Chapter Two: We Can't Buy People for Pets

The evening sun was setting in the sky, casting it into glorious shades of red, yellow, orange, blue, and purple. People milled about the street that was bright with snow. Charlie stared in wonder at the bright and colorful world outside the factory, or rather the sky. But Wonka was busy covering his face with the daily newspaper and a pair of dark sunglasses. The chocolatier followed along blindly by letting Charlie drag him by the coat-sleeve around the small town, hoping that the boy knew where the local pet shop was.

"Mr. Wonka," came Charlie's voice.

Wonka peeked out from behind his newspaper quickly before ducking back behind it to hide from passersby. "What is it, Charlie?" he whispered, a bead of sweat dripping from his temple. It had been so long since he had been out on the streets. Was that man staring at them? A squeak of terror emerged from Wonka's throat and he bustled Charlie further down the street.

"Are you alright, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie turned around, worry expressed in those clear blue eyes.

"People are staring at us Charlie! Make them stop!" the chocolatier whimpered, crunching the newspaper tighter in his grip.

Charlie sighed and gently pulled down Wonka's arms. "Calm down, Mr. Wonka. They're staring because you stick out like a sore thumb. Just act n- " the boy seemed to be at a loss of words before going on, " calm."

The newspaper was slowly lowered and Wonka carefully straightened his collar. He gave a weak smile to the next person who passed. The large and surly looking man returned his gesture with a middle finger. "Why, how rude," Wonka muttered, drawing himself together in a huff.

They stopped at an abandoned old building that had the words 'Pet Shop' painted on in fading letters. "Wow, this place looks older than all four of your grandparents put together, Charlie. Are you sure this is it?" Wonka asked, he tentatively reached out a gloved hand and passed it over the surface of the door. When it came away, so did most of the paint. Hurriedly, Wonka wiped his hands clean in the snow.

"It was it. It looks like it's been closed for a while," murmured Charlie, with a slightly downcast look on his face.

Wonka took the newspaper to dust off the remainder of the paint from his coat when he spotted a small ad on the corner of the page. It looked very oriental in style and rather colorful.

Count D's Pet Shop

Located on 606 Magnolia Ave, open from 9 am-7 pm.

Looking from Charlie to the ad, Wonka's face brightened up. "What's with the face? Just because this pet shop is closed, doesn't mean you won't get you birthday present. Come on!" he grabbed hold of Charlie's wrist and pulled the boy in the direction he hoped was Magnolia Avenue.

After a while, they were helplessly lost. Charlie wisely kept silent through everything, unsure of what Wonka was doing. They seemed to be passing through an Oriental neighborhood. A Chinese man and his daughter were just finishing putting something on the door. When the two left, a bright red sheet of paper with a rather ornate character was left on it. An old Asian man and woman walked leisurely down the street, swinging their arms.

Wonka heaved a sigh of relief when he looked back up from his paper and then to a sign on top of a little shop. "See Charlie! I told you I knew there was another pet shop around!" crowed Wonka.

"You really did!" exclaimed Charlie, looking very very surprised and pleased, "I almost thought we were lost."

"Oh no, not one bit. I knew where we were going the whole entire time!" Wonka lied with a sparkly smile. He checked his candy-faced pocket watch for the time. It was six thirty exactly. He and Charlie had left the factory at four o'clock. The chocolatier shrugged as he followed Charlie into the pet shop. At least they made it.

His olfactory senses were greeted with the smell of incense. Charlie gasped in wonder at the sight before them. Plush armchairs were laid out next to a coffee table. An old clock hung from the wall (five minutes slow, one might add). Somewhere deep inside the shop, a bell jingled merrily as the door closed behind them.

Wonka stood by the doorway as Charlie slowly moved further into the pet shop. "Mr. Wonka, I'm not sure what to d " something seemed to catch the boy's eye, "Hey! Wait up!" and with that Charlie scampered after something deeper inside. That left Wonka at the doorway, still not knowing what to do. He certainly hoped that Charlie knew.

