Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters which belong to Roald Dahl, Warner Bros. Pictures and Tim Burton. There is no intent to gain anything or anyone.
CatCF (movie) Alternate Universe
Chapter 48 - Guardian Angel
Willy raced through the falling snow, across the street and into the park in a blink of an eye, his mane flying as he galloped toward Charlie's school. He screamed again, a terrifying sound, as his eyes flashed red in fury. Willy Wonka sprang forward his horn lowered, running at full speed toward the large man threatening Charlie and a little girl with a knife. At the very last moment, the unicorn raised his horn and rammed into the man with his strong, muscular chest. As delicate as he appeared, there was steel hard muscle, long and lean under that soft white coat. The man tumbled back, desperately slashing at the furious animal. Willy reared on his hind legs and blocked the knife with his horn.
Charlie stared with huge, fear filled eyes as unicorn and man fought a quiet and horrendous battle. He could feel his smaller classmate cringing against his back, shaking and crying softly. Sirens shattered the silence and the man broke away, fleeing for his life and freedom. Willy shook his head and snorted in anger, his eyes gleamed as he lunged again, tempted to chase the assailant down. He flinched slightly when a small gentle hand touched his side and his fury drained away as Willy turned to gently nuzzle Charlie and then the girl worriedly.
"Unicorn," the little girl whispered in awe. Willy huffed silently; his sweet breath surrounded her and the boy, soothing them after their dreadful fright.
Charlie looked around desperately as the sounds of the sirens neared. "Hide!" He whispered urgently in one delicate shell like ear. It flicked and the unicorn appeared ready to ignore the frantic command, until the loud noises of adults nearing awakened a unicorn's natural desire to remain hidden. Willy bounded straight up and vanished into a nearby thicket of bare bushes and trees. The children turned, the girl wanting to keep sight of the magical creature, Charlie anxiously checking to make sure no one would spot his friend.
There was only time for a brief exchange between the two children, but it was long enough for Charlie to extract a promise not to mention the unicorn. Jenny Tompkins was obviously smitten by the beautiful animal and readily acknowledged the adults would never believe her. And if they did, there was the horror of what they might do to the brave unicorn that had rescued them, so they exchanged solemn pledges to keep the mythical beast out of their stories. Jenny dissolved into tears as soon as the police officers arrived, unable to say a word between her sobs.
Charlie had to wonder at the convenience of the girl's crying. It left Charlie to tell their story to two officers as others swarmed with a strange precision around them, searching for clues. His description of the man was quite detailed. Charlie thought he would never forget how he'd looked or the expression on his face! Jenny nodded periodically as the boy told their story about the stranger attempting to kidnap Jenny. He'd tried to stop him and had slowed him momentarily with a thrown rock. He managed to transform Willy into an anonymous large, white animal, perhaps a goat or a deer, he wasn't certain, but he gave it credit with a timely distraction which lasted long enough for them to hear the police sirens that made their attacker run away.
When he remembered the knife, Charlie's own tears started to flow as soon as his mother appeared and engulfed him in a huge, protective hug, before she opened her arms to hold Jenny as well. He wondered how she had known for the two children hadn't yet said how to contact their parents, only to realize she must have been trying to follow Willy. How had his friend known they were in danger? Where was he now? A nervous glance around showed no traces of a pure, snow white unicorn with a chocolate mane and tuft. There were no crystal chimes dancing on the cold wind. It was as if he'd never existed.
Charlie was only distantly aware of his mother speaking with the police as he worried about his friend. Mrs. Bucket sadly admitted their home had been destroyed in the tornado a few weeks ago. Her husband had become unemployed after that and had only recently gotten a new job. She managed to leave the impression that they'd been living on the kindness of strangers, never once hinting they actually lived with Willy Wonka. She gave them the number Willy had provided if the police needed to contact them. A teacher who'd been working late appeared, attracted by the commotion, and offered to call Jenny's parents.
After the Tompkins arrived to collect Jenny, the police had let them all go home. They promised the parents that they would keep them fully informed of their manhunt for attempted kidnapper. One officer tousled Charlie's hair and called him a very brave boy. As police dogs were brought up to search for the stranger, Charlie felt a fresh surge of apprehension and worry. What if the dogs tracked Willy down? His throat closed as he pictured the unicorn fleeing for his life, pursued by a pack of dogs and the police.
The officer in charge went with the teacher to speak with the principal. It was a nightmare situation for Charlie's school, though the children weren't truly aware of that fact. The school board would be discussing the situation with the police long into the night, trying to find a way to protect their students. The kidnapper might try something at one of the bus stops. Mr. Tompkins was pledging to drive his daughter to school from now on and Mrs. Tompkins would pick her up afterwards, but some children, like Charlie, didn't have that option and didn't take the bus because of their proximity to the school. Their parents couldn't escort them. What were they going to do?
