1Title: Pure of Heart
Author: Hellsfire.scythe
Chapter: 6?
Chapter Summary: The problems just get worse and worse. Suddenly Charlie finds himself almost caught in one. That definitely doesn't make Wonka happy. Not happy at all.
Summary: When Charlie turns eleven years old, 'What more does a boy want than a pet?' thinks Willy Wonka. Their trip to a local pet shop brings more surprises than 'just a pet' as competition begins to rear its ugly head. CatCF/PSoH
Chapter Six: Monster of the Chocolate Factory
"I really don't know what's happening! I've been running this factory for years and nothing like this has ever happened!" Wonka glanced at the list again to make sure he was seeing things right. "I mean, how…how can this be happening?" The list crackled as Wonka waved it about in the air. He jumped from his seat and paced frantically in front of the desk of the Administration Office. "Doris, you have to have made a mistake! A mistake, right? These things can't possibly be happening in my factory."
The said Oompa-loompa gave him a grave expression and shook her head as if saying 'I never make mistakes.' Carefully, she straightened her pink shawl and sighed. Another sheaf of paper inched out of the printer and she handed it to the chocolatier.
"No…no! If this isn't a mistake…" Wonka stopped his pacing and plopped back down to the floor as he compared the old list to the newest one. Doris looked up from her typing and watched as Wonka reached into his coat and pulled out a dozen more papers. He arranged them from oldest to newest. Each one was slightly longer than the one before, the lists kept on growing and growing. There was one from last month, one from a few days later, another from a fortnight ago, another from last week, etc. "Y-you're, no, this is a joke…a joke then!" Wonka let out an overexcited titter. "So am I right? A joke?" his voice grew softer and less hopeful as Doris didn't answer.
Wonka's hands dropped slowly down to his sides and his jaw trembled as his gaze traveled from one list to the other. "It's not possible."
"Mr. Wonka? I just finished fixing the fudge boiler." Charlie stepped out of the Great Glass Elevator. "Something bent one of pipes and the fudge overflowed. I helped to replace the pipe and the Oompa-loompas are cleaning up the mess." The boy stopped when he saw Wonka's slouched form. "Mr. Wonka? Is everything alright?"
"Heh, hello Charlie," Wonka stood and attempted to grin. "You have some fudge on your cheek." He passed a gloved finger over the smear of fudge and brought it to his lips. "Well, at least the chocolate is still good." An unnerving giggle startled the nearby Oompa-loompa secretaries.
"What's wrong? Has something happened again?" Charlie pressed further. Wonka's mouth moved silently as if he were uncertain about something before coming together into a thin line.
Instead, the chocolatier's head shook violently. "No, nothing at all, my dear boy, nothing at all is wrong."
The sound of small and quick footsteps caused the two humans to turn. An Oompa-loompa half-dressed in an orange jumpsuit and his tribal clothing rushed into the room. Wonka's troubled look re-entered his face and he kneeled down to let the Oompa-loompa whisper in his ear. Charlie looked on in concern as Wonka's expression grew more hardened and upset.
"I'm going to have to be going, Charlie. Ask Doris if there's anything else to be fixed." Wonka stood up and entered the glass elevator with only a stumble.
"But Mr. Wonka?"
"Stay here, Charlie."
Charlie drew back as the elevator hurtled away. The shakiness of Wonka's voice was frightening. When had Wonka ever been so, so scared?
Doris gathered up the papers on her desk and handed them to Charlie. He took the newest list and looked down at it. It had all the problems from day one when everything had started going wrong.
List of Things Gone Wrong Since March 11th to April 11th:
-Marshmallow Fluffing Machine jammed
-15 Chocolate Birds disappeared, 5 eggs as well
-Candy-wool sheep missing
-Spill in the mixing room
-Chocolate Milking Cow fallen ill
The list just went on and on…Charlie skimmed quickly over them all and stared at the latest problems.
-Chocolate Milking Cow died
-Fudge Boiler broken
-One box of Wonka's Scrumdidilyumptios examined by Health Inspectors in a store found to have contaminants (animal excretory). Whole batch is to be withdrawn from the market to be tested.
-Complaints filed from Health Officials for factory to close down until all problems have been dealt with by Mr. Willy Wonka
The papers dropped from Charlie's hands and fluttered to the ground like large streamers. "Close the factory?" the words came out in a shocked whisper. He whipped around to protest, but remembered that Wonka had already left. Charlie was interrupted by a tug on his pant leg. Wordlessly, Doris gave the papers back to him and then pointed him to the office's garbage chute.