"That's a good child you have. I'm sure he'll find exactly what he wants here," chirped an assuring voice. Wonka turned in surprise, and found that he was not as alone as he thought… not that he was fond of the idea of being alone with another person. A very beautiful oriental lady stepped out of the shadows, a mysterious smile on her face. "I'm being rude, aren't I? Here, sit down, and we can talk over some tea." She gestured towards the armchairs.

The chair seemed to fold him into the soft cushions, but Wonka found himself still tense and panicky as the woman gazed back at him curiously from across the table. 'Please let Charlie hurry and find something.'

"You aren't the boy's father, am I correct?" asked the woman, seemingly out of the blue, after she slid an elegant tea cup towards him. Wonka choked on his first sip and almost spewed the tea out of his mouth.

He spent the next minute coughing and attempting to clear his throat, "No, I am not the boy's f f " Wonka gulped down one more cup of tea, "father." The lady steadily filled up the cup once again. The image of him being Charlie's father popped into Wonka's mind and the man flinched again.

The next few minutes seemed to be spent in awkward silence. Wonka fidgeted in his seat some more and took a few more sips of the tea. It had been a while since he had drank tea

Reaching into the folds of his coat, Wonka drew out a long flat box that said 'Test box #378'. Carefully he placed it on his lap and slipped off the lid.

"What is it?" the woman asked. There was a very curious look on her face.

"It's my latest and greatest invention," Wonka stated nonchalantly. "Since I make chocolate for all kinds of occasions, I thought to myself. 'Hmm if people can enjoy my candies in everyday life, why can't they enjoy them at nice occasions?'. I remember the dinner at the president's. Absolutely horrid, not one chocolate to be seen." He peered at one of the small chocolates with one eye. When he judged that it was relatively fit enough as eye candy (and relatively safe to eat), he popped it into his mouth. "So now I'm making chocolates that should be delectable enough and good-looking enough to take and serve at dinner parties." He finished over a mouthful of chocolate.

"What a wonderful idea!" exclaimed the woman, clasping her hands together.

Wonka glanced up from another chocolate that was swirled with a gold topping and had a small sliver of almond on top. The woman was staring back at him with a great smile on her face and her mismatched eyes practically dazzling in delight. He looked from the chocolate to the woman and to the chocolate again before thrusting it out before her. "Um would you like to try a piece?"

Her reaction was instantaneous. It was as if he had offered her one of those silly things he had seen men do in sappy soap operas, getting down on one knee and all. She took the chocolate and delicately took a bite out of it and bliss spread over her face. "It's like heaven."

"Why thank you." Wonka stammered, feeling quite flattered and rather pleased with himself. "That one is a milk chocolate with a fizzpop soaked cherry in the middle of it. The toppings were just for looks."

"There's a fizzing and popping in my mouth now," murmured the woman delightfully. "But the chocolate's already gone!"

A whiff of Satisfied Air™ filled Wonka, as he explained, "That would be the fizzpop cordial I put the cherries in."

The lady hid a giggle behind a finely manicured hand and smoothed out her Chinese silk dress. Wonka found himself admiring the dark red chrysanthemum blossoms intricately embroidered all over the black silk dress. Sometimes, when the woman shifted in a certain way, the dress would turn a dark red and the flowers black. 'How weirdly cool!'

Laughter echoed down the halls of the small shop and Wonka tilted his head curiously at the noise.

"It seems that the boy has found some friends." The lady stood and made her way to the hall. "Come along, sir."

Slowly, the teacup was set on the table and the chocolatier followed the woman through the halls dimly lit shop.

There were doors everywhere! Wonka felt himself itching to just open one of them, but managed to restrain himself, just barely. Charlie's laughter and chatter sounded louder and much closer, Wonka could now here whispers and giggles along with the boy's. Were these the woman's children? He looked at the lady and made a face? Was she a m-m-mother?