- W - C - F -
"They won't find Willy, will they?" Charlie asked his mother anxiously as they slipped inside the huge factory complex.
"I don't know, Charlie," Mrs. Bucket answered truthfully. Her heart was still thumping with fear about what had almost happened to her little boy. She felt a warm gratitude to Willy and prayed the unicorn would return safely.
A swarm of Oompa-Loompas emerged to surround mother and son, but they either did not speak English or somehow understood the situation, because none of them asked questions about their beloved employer. Instead, the Buckets found their coats removed and were guided into their quarters with hot cups of cocoa, perfectly prepared, served to them along with chocolate chip cookies, still warm from the oven. Oompa-Loompas patted their legs, trying to be comforting.
When Charlie finished his cocoa and ignored his cookies, three brought Oriana out, offering the kitten to him. He found himself holding on to her, stroking her soft fur repeatedly as he stared into the flames dancing in their fireplace. The fire shimmered as tears filled his eyes once more. Where was Willy Wonka? Was he safe? Was he cold? Had he been hurt in his fight with that mean man? He sat back on the couch, hugging Oriana tightly.
That was where Mr. Bucket found his wife and son when he returned home. His wife was hugging Charlie who was holding on to Oriana for dear life. He was horrified and shocked by the news when Mrs. Bucket told him what happened. He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up as he worried about the kidnapper and Willy. What could he do? Maybe he should go search for Willy himself. Would the unicorn come to him? Had anybody seen him? He sat down abruptly on the other side of his son, enclosing him in the warmth and safety of their love. He shook his head when the Oompa-Loompas offered him some hot cocoa and stared absently into the flames.
- W - C - F -
Mrs. Bucket was trying to get her son to go to bed when there was a commotion outside their door. Mr. Bucket threw it open to find a tired, damp, cold and anxious unicorn staring at him. "Willy!"
His father's cry alerted Charlie who dropped Oriana on the couch to run up to his friend. He went to throw his arms around his neck when his cry of relief changed to one of alarm. "He's hurt!" There was a trail of dried blood running down his right front leg. As the boy coaxed the unicorn into their quarters, one Oompa-Loompa ran off, only to swiftly return with another one. The newcomer was wearing a white jumpsuit with a red cross on his sleeve.
"Lie down Pataki," Dr. Luke ordered gently. "Come on, lie down!" Richard joined the physician in trying to convince their employer and friend to lie down in front of the warm fireplace.
Willy was nuzzling Charlie fretfully all over, nibbling his hair and thrusting his nose at the boy's chest. His ears and tail were nervously moving, alert to every sound and movement around them. His hooves shifted in an unease dance of crystal chimes
"Charlie, perhaps if you sat here on the rug, Willy will lay down with you," Richard suggested quietly.
Charlie nodded and Willy immediately followed after him. He sat on the soft, fluffy rug and sighed in relief as the unicorn folded his legs up and arranged himself close beside him. He tried to move out of the way so the medical Oompa-Loompa could work on Willy only to find himself pulled back by his collar. The unicorn curled his neck around so his nose was buried in Charlie's chest once more, firmly pinning the boy to his side. One ear flicked back as Dr. Luke carefully cleaned the dried blood from the wound.
"It's not that bad," Dr. Luke announced to the relief of everyone once it was cleaned. "It's a long scratch and has already stopped bleeding." He rubbed in some ointment before patting Willy on the neck. "I don't even need to bandage it, do I," he told the unicorn who turned to look down at the little man. The Oompa-Loompas giggled as Willy nuzzled Dr. Luke making him fall on his back. Oompa-Loompas swarmed the unicorn and boy, drying Pataki with soft, warm towels.
"Oh Willy," Charlie cried softly when they were done, wrapping his arms tightly around his friend's neck. The unicorn returned to snuggling with the boy as his tears soaked into his mane. His eyes drifted close as Charlie slid into sleep and Oriana curled up against his chest, purring.
Mr. and Mrs. Bucket exchanged glances. Now what were they suppose to do? They couldn't leave Charlie to sleep there. Could they? They watched as Charlie unconsciously tried to cuddle closer to Willy, clinging tightly to his friend. The Buckets found the Oompa-Loompas observing them closely. Mrs. Bucket sighed and nodded to her husband. Mr. Bucket fetched a blanket from Charlie's bed and Willy's blanket from the floor beside it. The parents gently and carefully covered Charlie and Willy with them. The Oompa-Loompas smiled as Mr. and Mrs. Bucket sat on the couch once more, snuggled close together, watching the three friends sleeping. A few minutes later, the couple followed them into dreamland. The Oompa-Loompas smiled as they fetched another blanket and covered their new friends before creeping quietly out the door to leave the family and their employer to slumber in peace.