A forced smile appeared and Charlie nodded. "Good idea." It would temporarily get rid of their problems.
Break.
Wonka fell to his knees on the lush candy-grass carpet of the 'Chocolate Forest Room'. A ring of Oompa-loompas, some dressed in their tribal clothing, some wearing jumpsuits, and some wearing down-sized human clothing, surrounded him. All of their expressions mirrored Wonka's perfectly. Mournful sadness and shock was frozen on the man's pale face.
In the center of all this attention was the easily recognizable body of an Oompa-loompa. Wonka remembered this one appearing quite frequently in the 'Buttergin and Butterscotch Room', the loudest and most rambunctious one of them all. His body was now a palette of different colors from all of the bruises on his body instead of a dark copper tone. There were limbs were sticking in odd positions, his chest was caved in, two holes the size of nails were punctured in his neck. Worst of all was the expression of pain and fear in the small swollen face.
"Death by poison or suffocation." That's what the Oompa-loompa doctor had said. Wonka placed a gloved hand over his mouth. A tear welled out of his eye and spilled over his cheek. 'This has never happened in the factory before…' There was always experiments-gone-wrong in the factory. But none of them had ever resulted in death. Sure the odd blueberry or hair-ball or balloon every now and then. But never, never, never death.
The body was respectfully borne away in a litter by some of the male Oompa-loompas, followed quietly by the rest of the women and children.
Funeral ceremonies by the Oompa-loompas were never long or fancy. The dead one was buried deep into the ground of the 'Chocolate Forest Room'. A song was sung about his life. There were, however, no mischievous voices or silly songs this time. Wonka sat at the edges of the crowd. His hands were clasped tightly together and his hat rested in the crook of his arms as he listened and watched the ceremony.
Death was such a horrible thing, was it not? So horrible… so haunting.
"Here we lie to rest a beloved wife and mother: Mrs. Jane Scott Wonka." rang the preacher's voice.
"Father? Why are they putting mom in the ground? Make her wake up!"
Rain fell like a grey sheet across the town, as if the sky was mourning for life lost. Little Willy Wonka, no more than five years old, tugged at his father's sleeve.
"Death came too early in her young life and we pray to the Lord in Heaven that he will keep her well."
"Dad?"
There was no response and father remained silent beneath the black umbrella.
The casket lowered slowly into the gaping hole in the earth. A chilling feeling seemed to appear in Willy's stomach. Why wasn't mom waking up? Everyone's crying. Why?
"Momma! Momma come back! Wake up!" Willy flung himself towards the edge of the pit as the casket came to a rest at the bottom. No more voices, only the sound of rain.
"Momma? Please?"
A tug on his coat sleeve made Wonka to flinch and emerge from his thoughts. "Huh? Wha?" The Oompa-loompa chief stood before him. Wonka looked around and saw with mild surprise that all the others had left.
The chieftain gave Wonka a respectful bow of his head and pounded his arms across his chest. With a grateful expression, Wonka returned the gesture. Dark eyes regarded Wonka thoughtfully before the Oompa-loompa turned and disappeared into the candy foliage...
He had never thought of the funeral for many years. In fact, Wonka had nearly made himself forget about it. The trip to Charlie's home on the elevator was somber and silent as Wonka filtered through the thoughts in his mind.
The elevator came to a stop in the Chocolate Room and he shook the thoughts away and crammed them into a corner of his mind. The sight of that familiar little house surrounded by Candy-cane trees and sugary sweets lightened Wonka's heart considerably. Quickly, he wiped his face with a handkerchief one last time and made a cheerful smile return to his face before exiting the elevator. No use to have Charlie seeing him in a wreck, was there?
Break.
"Mr. Wonka, you're awfully quiet today." Charlie edged a little closer to the man prostrated on a candy hill. With a chirp, Feng Huang fluttered after him, her brilliant red and gold plumage gleaming in the light.
"Huh? Did you say something, Charlie?" Wonka lifted himself into a sitting position and tilted his head as Charlie made himself comfortable next to the chocolatier. "Gosh, isn't she heavy?" Feng Huang trilled something that sounded like a protest from Charlie's lap.
Charlie laughed and ran his fingers through her soft feathers. He stopped and looked at the strange expression on Wonka's face. "Mr. Wonka, are you sure you're doing alright? Mum says you haven't been sleeping for days."
"And how would your mother know that, Charlie?" Wonka said with a note of annoyance in his voice. A pout formed on the man's face and he crossed velvet-sleeved arms.
