Chapter One - Candy Excellence

FOUR MONTHS EARLIER

"Willy, please stay for brunch, won't you?"

Mrs. Bucket stood before the table in her family's little house, looking across the room at Willy. In one hand, she held a bowl of eggs which she had been stirring. She was smiling.

Willy Wonka, his sleek top hat twirling over his gloved hand, shook his head. His reddish hair bounced around his ears as he did so, freed from beneath the black hat.

"I better not," he said respectfully. Mrs. Bucket had always made him feel slightly intimidated. It wasn't that she tried to be so, but she had a distinct motherly way about her that Willy just was not used to. He shifted his weight as Mrs. Bucket shrugged and went back to her cooking.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Charlie is, would you?" Willy asked, walking over to a cabinet and looking inside as though he thought maybe he might find the boy hiding inside.

"He went out to look for you, I think," Mrs. Bucket said, pulling out a knife and starting to finely chop a handful of bell peppers. "Something about an idea he had." Willy hopped impatiently on the balls of his feet for a moment, thinking. Then without another word, he turned and dashed out the door. Mrs. Bucket watched him hurry across one of the bridges though the window, shaking her head. Those two were always up to some new, brilliant idea... What would come of it today? she wondered, smiling still.

Willy took long strides until he reached the great Glass Elevator. Here, he came to a sudden, screeching halt. Having over-estimated the distance the elevator door was from him, he had almost run into it. Now, however, he stood with the very tip of his nose pressed against the door, his breath fogging the surface of the glass. With a little sigh of relief, Willy took a step back and pushed the button to operate the door of the elevator. It slid open with a pleasant 'ding!' and Willy, rubbing the tip of his nose, stepped inside. After a few seconds to scan the rows and rows of buttons, he finally chose one that read "Inventing Room." The elevator made a happy little whirring noise, and was off again.

The room was empty, save for the many Oompa Loompa's scurrying about and running all the machines. The little Everlasting Gobstoppers plopped one after another into their pool. Willy inspected them for a second. Very soon, they would be set to go on the market. Near the ceiling, an Oompa Loompa poured a wheelbarrow of tomato soup, roast beef, and blueberry pie into the Magic Chewing Gum machine and another pulled the lever, sending the mechanism to life. Willy frowned. He still had not perfected the mixture. Though the Oompa Loompas he tested it one no longer swelled up, each one turned resolutely a brilliant hue of violet. As a result, he frequently caught sight of bright blue workers, skirting him in the corridors as though they though he might turn them magenta next.

In the center of the room, stood a large platform in the middle of a raised dais. This was newly built, an idea of Charlie's to help the two of them keep track of all their ideas. On the platform sat a large, purple leather-bound book, with various scribbles and a large feathered pen sitting beside it. Willy strode towards it and scanned the current open page. There was nothing new in Charlie's hand writing. The boy must not have had a chance to write down is idea yet. Willy clicked his tongue and turned to one of the nearby Oompa Loompas.

"Have you seen Charlie today?" he asked the worker. The odd little man nodded and pulled Willy's ear down to his level, whispering something in it.

"The... whipped cream room?" Willy asked, tilting his head to the side and looking thoughtful. "What on earth is he doing there?"

Again, Willy was off in his glass elevator and a few minutes later, he had arrived in the whipped cream room. The snap, snap of the whips rent through the air as Willy stepped out of the elevator and looked around. There stood Charlie, looking thoughtfully up at the cow hanging in the harness above him. Upon hearing footsteps behind him, the boy turned around and spotted his partner.

"Willy! I was just about to come find you!" he said, smiling.

"That's all very well..." Willy said, standing beside Charlie and raising a skeptical eyebrow. "But what is this all about?" Charlie looked back at the cow and frowned.

"I had a thought this morning... While I was drinking my milk."

"Okay... Elaborate?"

"Don't you... Don't you think this is a little cruel?" Charlie asked slowly. One eyebrow was arced high above the other as he looked once more at Willy.

"Cruel?" Willy asked, blinking uncomprehendingly. "Cruel... Well, I guess that depends, doesn't it?"

"On what?"

"Exactly." Willy spun on his booted heel to face the door of the glass elevator once more. "Now, if you're quite finished with this silliness, I have a real idea. Follow me."

"But really, Willy! What if the RSPCA found out?"

"RSPCA?" Willy asked, feigning confusion. "The Royal Society for the Prevention of Candy Excellence?"

"Excellence starts with an 'E', Willy," Charlie pointed out.

"You try coming up with something better."

"Apotheosis."

"Gesundheit."

Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Alright, so you have another idea, do you?" the boy asked.

"About the cow? No, it's not related to your little episode of morals."

"But you did have an idea. In general?"

"I'm going to invite 5 more people to visit my factory," Willy said simply. Charlie stopped dead in his tracks, horror flooding through him. He stared up at Willy.

"W-what?"

"Five people... visit the factory. In about 2 weeks, I think. Only from the United Kingdom."

"But... Willy, why?" Charlie was worried. Was he himself not doing a good enough job at being an heir to the factory? Did this mean he would no longer get to run the factory with Willy, or at all when Willy stepped down?

"For fun! It does get a bit boring around here, you know," Willy replied as her and Charlie stepped into the glass elevator. He pressed the button to his office.

"That's a little risky, Willy."

"A risk I've taken before. And might I remind you that if I hadn't, you wouldn't be here, Charlie?"

"I know that, but you don't need another heir, do you?!" Charlie almost sounded distraught, but he kept the pitch of his voice in check.

"No, don't worry, I've already promised you the factory, and I keep my promises, mind you."

"Then why can't you just go out of the factory for once? Get some fresh air? Explore the city?" This made Willy laugh.

"The factory is my life, why would I want to go out again?" he asked. Charlie smacked his face into the palm of his hand and sighed.

"I don't like the sound of this idea, Willy. Something very bad could happen, and I just don't think-"

"Well," Willy interrupted as he stepped out of the elevator into his office and turned to look at Charlie, who had not moved. "It sure is a good thing I don't need your permission to do things yet! Now, where is my phonebook?" Charlie frowned as he pressed a button and the elevator burst into action and flew off towards the Chocolate Room, leaving Willy searching through the drawers of his large desk.

A squat trench coated figure stood in front of the gates of the magnificent factory. His surrounding were dark as night drew its dim blanket of London and as he stood in the shadows, a scowl deepened the aging lines of his face. That man was going to come down, he would assure it...

I will have my reputation again, he thought bitterly as he spat through the bars of the gate, then turned and sulked off into the evening darkness.

Author's Note:

So yeah, this is all taking place 4 months prior to the Intro! Sorry this took so long, I had a slight block on it, but I hope you all liked it! I will do my best to get Chapter Two out soon!! I've had WASL exams and they will go on into April as well, so I don't know how long it will take to finish the next one, as it will also be longer. Please review, I would really appreciate it!