One of the doors was open just a sliver and a ray of light shone through. The lady gently pushed the door open and Wonka gasped and stayed behind her figure. There were so many children! He peered over her shoulder and saw Charlie in the midst of them, petting one of them. "You're a good boy, aren't you?" cooed Charlie. Wonka made a confused face. Last time he checked, people didn't pet each other. But they seemed to be nice children. He saw no one whining, or bullying, or any other things that horrible wicked children would do. No, they were getting along with Charlie quite nicely.

"I think the boy has found a pet," the lady commented in a pleased manner.

Wonka looked at her in horror. "A pet? I wasn't aware that people were pets." He looked closer at the children as they turned to regard him, and then the lady. "Are they?"

A look of surprise entered the lady's pale face and mismatched eyes. Charlie looked confusedly from Wonka to the children. One slender hand moved towards the lady's throat and she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. "The boy may take one of them home as his own."

"What?" Wonka's eyes nearly bugged out in surprise, "I can't bring another human into the chocolate factory! In fact, I think I've had more humans in my factory this year, than I've had in the last," he checked his watch, "fifteen years of my life! Oh and the horrible nasty spies I've had, stealing my hard work. Sometimes I don't understand them, I don't understand them at all." A small frown appeared on Wonka's lips and he crossed his arms.

"So why is the boy living with you?"

"Because he won the contest! He's my bestest and favoritest and only-est heir! So when I get all old and crinkly and dry, or when he's old enough, he's going to inherit my entire chocolate factory!" boasted Wonka, waving his cane of candy around wildly. "Isn't that right Charlie?"

"Mr. Wonka, you're hardly old enough to start thinking like that," Charlie admonished. "I think I've found a pet, but I don't see any people around."

The comment went ignored, "I'm sure Charlie can come and visit the children any time he wishes, but I just can't buy one!" Wonka finished, setting his cane firmly on the ground.

"As you wish," the lady yielded, giving him a small, respectful bow.

Charlie almost had a look of protest in his face, but it disappeared, replaced instead with disappointed compliance. Wonka's lips thinned in an agonizing line. He hated seeing Charlie in such a state. He had promised the boy a pet. It could be as if Mr. and Mrs. Bucket decided to have another kid (Wonka shivered at the thought)! How on earth could a little squeak like any of these kids find their way out of the factory?

"Alright, Charlie, I change my mind." Wonka announced, both the lady and Charlie looked at him in reactions ranging from mild expectancy to ecstatic surprise. "Pick a ch- I mean a pet. Then we should head home to think what your parents see. Wait, strike that and reverse it."

"Thank you, Mr. Wonka!" giggled Charlie, he picked himself up from the hoard of children and threw his arms around Wonka's waist as soon as he got close enough. A soft smile appeared on Wonka's lips and he gently ruffled Charlie's hair, a habit he had started of late.

"I made a Promise, and I promised you a pet, my dear Charlie. And I can't break promises. Those little buggers are harder than diamonds!" Wonka reached into a pocket and pulled out a round clear Gobstopper like object that said, 'Charlie gets a pet'. A small, almost invisible crack went through it.

"What's that, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, as Wonka returned the object into a pocket.

"That, dear Charlie, is a Promise that I made to you," stated Wonka, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Now, go pick someone you like." Charlie gave him a strange look and Wonka caught on to his mistake. "I meant a pet, heh heh, a pet!"

Break.

When Wonka and Charlie got home, the Buckets were delighted and perplexed by Charlie's choice of a pet, but more so delighted.

To Wonka, it seemed that Charlie's choice of a friend was rather interesting. To the Buckets, who could not adore a small ball of pink fluff? After all, a phoenix, a baby phoenix at that, isn't something regular humans see every day.

Back at Count D's, the 'lady' munched happily on the remainder of a box of chocolates. A lid nearby said 'Test box #378', and a copy of a contract lay on the coffee table.

-Do not touch when being reborn

-Do not leave near large bodies of water

-Feed it fine seeds and fresh fruits daily

To be continued...

So I'll try to update one chapter a week.

I hope everyone is finding this alright. Just to tell everyone. PsoH is Pet Shop of Horrors. You can find out more about it on the internet, or read the manga at your local bookstore, or watch the anime by BitTorrent.

Hellsfire.scythe