"She saw you every night for the past week walking around the Chocolate Room." Charlie placed a hand on Wonka's arm and felt emboldened when the man didn't tense. "What's wrong? What happened after you left with the Oompa-loompa?"
Wonka's breathing hitched and his purple eyes darted around as if looking for something else to change the subject to.
As if sensing what Charlie was about to do next, Feng Huang hopped off of his lap and settled down to peck at the candy grass. The boy got to his feet and kneeled next to Wonka so that they were eye to eye. "I know something else happened, Mr. Wonka. I read the lists too. The whole factory seems to have come to a stop. What's going on?"
It seemed like Wonka wasn't going to answer and Charlie felt a twinge of sadness in his chest. "Please Mr. Wonka. Don't keep secrets from me." The man bowed his head and his eyes were hidden by the brim of his hat.
Silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.
"Do you believe in monsters, Charlie?"
Charlie's face filled with confusion and he nodded slowly. Anything was possible if Wonka was involved. He was the man who invented ice cream that never melted. He was the man that built a palace entirely out of chocolate. Most of all, he was a man that made one little boy the happiest person in the world.
"Something killed one of the Oompa-loompas today."
"One of the Oompa-loompas is dead?" It was almost too unthinkable to be true. A death in Wonka's Chocolate Factory?
Wonka nodded dazedly. "The Oompa-loompas have been saying it's a monster of some sort." Charlie started when Wonka's eyes met his own again. "A monster in my factory?" Another one of Wonka's giggles pieced the air. "But then, everything that's been going wrong…"
"It can't be a coincidence can it?" Charlie finished. "Animal excretory in the chocolates," Wonka flinched at the mentioned problem. "The Chocolate Milking Cow dying of poison, all of the things disappearing, and then this, happening in just one month."
"Yeah…Yeah!" Wonka's expression brightened in some sort of realization. "All of these things happening can't be some sort of coincidence." Something sparked in Wonka's eyes. "Someone's trying to sabotage my factory."
"Sabotage?"
"Yes, those dirty sliming scheming rats are trying to ruin my factory. Again!" Wonka punched the palm of his hand with a rubbery slap. "Well, I won't let them. My factory can't be closed down, nuh-uh, it can't!"
"Are you sure, Mr. Wonka? Sabotage?"
Before Wonka could answer, Feng Huang let out a harsh screech. Charlie suddenly found himself being hauled to his feet and dragged backwards by Wonka's firm grip. He struggled to regain his ground and stumbled as a gloved hand shoved him behind Wonka's velvet-clad form.
Charlie peeked his head out from behind Wonka's arm and his eyes widened in fright. Rearing up nearly three feet from the ground where Charlie and Wonka had sat moments ago, an emerald-colored green snake dashed with black streaks hissed menacingly. Fluently, its body began slithering towards them hissing and spitting.
"G-get away!" Wonka waved his candy-filled cane at the approaching snake. "Yes, I do care if you want to eat Charlie. He's my heir. Not your dinner!"
The snake paused in its course and seemed to regard Wonka with a humorous gleam in its eyes as it hissed slowly. Charlie looked around quickly, his eyes searching desperately to make sure Feng Huang was safely away. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Now you look here." Wonka's grip on Charlie's arm tightened for a fleeting moment before pushing him away. "Run, Charlie! Run!" Charlie watched in horror as Wonka brought his cane down toward the snake's head. In lightning speed, it snapped its jaws around the cane and jerked it out of Wonka's hand. The cane dropped to the ground, two holes in the outer casing that looked as if they were burnt away by acid. It turned its attention away from Wonka and launched itself towards Charlie, mouth wide open.
A flurry of scarlet and green filled Charlie's world and he staggered backwards. He barely noticed as Wonka caught him in warm protecting arms. Charlie's eyes were glued on the scene before him in morbid fascination.
Drops of blood began appearing in the bright-green candy grass. Small red feathers floated down to join them. Scarlet-gold with emerald-black thrashed and melded into blurs. Angry hissing and shrill trilling filled Charlie's ears. Shouts filled the air as the Bucket family began rushing out of their little house. Oompa-loompas stopped their work and pointed wildly at the rapidly escalating crisis. Charlie felt Wonka's arms wrap around him tighter.
Moments later with a dull thud, emerald-black slashed now with bright red, collapsed onto the ground. Feng Huang landed on the corpse, her feathers darkened with blood and her body shivering uncontrollably, yet somehow, she still looked triumphant.
