(Charlie's POV)

The battle between us all rages on. I take a look through the crowd and notice that Matilda and Wonka are both missing! My heart is beating rapidly as I look around.

"What happened to her? Is she okay?!" I think.

"C'mon!"

I look over to see Violet gesturing to the door along with the other kids and the grown-ups. I'm tempted, but I remember that Daisy Bloom's still stuck in the fray. And what of the other kids?

"Go!"

I look over to see Octavius and the other kids holding off the oompa-loompas and zombified people.

"We got 'em 'andled alright. Just get yeselves out!"

"An' take her with ya!" Cornelia calls out, pointing over at Daisy Bloom.

Quickly I grab her and we rush out. We run as fast as we can before we feel safe enough to dart into a room. Immediately we barricade the door before reunions are in order.

"Oh! Augustus, mein liebchen!" Mrs. Gloop cries out as she hugs him.

"Mutter!" he cries out all the same.

"Momma!" Violet exclaims as the two of them hug.

"Mom!" Mike embraces his mom.

And then I see the one I know.

"Charlie, my boy!"

Smiling and chuckling in relief, I rush over and hug him.

"Grampa Joe! Are you okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just glad you're okay."

Suddenly he looks over at Matilda's dad and cries out.

"Dorian! Oh, I think I can see ghosts. I didn't think the Grim Reaper would be on his way now!"

Matilda's dad just chuckles.

"No, it's not a ghost, Joe. Just a ghost story."

"Oh, phew! You gotta tell me when this is all over."

He nods.

"Anyways," Matilda's dad exclaims. "Headcount….."

He counts us all and then his hand drops when he realizes what I already have.

"Where's…..Where's Matilda?!"

We all look at each other.

"No clue," Mike shrugs.

"I think she might've gotten overwhelmed," Veruca sighs. "It was pretty loud in there, so I guess she ran off.

"Nein…..I tink she got taken," Augustus gulps.

"Who's this Matilda?" Mrs. Teavee asks.

"She's my….friend," I say a little shyly. "She saved all five of us Golden Ticket winners from getting killed or shipped off."

"And she helped to get us on the right path to becoming human again," Alfie adds.

"Human?" Mrs. Beauregarde asks.

He nods.

"Wonka turned the five of us–James, Sophie, Dani, Billie, and myself–into squirrels, along with a lot of the other kids fighting in that battle. I assume it's for longevity purposes, but that's merely conjecture."

"Unt vhy vould Vonka take her?" Mrs. Gloop wonders.

"Some sort of world domination plot," Sophie sighs. "He wants her to become his daughter so he can take over the world and make it…I dunno…crazy or something. Something about creativity and whatnot."

"Well, then we need to find her," Grampa Joe says.

"But how?" Mrs. Teavee asks. "I hardly know my way around this place even with that lunatic as the guide."

"U-um….it just so happens that….that I can help," Daisy Bloom pipes up. "She's the only one who's been nice to me and I don't want anything bad to happen to her, especially if she accidentally ends up like the other kids…."

At that moment, she trails off.

"Um…never mind. Anyway, my name is Daisy Bloom. I can help you get around here."

"But you're one of those little people who work for that psycho!" Mrs. Teavee exclaims.

"They don't really consider me to be like them, I'm afraid. It'll be better if I help you."

"So then….where would she be?" Mrs. Beauregarde asks.

She gives this a bit.

"Well…..if I'm right, then maybe she'll have found where the others are."

At that moment, she peeks outside to check if anyone's looking.

"Hang on," I exclaim. "What do you mean by 'others'? I thought we cured all of the squirrel kids."

She looks back at me and stuns me with this before we start to remove the barricade.

"I'm afraid that…..those squirrel experiments aren't the first batch of kids that Wonka has lured into this factory….."

A/N: DUN DUN DUN!

I'm not dead!