just left her alone, ignore her when she called out for his help.

"Blythe needs me, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself. She's never going to talk to me again!"

"Calm your scales, dude, we'll get you back to the studio on time," L-Zard said. "Then you can help your human friend and show them judges what real dancin' is."

Vinnie turned to look down the alley in the direction L-Zard had brought him. The studio was only a few blocks away, an easy jog if he were a tall human. But for a small lizard….He had no idea how long it would take him, and he didn't know any shortcuts. These other lizards might, and if they did, he had to take advantage of that. He had to get to the studio, and fast. If he didn't….

If he didn't, Blythe would look like a fool on national television. The thousands of people in the audience and the millions watching at home would see her, would ridicule her, and though he didn't know much of human reputations, he knew that Blythe would never be able to show her face at her school again if that were to happen.

"I've got to get to that studio," Vinnie said. "I've got my confidence back thanks to you guys, but right now, my friend Blythe needs me."

"Then why are we just standin' around?" L-Zard asked. "Let's boogie!"

Vinnie followed them, hurrying as fast as he could out of the alley, around the corner, down the street, and after several long minutes, they arrived at the back door of the television studio.

"Wow. That didn't take as long as I thought," Vinnie said breathlessly. "L-Zard, everyone, thank you so much. I got my confidence back. Now I've got to help Blythe get hers." He started walking for the door.

"Knock 'em dead, dude," L-Zard said silently as Vinnie stepped through the door.

###################################

"I can't do this," Blythe said breathlessly as she breathed into a brown paper bag. "I can't go out there. I'll be a laughingstock – on national television!" She glanced over at the door, waiting for it to open, waiting to see Vinnie on the other side, coming to her rescue.

The door remained closed, even though she thought she'd heard it open just a moment ago.

But that exit sign sure was tempting.

She looked around, making sure no one could see her, before running for the door as fast as she could – it wasn't easy in this long dress. She pushed the door open, only to be met by the stagehand.

"There you are. Ready to strut your stuff?"

"I'm ready to get out of here," Blythe whimpered.

"Good, because you're up next."

"WHAT? NO!"

"Sorry, Missy. You're on in five minutes, so I suggest you get ready." The stagehand walked past, leaving Blythe where she was, her jaw hanging open in shock.

She only snapped out of her stupor when she felt someone tugging on the skirt of her dress. That someone was Vinnie.

"Vinnie! You came back!"

"Blythe, I'm sorry," Vinnie said. "You needed me, and I ignored you. I just – what's with the hair and the dress?"

"Apparently, I'm substituting for one of the dancers," Blythe said. "They practically forced this onto me. Vinnie, those are real cameras out there! Even if I weren't camera shy, I don't know the first thing about dancing!"

"Leave that to me," Vinnie said. "When are you on?"

"Two minutes and counting."

"Okay, here's what we'll do."

####################################

She was even more nervous now than she was earlier. Standing here, waiting her inevitable turn on the stage, standing next to one of the Igors, and standing on Vinnie's shoulders, with the cameras just a few meters away….On the one hand, she was scared for herself, but then again, there was the fact that poor Vinnie was supporting all of her weight on his tiny shoulders.

That little gecko was surprisingly strong.

"Next team is up!" the stagehand announced.

Igor took Blythe's hand and led her out onto the stage. In front of the judges. In front of the crowd.

In front of the cameras.

Her entire body was shaking. Her jaw had locked up. Cold sweat was running down the back of her neck. She could feel the thousands – the millions – of eyes staring at her, both in the crowd and through the cameras.

She stared at the camera, at that machine of metal and plastic, knowing that she was currently being televised all around the nation, knowing that entire families were watching her at home.

She was hyperventilating. Her heart was racing.

And like it or not, this was going to happen.

################################

"I think I've got it," Russell said. He'd spent the last several hours trying to remember how Mrs. Twombly used the remote to program the television, and just now, just as Shake-A-Leg was about to air, he had figured it out. "Claws and paws crossed, pets." He pressed a button.

The picture worked perfectly. There was just one problem:

They couldn't understand a word that was being said!

