Chapter 11 - Antonio's Downfall
Author's note: Hello, everyone! I'm back with chapter eleven. As you can see by the chapter's title, most of your questions have been answered. Of course, I'll still respond to the rest of your reviews.
dragonserpent18, I'm glad you're enjoying the relationship between Jenna and Chris!
agentdemigod, yes, the tour has finally started, and I'm very glad you enjoyed the chapter! Even if the actors and actresses may be a tad older than the characters in my story, it should still be interesting!
TheIndividualist, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
GirlPower54, I'm glad you're also enjoying the relationship between Jenna and Chris, as well as Tyler and Daniel's rivalry. You'l find out about what's in store for Tyler over the next few chapters!
Sonny April, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
Softkitty55, this story is based on the 2005 movie universe. As for Jenna and Chris, you'll find out over the next several chapters.
Linkwonka88, just keep reading to find out! Now, on with the story!
"Antonio, my son! Get down from there this instant!" Mr. Ricci cried. "The long way!"
Everyone's heads turned to follow his gaze, and sure enough, Antonio somehow managed to find the secret stairwell that led to the top of the nine-story chocolate waterfall.
"Hey, little boy!" Mr. Wonka cried, trying his best to sound worried. "I'd get down from there if I were you! You're contaminating my chocolate river by dipping your toes in it!"
"Mr. Wonka cares more about his chocolate than Antonio's safety," Daniel whispered in his dad's ear. "Something is very wrong here."
"You're at risk of injuring yourself, Antonio!" his father shouted. "Remember, you forgot your parachute!"
"Please, I beg you!" Charlie yelled. "Get down from there!"
"Don't worry!" Antonio shouted from nine stories up. "I'll get down from here, the quick way!" He took one defiant step closer to the edge of the cliff.
"I'm warning you, don't do it!" his father shouted. The reckless boy responded by taking another step that brought him closer to the edge.
"Please, don't do it," Mr. Wonka said halfheartedly. He was trying his hardest to hide a smile as he watched Antonio walk closer to the edge of the precipice.
"Uh, how about YES!" Antonio yelled defiantly. "I'm doing it, whether you like it or not!" He took five steps back, and then he began to run forward before yelling, "GERONIMO!"
"He's going to jump!" Jenna cried in terror. Sure enough, Antonio vaulted himself off the cliff and began to dive headfirst, plunging nearly one-hundred feet to the river below.
"He sure is reckless," Chris whispered into Jenna's ear just before Antonio hit the surface of the chocolate river with a big splash. For several seconds, he was nowhere to be seen. Everyone watched with bated breath as the seconds slowly ticked by.
"No!" Antonio's father screamed just before his son finally resurfaced, his face painted brown with chocolate. "He can't swim!"
Antonio was flailing around in the river, but that was the least of his worries as the big, round door that delivered the chocolate to the deepest rooms began to swing open, and the current was pulling him towards it.
"No! My son!" Mr. Ricci shouted as the Italian skydiver was helplessly carried through the large opening by the strong current, where he disappeared into the blackness. "Where is he going?"
Mr. Wonka smiled at him. "Well, the pipe he's going down has just been diverted to the room where I make the most delicious Salted Caramel Crunchy Munchy Peanut Brittle!"
"Then he'll be made into Salted Caramel Crunchy Munchy Peanut Brittle!" Antonio's father cried. "They'll be selling him by the pound all over the world!"
"No, I wouldn't allow it," Mr. Wonka quickly replied. "The taste would be terrible, for one thing. Second, any customers who buy that product would become cannibals. Can you imagine Antonio Caramel Crunchy Munchy Peanut Ricci? Ew, no one would buy it."
Suddenly, the sound of snare drums and trumpets began to fill the air.
"What are those things?" Daniel asked, pointing to a small group of strange people who gathered around the waterfall. They had funny-looking hair and pug-like faces, and they were wearing bright-red nylon suits. They were just barely shorter in height than Mr. Wonka's knee. More and more of the little men filled the room, and soon enough, there were over one-hundred of them, and they were gathering along the riverbanks as well as on the bridge near the waterfall.
"Who are they?" Yuna inquired.
"What are they doing?" Chris asked, and Mr. Wonka smiled at him.
"Why, I believe they're gonna treat us to a little song," he responded as a military march began. "They are my workers, and you'll know more about them later."
The little men marched a full lap around the Chocolate Room, and once they stopped, they began a choreographed dance and started to sing. Mr. Wonka was bobbing his head to the beat of the drums.
This little boy who went sky-high,
Has proven reckless, so the end is nigh.
Don't worry, children, he will be fixed,
But before that, he must be mixed,
Into crunchy, munchy peanut brittle!
Antonio Ricci, don't you see
That what you did was a grave mistake?
Skydiving may be fun, but don't you run
Off the roofs of buildings, for goodness sake!
He just went on a little journey,
So whatever you do, do not worry.
Since he's bound to learn his lesson,
Please don't fear for him anymore.
He'll just be crunchier than he was before!
Antonio Ricci, don't you see
That what you did was a grave mistake?
Skydiving may be fun, but don't you run
Off the roofs of buildings, for goodness sake!
Don't you see that what you did
Was such a stupid, grave mistake?
Just keep your feet firm on the ground,
And you'll forever be safe and sound.
But with a stupid brain so little,
We're glad you've turned into peanut brittle!
Antonio Ricci, don't you see
That what you did was a grave mistake?
Skydiving may be fun, but don't you run
Off the roofs of buildings, for goodness sake!
Skydiving may be fun, but don't you run
Off the roofs of buildings, for goodness sake!
The little men began to disperse as the song died down, and Mr. Wonka applauded their performance.
"Bravo! Well done! Aren't they delightful? Aren't they charming?"
"I could tell that their performance was rehearsed," Tyler's dad said. "I take my university students out to watch dance performances from different cultures, so I know the signs."
"I bet they knew that Antonio would jump off the waterfall the way he did," Daniel said. Mr. Wonka turned to look at him.
"Once again," he said, "I really can't understand you. You mumble way too much."
Daniel yelled at the top of his lungs: "I SAID THAT THEY KNEW THAT ANTO—"
"Sorry, I still can't hear you very well," Mr. Wonka told him. He then made a strange trilling noise and one of his workers immediately appeared in front of him. He had to kneel down in order to look at the little person face-to-face. "I want you to take Mr. Ricci down to the Peanut Brittle Room, okay? Help him find his son. Once you get there, just take a long stick, and start poking around in the big peanut brittle mixing barrel." He made poking and mixing motions with his cane to demonstrate. "'Kay?" The man nodded and crossed his arms over his chest in a sort of tribal manner, which Mr. Wonka repeated. He then walked over to Mr. Ricci, who let out a frightened gasp as the little man tugged on his pants. He smiled at Antonio's father, as did Mr. Wonka and Charlie, and they left the Chocolate Room together to search for Antonio.
"Now," Mr. Wonka asked, "on with the tour?"
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Fun fact: Antonio's elimination was a reference to a very early draft of CatCF which featured a girl named Miranda Mary Piker, who also ended up in the Peanut Brittle Room. (This was before the Spotty Powder draft.) Since the group will now be journeying deeper into the factory, feel free to provide some ideas for rooms that they should visit, and of course, stay tuned for the next chapter! :)
Update: Sorry about the long wait. I should be publishing the next chapter on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on my schedule. Plus, I also have to write some lyrics for the next Oompa Loompa song (I'm not telling you who will be eliminated next), and as you may know by now, lyrics aren't my strong point, so they take a while for me to come up with. Just be patient and hang in there, everyone! :)
