(Author's Note: I have substituted all the conversations in other languages for English, in order to be more easily understood. Thank you for reading.)
Paris, France
It was pandemonium all over the world, and it was the second time.
Nobody had quite believed the news-reports when they were released. It had only been two years, of course, since that little Bucket kid had been accepted as an heir and disappeared into the factory with his whole family, never to be seen again. Strange things happen in the world, of course, but what on Earth, the reporters said, could be prompting Willy Wonka to do the whole mess over again?
Starting this previous Sunday, boxes of Wonka bars were suddenly being shipped at a much faster rate than usual. And perhaps, just perhaps, a lucky child might find a Ticket in one of those millions of chocolate bars.
Nobody had found one yet. Nobody was sure if it all was just some grand hoax.
"Turn it off, Gus," his mother instructed him. Gus walked over and flipped the switch; the television went blank.
"He's completely crazy," Gus's grandmother called from in the kitchen. "No one's going to trust that the factory tours are some special thing if he keeps sending out more Tickets."
"I wonder what's become of that other boy," Gus's mother said quietly.
"I have to go to school. Bye, mum." Gus kissed his mother and his grandmother on the cheek, then ran out of the house.
He had to admit, he was curious. Gustave Monet had always been one to get into messes because of curiosity, and this was a mystery the whole world was trying to solve. Besides, even though they had never met, Gus was faintly worried about the Bucket child. Was he okay with more kids coming to the factory he would someday own? Was he even okay? Gus hadn't been one of the thousands of kids in the hunt for the Golden Tickets. Wonka bars were delicious, but he didn't need to waste his money on them.
Sometimes, Gus hated that he was so practical like that.
His mother would want him to go and find out what had happened. He should solve this mystery.
Gus found himself running to the chocolate store on the corner of the street and pulling the door open. It wasn't crowded like it had been during the first Ticket fiasco; everyone was too confused to actually look for the things.
"Bonjour!" he said cheerfully.
"Bonjour, Gustave." The man behind the counter gave him a warm smile. "What can I get you?"
"Um...I guess three Wonka bars."
"Ah, looking for one of those Tickets?"
Gus nodded. It wasn't like the odds were high, or anything. Someone on the news had said that there were rumours that only four Tickets had been released. Still, Gus would hate himself if he didn't at least try.
The man handed him his three bars and Gus paid. "Merci, Monsieur."
"I hope you find one," the man said, but it was almost to himself.
Gus stepped back into the bright sunshine and opened the first bar. There was nothing there, and he wasn't surprised. If there was nothing in the second bar either, he would wait on the third.
But he was so curious...
Gus tore open the second bar.
And dropped the others. They hit the ground with a dull crunch.
There was a Ticket inside.
But it wasn't gold.
It was a shimmering, inky black.