"What language is that?" Penny Ling screamed.

"Fix it, Russell!" Pepper shouted.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Russell cried as he pressed the buttons on the remote.

"Wait a minute," Zoe said. "Is that Blythe? What's she doing on this show?"

The pets stopped what they were doing, transfixed by the image on the screen – Blythe, in a glittery blue dress, dancing with a tall man in a white suit. It was an image none of them had ever imagined seeing; they all knew how Blythe felt about cameras, and seeing her on television right now, with her eyes wide as saucers, her body locked up, moving against her will….

It was an image they had never expected to see.

########################################

Blythe tried not to focus on the camera, tried to forget that her own father was in the crowd watching her; she tried to focus on Igor, tried to stay balanced on Vinnie's shoulders as Igor spun and dipped her.

Vinnie nearly lost control, causing Blythe to spin and flip, garnering applause from the audience. She held her arms out, trying to balance herself and help Vinnie get control again; she fell against Igor, catching him off guard. The two managed to stay on their feet, spinning to the slow music, but lost control and spun their way off stage.

The room was silent for a moment, before the crowd and the judges erupted in cheers and thunderous applause.

Blythe sat up and rubbed her head. She and Igor had finally fallen to the floor, Igor laying a few feet away. Vinnie crawled out from under her dress, a huge smile on his scaly face.

"Get out there! They love you!"

For a few seconds, Blythe forgot about the cameras, forgot about the crowd. She ran back out onto the stage and bowed. The judges were smiling and applauding along with the crowd.

Despite the cameras still filming her, Blythe felt satisfied. She felt…happy.

A few moments later, she was backstage, hugging her father. "I had no idea you were such a good dancer," he said.

"To be honest, Dad, neither did I."

"Hey everyone!" Roger called to all the people backstage. "That was my daughter out there! She's got those mad dance skills from her dear old dad."

Blythe rolled her eyes, before kneeling down to talk to Vinnie, who was now surrounded by several other lizards she didn't recognize. She pulled Vinnie in for a hug.

"We did it!" she cheered. "We did it, Vinnie!"

"You're right, Blythe. It was all of us. I've always been afraid that I don't have what it takes to be a dancer." He gestured to the other lizards. "But these guys showed me that I do."

"Speaking of which," Blythe said, "I was so nervous about pulling off this crazy stunt that I completely forgot about the cameras."

The stagehand hurried over to her. "There you are, Karina."

"My name's Blythe, not Karina."

"Whatever. You were great. The crowd loved you, the judges loved you, and we're already getting emails and phone calls about you! So, what would you say to joining the cast? We'll give you whatever you want – your own dressing room, your own parking spot, even your pet lizards can stay."

"Sorry, but I can't," Blythe said. "For one thing, these lizards aren't my pets. One of them is my friend and dance coach; the others are his friends. And second, we've got a plane to catch. It's a long flight back to Downtown City. So thank you, but no."

#######################################

Everyone at school had been talking about Blythe's performance. Everywhere she went, someone was talking to her about it. Even out of school, just around town, people recognized her. All the recognition made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Sure, it was nice to be noticed, but she'd heard rumors about people starting up a fan club for her, and whether or not those rumors were true, she was worried that some people might be taking things a bit too far.

So she was glad to be back at Littlest Pet Shop, watching the show that Russell had taped. Even she had to admit that everyone was right; she did do a good job.

"You're really good, Blythe," Vinnie said. "I could watch that a million more times."

Way to pat yourself on the back, Blythe thought.

"Well, you're in luck," Pepper said. "They replayed it last night, so I recorded it. Good thing we figured out how to get the TV to speak English."

Russell took the remote from Pepper. "Wait a minute, you didn't…." He checked the DVR memory. "No. No you did not. 'Duchess Visits the Garden'. 'Duchess Picks Blueberries'. NO! YOU DELETED THE EPISODE WHERE THEY REPAVE LANCASHIRE LANE! PEPPER, HOW COULD YOU! THAT'S THE ONE WHERE THE DUCHESS HAS A HEATED DISCUSSION WITH THE TOWN COUNCIL!"