Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory franchise or any characters associated with the franchise. All rights belong to Roald Dahl, Tim Burton, and Warner Bros. Pictures. This is not my intellectual property, and no financial gain is made from this nor will be sought. This is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 1 - A Dire Situation

Author's note: Hello, everyone! I was supposed to start this story after finishing "Roy and the Chocolate Factory", but I'll have to wait until I have enough time to watch the whole movie uninterrupted in order to finish that one. Since I really don't want to keep you all waiting for weeks on end, I decided that it would be time for me to begin this one, and I can't wait to bring my ideas for this story to life. I'll publish the next chapter of "Roy and the Chocolate Factory" soon, but after that I'm taking a break so that I can focus on this story. Let's begin.

(Note: credit goes to Sonny April for influencing my ideas for chapters 1 and 2.)

There is a fact of life that is completely true and unavoidable: people get older with each passing second. Believe it or not, that even happens to CEOs who run major companies. The days, months, years, and decades add up, and before long, the person needs to hand over his or her business to someone else in order to keep it running once he or she passes. Little did a certain chocolatier know that he would be in this position as well.

Charlie Bucket was just twelve years old when he and his family moved into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Of course, it wasn't any ordinary chocolate factory. It was by far the world's largest and most unique chocolate factory, being over fifty times as big as any other.

It all started back in 2005, when Willy Wonka sent out five Golden Tickets hidden in five of his ordinary Wonka Bars. The Golden Tickets were an invitation from Mr. Wonka to come to the factory for a tour, and the person who behaved the best would become the heir to his factory. A worldwide frenzy followed, and in the end, four of the tickets were found by horrible brats, named Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee. The last one was found by an unlikely winner: a kind-hearted, compassionate boy named Charlie Bucket, whose family lived in extreme poverty during his childhood.

On February 1, 2005, the four brats and their parents, along with Charlie and his grandpa Joe, showed up outside the gates of the world-famous chocolate factory. During the tour, the four brats were eliminated from the factory until only Charlie remained, and he became the heir of the Wonka Candy Company. They do say that what goes around comes around, and Charlie, now fifty-three years old, was about to find out for himself what this phrase meant.

The year is 2045. Despite the fact that he was eighty-two years old, Willy Wonka was very much alive and well, and he and Charlie have been running the factory together for the past forty years. The candies that were produced in the factory since the Buckets moved in were better than ever before. However, Charlie's mood began to change one day, and for the worse.

Mr. Wonka and Charlie were producing a top-secret candy recipe in the Inventing Room. While they poured a few different ingredients into a small mixer, Charlie turned towards his idol with a worried look on his face.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said nervously, "there's something I really need to tell you."

"What's wrong, Charlie?" Mr. Wonka asked with concern. "Feel free to tell the truth. I know you can."

"Well," Charlie quietly responded, "I don't want you to become too worried, but yesterday, as I was combing my hair, a single strand of hair fell out, and it was silver. I'm sure you recall a similar situation that happened to you."

"I... I sure do, Charlie," Mr. Wonka whispered. "It's happening all over again. I hope that you won't do what I think you'll do."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I must do what you won't want me to do," Charlie told him. "We must find a new heir who will replace both of us when the time comes."

Mr. Wonka's jaw dropped in disbelief, and his face became as pale as fresh snow. "N-no, Charlie! We can't be at this point already!"

"Really, Mr. Wonka," Charlie told him, "it's for the better. We must do this if you want the Wonka Candy Company to continue running as it is. Do you understand?"

"Y-you're right, Charlie," he replied while nodding, "but why now? It doesn't feel like you've been here for forty years!"

"I know," Charlie said, shedding a single tear. "The time does fly by fast, but the harsh reality is that we're both getting older, and someone has to take our place eventually. We can't go on forever."

Mr. Wonka was at a complete loss for words. He sighed sadly as he peered into the mixer, watching as the ingredients swirled around and around. Charlie did the same, and another small, salty teardrop fell out of his eye into the mixer. That tiny teardrop began to mingle with the rest of the ingredients, and the sadness that Charlie felt would become part of a brand-new candy recipe. Something had to be done about this situation.

"I can't believe it," Mr. Wonka mumbled to himself. "We need a new heir already. What do we do now?"