Fruktus97: I agree (and so does Mike!)

Sidney Morris: I'm a girl and fourteen, but began this when I was thirteen. I'm sorry you didn't like the taffy stretcher part, but it was my intent to make the reader feel uncomfortable. Anyway, I'm glad you like this story overall.

AWESOME: Thanks for reviewing, I'm sorry I couldn't get this up sooner.

kitty_painter_artist: Thank you so much!

Peter_1312: Glad you liked it.

Anonymous: Thanks, that means a lot to me.

Anna Bliss aka Ivy B: Thank you.

Author's note: Yes, I realize it's been a while. In my defense, my school day lasts until 6:00 and I am also on choir, mathleetes, debate, and the school play. Ironically, the play this year is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It's the 1971 version, but still. I'm Veruca in it, which is strange because I don't think I'm much like her, although it is a fun part to play (I get to scream and punch things, which is always fun.)

Violet had a look of pure determination of her face. Mike wasn't sure if he had done the right thing or the wrong thing by egging her on. Oh well, who cared? It wasn't like it mattered if he hurt the little brat's feelings. She was nothing to him.

Beauregard placed her hand on top of the scale, carefully applying a direct amount of pressure that would equal that of the key. She nodded in Veruca's direction. The British girl got the hint and took the key with trembling hands.

"Oh, come on!" Violet moaned. "Hurry up. It's not going to explode on you!"

Mike ordered everybody to clear out. He turned to Violet. "Last chance to back down and admit that my plan is better."

The purple girl growled like a rabid dog, responding just as he expected she would. "In your dreams, Teavee!"

The boy merely shrugged, at least he could say that she was warned. It wasn't his problem if she wanted to be stupid and not follow his obviously superior plan. Mike exited with the others and stood outside of the door. He told Violet that if she didn't want them leaving without her, she'd have to go right then.

Beauregard complied, taking her hand off of the scale and running for the door.

For a moment, time seemed to slow down to an unrealistic speed. Violet pumped her legs, but it was obvious she would not make it. The door was more than halfway closed.

"Nein!" Augustus cried, jumping towards the door. He tripped and fell face flat on the ground, but he was determined. Augustus stuck out his leg, wedging it between the door and the ground. The boy cried out in pain, swearing rapidly in German. Slowly, he shifted his body until his hands held up the door. His hands shook from the immense pressure and he was sweating profusely from the ordeal. "Go!" he cried, although it sounded more like a squeak.

"Is there enough room?" Veruca asked, peering under the door. Violet seemed to be examining the space herself.

"I'll be fine," she said. Still, Mike could tell her voice was shaking. "How much longer can you hold for, Augustus?"

"Not long! Please, hurry!"

Mike watched in interest. There was no way she could possibly fit through such a small opening. It was physically impossible! Of course, he of all people should have known that the normal laws of science did not apply in the factory. Or, more likely, he was just in denial.

Teavee saw as Violet exhaled slowly, growing thinner and thinner by the second. - -No, not thinner - - flatter! He body was slowly losing depth as she let out all of the oxygen until she was about as thick as an average element school textbook! Mike's eyes widened in horror as he saw this. It was just one more thing that contradicted his beliefs.

"How did you do that?" he demanded, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "Nobody can do that!"

She shrugged, although adverted her eyes. "I'm extremely flexible."

"No!" Mike refused to accept such an answer. This was wrong. This was not natural! "No one is that flexible. You practically made yourself into a pancake and expect us all just to stand here and act like it's nothing? I demand an answer, Beauregard!"

"You can't demand anything from me! You're not the boss of the world. I am my own person, so shut it, Teavee!"

"It has nothing to do with you being your own person, I—"

"Shh!" Veruca said. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Listen."

Mike strained is ears. Sure enough, he heard it too: the sound of a river running in the distance. A waterfall too by the sound of it. Could it be? Had they actually reached their destination? There was one way to find out.

The children rushed into the room. Mike was in the lead. Ignoring the burning sensation in his straining muscles, Mike pushed himself to pump his legs and go further. Entering the room, found the candy themed chamber with the chocolate river flowing through the middle. Never before had he been so incredibly glad to see so much chocolate.

"YES!" he shouted in triumph. Mike pumped his fists and jumped up and down like a little kid. "YES! YES! YES!"

He had made it. He had actually made it. For a moment, Mike had the urge to run up and hug the others. An urge which he quickly surpressed.

Wasting no time, Teavee rushed to the river, pulling the poison out of his bag and poured the entire thing in. Mike watched gleefully as it melted into the chocolate, soon to be in thousands of candy bars all over the world.

He was so caught up in his victory, that Mike didn't even notice that the others had eerily fallen silent.

"Kto idet?" a voice demanded. Mike jumped, nearly dropping his backpack into the river.

He turned around, ready to face the mysterious voice with everything he had. Mike stood up and . . . found himself staring at a boy who couldn't have been older than thirteen. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The boy looked at Mike with large, gray eyes. His blond hair fell into his eyes and was slightly shaggy, as if he hadn't had a haircut in a long time. The boy had a sickly thin frame and his clothes hung loosely over his body.

He spoke in a quiet voice that slowly grew more confident. It sounded as if English was his second language. "I . . . I am Vladik Alexeyevich Belinsky. I am the fifth golden teeket winner."

"No you're not," Veruca said. "Charlie Bucket is. Everybody knows that!"

