Author's Note: Okay, another chapter! This fic is slowly but surely reaching a conclusion. Now, I've gotten a few reviews saying that my story is too close to the original and needs to be more different. Well random reviewers, I couldn't agree with you more. I decided to stick as close to the story as possible to keep true to Roald Dahl's work. I kept the first two children's fates the same (mostly because those two scenes are my favourites) and changed the thirds a bit. The fourth child's end will be completely different, as will most of the story from there. So look forward!

15: The Great Glass Elevator

"This is incredible!" Wonka-san said as they hurried along another hallway. "Children are disappearing like rabbits! There's only two of you left!" He turned and looked back to Hinata Hyuuga and Souya Ikari. "I see we're also rid of all the older folk as well," he smiled at Naruto, "which is much easier to deal with in my opinion. Now, let's see what we can do now…"

He turned down another hallway quickly. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before! It'll be much faster to see the factory by elevator". Wonka-san skipped across the passage to a pair of double doors. The doors slid open. The three children went in followed by Wonka-san.

"Now," he said, "which button shall we push first? Take your pick!"

Hinata stared around her in astonishment. While she hadn't seen many elevators in her life, she knew this one was drastically different than the ones she'd seen. There were buttons everywhere! The walls, and even the ceiling, were covered with rows upon rows of small, little push buttons. Each button was transparent and looked like it was made out of plastic. There must have been a thousand of them of them on each wall, and another thousand on the ceiling! Hinata also noticed that every single button had a tiny printed label beside it telling you which room you would be taken to if you pressed it.

"There can't be this many rooms in here!" Souya Ikari said to Wonka-san, who responded with a little laugh.

"Oh, ye of little faith," he said, "this isn't just an ordinary up-and-down elevator. I'm proud to say that this elevator can go sideways, longways, slantways, and any other ways you could possibly think of! It can visit any single room in the whole factory, no matter where it is! You simply press the button…and zing!…you're off!"

"Sugoi!" Hinata murmured. Her eyes were shining with excitement as she stared down the rows and rows of buttons.

"The whole elevator is made of a thick, clear glass!" Wonka-san declared. "Walls, doors, ceiling, floor, everything is made of glass so that you can see out!"

"But there's nothing to see," said Souya Ikari.

"Choose a button!" said Wonka-san. "You two kids may press one button each. So take your pick! Hurry up! In every room, something delicious and wonderful is being made."

Quickly, Hinata began to read some of the labels alongside the buttons.

THE ROCK-CANDY MINE, 10 000 FEET DEEP, it said on one.

EXPLODING CANDY FOR YOUR ENEMIES it said on another.

INVISIBLE CANDY BARS FOR EATING IN CLASS.

FIREY MINTS, LIKE USING A KATON TECHNIQUE.

COTTON CANDY CLOTHING, SPRING FASHIONS.

SUGAR COATED KUNAI, FOR DANGEROUS CANDY EATERS.

ADMINISTRATION OFFICE.

"Come on, come on!" cried Wonka-san. "We can't wait all day!"

"I want to see something special." Souya Ikari said. "I want to see something…revolutionary! Something that'll really change the world! Like, a new invention for shinobi" he finished.

Hinata's mind snapped to attention at Souya's request. It reminded her of something from the day before.

"Something that will change the way shinobi operate forever! If it is released, my company will be ruined!"

Urami H'coro's cold words echoed through her mind. She suddenly remembered the strange man she had met on the snowy streets last night, and his offer of a lot of money to steal something from Wonka-san. A shiver ran down her spine. Did Souya run into that man as well? she thought, Maybe he's being tempted by something as well...

"A new shinobi invention, eh?" Wonka-san murmured. "Yeah, I think I have just the thing! Oh, you just wait! If that's something you'd like, then I definitely know a room that'll tickle your fancy!"

Wonka-san leaned forward and pushed a small button on the side of the elevator simply labeled TOP SECRET ROOM. Instantly, there was a tremendous whizzing noise. The doors clanged shut and the elevator leaped away as though it had been stung by a wasp. But it leaped sideways! All of the passengers (except Wonka-san who was holding onto a strap from the ceiling) were flung off their feet and smacked against the transparent wall of the elevator.

"Get up, get up!" Wonka-san roared with laughter. However, just as the three of them were regaining their composure, the elevator gave a mighty lurch and swerved violently around a corner, heading in a new direction.

"Gyaaaah! This ride is crazy!" Naruto said as his back slammed against the other wall of the elevator. Wonka-san offered a hand to him as he got up.

The elevator rushed on at the speed of a shuriken thrown by an expert ninja. Now it was beginning to climb. It was shooting up and up and up on a steep slanty course as if it were climbing a very steep hill. Then suddenly, as though it had come to the top of the hill, it dropped like a stone and Hinata felt her stomach rise up into her throat.

"Little girl," Wonka-san asked, "are you alright?" Hinata saw he was looking at her face, which she imagined was contorted in a grimace. She shook the face off and smiled.

"I'm g-great!" she said as bravely as she could. "It's l-like being on a carnival ride!" And through the glass walls of the elevator, as it rushed along, they caught sudden glimpses of strange and wonderful things going on in some of the other rooms:

An enormous spout with brown sticky stuff oozing out of it and onto the floor…

A great craggy mountain made entirely of fudge, with Oompa-Loompas (all roped together for safety) hacking huge hunks of it of fudge out of its sides. A few of the Oompa-Loompas waved to the elevator as it whizzed past (Hinata gave a timid wave back)…

A machine with white powder spraying out of it like a snowstorm…

A village of Oompa-Loompas, with tiny houses and streets and hundreds of little Oompa-Loompa children no more than 12 centimeters high playing in the streets. Hinata could just hear that many of them were singing to themselves. She wished she could make out the songs…

Now the elevator began flattening out again, but it seemed to be going faster than ever, and Hinata could hear the sound of the wind rushing by outside as it hurtled forward.

The next moment they came into a great open space that was completely black and dark. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of orange and blush sparks and smoke! Hinata turned and saw fireworks erupting all over the place. Colourful explosions of light and sound brightened the whole space. Hinata saw that the fireworks were being shot out by cannons that seemed to be manned by Oompa-Loompas. She wondered what on earth such a room could be used for.

"Sugoi," Naruto gasped, "it's just like at festival time."

Souya Ikari sneered. "Why is everything in this place completely pointless!" he asked angrily.

Hinata felt her hands tremble with irritation. She looked up and saw that Wonka-san's expression seemed somewhat hurt by the boy's comment. She clenched her fist and said as clearly as she could:

"C-candy doesn't have to have a point…t-that's why it's candy…"

She saw Wonka-san smile out of the corner of her eye. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Naruto smiling at her, his hand squeezing her shoulder slightly.

"It's stupid!" Souya continued, "Candy is a waste of time!"

Wonka-san heard and felt these words differently than the others. Souya Ikari's voice wasn't a bothered and irritated whine of a child, but the cold and whispering voice of his father. His memory went back to his father's words…

"No son of mine is going to become a chocolateer!" he said coldly, his form hidden in shadow.

Willy Wonka remembered being much smaller, a child again. The memory was short months after the incident with the small bag of sweets. He remembered standing in front of his father, no longer filled with fear and apprehension, but with confidence and determination.

"Then I'll move away" Willy-kun cried, "I'll go to the Wind country, or the Fire country; the candy capitals of the continent! I'll work there!"

"You'll do no such thing!" his father said, his voice deathly quiet, just above a whisper. "You're my tool, MY son! You are to be a weapon, a shinobi of this village!"

"I wont!" Willy-kun shouted. "You're no longer in charge of me! Now, I'm going to make my own decisions! I choose to leave this place!"

His father didn't respond right away. Willy Wonka remembered there being a palpable silence between the two. Finally, his father began to laugh. It was a cold and menacing laugh. The laugh of a man who believes he knows everything and all of the possibilities of life.

"Fine then," his father grinned, stepping aside, "but you'll never be allowed to return to here. If you leave, our family tie will be broken! You'll rue the day you left and abandoned your destiny!"

Willy-kun looked straight ahead and marched past his father, not saying another word. He marched up the stairs and through winding tunnels, finally emerging to the surface. The bright sunshine beat warmed his pale skin; he looked out to the forest path that faced him.

He took his first steps toward his future, leaving his past behind.

Only now did he realize that he felt something missing in his heart…

"Almost there now!" Wonka-san said, breaking a moment of silence after Souya Ikari's last remark.

The surroundings had become black and empty once more. Hinata had the feeling that they were passing through nothingness. She felt slightly unnerved.

Suddenly, there was a screaming of brakes and the elevator began to slow down. Then it stopped altogether. Then, the elevator doors slid open and Wonka-san said, "Just a minute now! Listen to me! I want all of you to be extra, extra, extraordinarily careful and cautious in this next room. There is dangerous and highly stupendous stuff around in here and you must not tamper with it!"

Wonka-san's face was more grave than usual. Hinata could sense that this new room held something unlike the more whimsical things she'd seen previously in the factory. "W-what's in there?" she asked hesitantly.

"Probably something amazing…world-changing…and incredible!" Wonka-san said slowly. "But what do I know…let's take a little peek!"