The boy's shoulder sagged, but he said nothing.

Mike vaguely remembered a story in the newspaper about a boy in Russia who faked finding a golden ticket. Could it have been him? Teavee surveyed the boy once again through squinted eyes. Somehow he had never imagined the boy to be so . . . scrawny.

"How did you do it?" Violet asked.

Leonid blinked, appearing confused. "Do vat?"

She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "How did you fake the ticket? What did you use? How did they find out it wasn't real?"

Vladik's eyes moved to the ground and he shuffled his feet awkwardly. He looked pale, as if he were about to faint. Finally, he mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "He said they vould not find out."

"Who?"

He looked up, eyes now tearing up slightly. The boy's lower lip trembled and he looked as if he was about to cry. Mike hoped he wouldn't, he'd experienced enough emotion in this trip for a lifetime. Luckily for Mike, Vladik gathered himself and spoke. "He promised me. He promised that he vould make me rich."

The main question still remained. "Who?"

"The man. He spoke to me in perfect Russian even though he said he was from New Zealand. He said that his name vas Slugworth, Arthur Slugworth, I think. He said . . . he said that if I could get heem an everlasting gobstopper that he would do it. He promised no one would know it was fake. But . . . but he lied." Vladik's lower lip trembled again.

Mike supposed that the moral thing would be to have pity for the boy, but he couldn't make himself feel for the boy. It seemed that Veruca was equally unmoved by Vladik's hardships.

"Look, Vlady," said Violet. "Can I call you that? Whatever," she replied before Leonid was given a chance to answer. "I'm going to call you that anyway. You're not really our concern at the moment. We need to know how to get out here."

"YA ne znayu! I do not knows."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'? if you found a way in, you must be able to find a way out."

The boy started sobbing. "I do not know! I've been 'ere nearly two veeks. I cannot find a vay out."

"Two weeks?" Mike was incredulous. "Wait, that's impossible. How would you eat?" Stupid question. "Oh, never mind. Still, hasn't anyone found you?"

Vlady nodded. "The leetle men. I do not know who they are, but I alvays hides from them. Every time I tries to bezhatʹ. . . um . . . escape, I find them. I do not leave any more."

"So you've just been hiding in here for days?"

The boy nodded sadly. "Da."

Veruca groaned. "Well, I don't see what the problem is. Our mission's accomplished. Now all we have to do is get out of here before someone finds us. The rest of you can come if you want, or you can stay in this hellhole, I really don't care one way or the other." She walked over to where the door was, only find nothing there but a blank wall. "What the—"

"It only comes a few times a day," Leo said.

Violet stomped her foot angrily. "Well, I'm not waiting here for it to come back. There has to be some other way out of here."

Mike's eyes shifted to the river. When Agustus had fallen into the river, the pipes had transported him somewhere else. Could they do the same? The idea seemed crazy. Just crazy enough to work.

Veruca's eyes followed Mike's gaze and immediately caught on. "You're mental if you think I'm going to try that."

"Try what?"

"He wants us to go through the pipes!"

Augustus let out a yelp that sounded like a puppy that was just stepped on. "Nein! Nei wieder!"

"Oh come, you big babies. Are you afraid of a little chocolate? What about you?" she pointed to Leo. Are you coming?"

Vladik shook his head. "Nyet," he squeaked.

"Fine. Come on, Mike. I'm not afraid. Let's go! Maybe if you morons are lucky, we'll come back for you." She walked over to the river and turned around. "Are you coming?" she demanded.

Mike nodded. It was too late to back out now. It had been his idea, after all. Slowly, he followed Beauregard, glancing back only once to see the others watching him expectantly.

"Viel Glück, meine Freunde," Augustus whispered quietly.

Had Mike spoken German, he would have surely done a double take. For Augustus had said, "Good luck, my friends."

Mike held his breath and jumped into the liquid chocolate. His first thought: it was warm. Mike had assumed it would be cold, like water. Second discovery: chocolate was hard to swim through. Luckily, Mike didn't have to do much work, the suction did most of it for him, pulling him and Violet into the tubes where they were able to breathe once again. It was then Mike began to have second thoughts on his plan. Oh well, too late now.

"Don't eat any," he warned Violet. "It's poisonous."

"I wasn't going to, you idiot!" she spat back.

The pipes were a tight squeeze, but both were able to manage with reasonable ease. Their bodies were small enough to slide through, but big enough to block the chocolate behind them and allow for breathing room in their little air pockets. Where the air was coming from, Mike had no idea. Had Wonka anticipated Gloop's downfall and added a whole ventilation system to prepare for the occasion?

There was a roaring noise in the distance. Mike was just able to make it out at first, but slowly it grew louder.

"Hey, Mike," Violet said. "Do you remember where this pipe leads to?"

"No . . ." was his initial response. Why should he?

Wait a minute . . . Oh, shit! "THE FUDGE BOILER!"

A while back, one of my reviewers suggested that I do something with the fake golden ticket winner. In the old movie, he was from Paraguay, and the new one was Russia. I've also gotten some requests for new characters. I do realize that there are many readers who dislike original characters and I will try my best not to make Vladik too annoying. He will be playing a mild to moderate part in the story. If anyone has any suggestions about him, please let me know.

I'm thinking of incorporating of more aspects of the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka. If anybody has any ideas, let me know.

And, as always, please review.