"Charlie!"
The comforting body that Charlie had been leaning against seemed to disappear and he felt himself fall into the eager and relieved arms of his mother and father.
"Thank goodness, Charlie."
"Are you hurt?"
"What happened?"
An Oompa-loompa interrupted the reunion and lifted Feng Huang, who was wrapped up in a towel. Charlie looked up from the phoenix and spotted Wonka standing a further distance away. The boy wasn't sure what Wonka seemed more repulsed by, the bloody snake corpse, or the bloody bird in his arms. The body of the snake was quickly put into a sack by some Oompa-loompas. Wordlessly, it was held out to Wonka. The chocolatier stiffened and took the proffered item tensely.
"Come on, Charlie. Let's get back inside." His mother gently placed a hand on Charlie's back and began pushing him in the direction of the house. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
"I'm fine mother, thanks to Feng Huang and Mr. Wonka." Charlie turned to watch Wonka again.
The man looked paler than usual, but his jaw was set firmly as he slung the plastic bag over his shoulder.
"Mr. Wonka! Where are you going?"
Wonka stopped as he was about to pass the Buckets by. Charlie felt worry filling his mind as the chocolatier looked back. There was a cheerful smile on his face, but the expression in his eyes was once again blocked by the brim of his hat. Instead, Charlie caught sight of Wonka's white-knuckled grip on the sack and felt a cold shiver run down his back.
"I have something I need to look into, Charlie." Wonka turned and began walking away. "I suggest you go get some rest. There's been quite a lot of excitement today."
Break.
"Have you read the newspaper today?"
Count D carefully set down his teacup and took the newspaper from Pon-chan's hand. Across the front page in rather large block letters announced the death of the city's rising politician. A shadow of a smile curled Count D's lips.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Daniel McClairy. He was found shot to death at 2 o'clock at night. His brother, Eric, has been taken into custody." Mismatched eyes looked up and narrowed into a knowing smile at a figure crouched in the shadows. "I dare say you did your job rather well this time, Yaiko-kun." D took another sip of Oolong tea. "Eric's desire has been fulfilled. Jealousy, an emotions humans twist and use so often."
"You fffflatter me, I did nottthing at all. Ttthe human you call Eric just desssired me, jussst as he did his brotttther's successs." Yaiko-kun's eyes flashed from the dark. "I was jussst the fffffinal sssstraw."
"Who wouldn't desire a creature that could bring one fortune and fame?" Count D cut himself another slice of the chocolate mousse cake. "I dare say that Eric has certainly given himself the fame."
Yaiko-kun purred in the shadows and some of the other creatures tittered in amusement.
"D, Pon-chan wasn't talking about that." T-chan snatched the paper away and underlined another article with his nail. "Take a look at this."
Wonka's Chocolate Factory to be Closed?
Health authorities have just announced a shocking discovery. One box of Wonka's chocolates had been found to have the contaminants of animal wastes. Other boxes that had been shipped over as well have been tested, and the suspicions have been confirmed that the whole batch of chocolates has been contaminated.
"We have sent a letter to Mr. Willy Wonka regarding this problem," says the Head Health Official. "No doubt this is just an isolated case, but precautions should be taken. The closing should just be momentary, just enough for Mr. Wonka to check over things."
But some others say something else. "It's a disgrace! In all of my years of candy-making, no such problem has ever happened in my factory," comments Philus Prodnose. "There must be something wrong going on in that factory. I always thought there was something fishy going on, especially after that whole Golden Ticket fiasco!"
Mr. Wonka himself refused to say anything about the going-ons in his factory. But the public is rather alarmed. -Cont. on pg A-5
"Oh my," Count D picked up the teacup and turned it slowly in his hands. "This certainly comes as a surprise."
"Bull," spat T-chan. "You knew this was what that idiot wanted." The boy shrugged and shot D a grin. "At least you can't blame me now, if your chocolate supply goes away."
"Language, T-chan, language."
Someone knocked on the shop doors and Count D glanced up at the clock. All the creatures in the room, save a few, scattered away and Yaiko-kun padded deeper into the shop. "More late visitors?" The Count smiled when he saw the outline of the caller outside the door. Carefully, he pushed them open.
"Why, what a coincidence. I was just thinking about you, Mr. Wonka."
A look of distaste crossed the man's eyes as he pushed a large plastic bag into D's hands.
"Is there something the matter, sir?" the Count ushered Wonka inside and offered him some tea. It was quickly turned down. "Have you come to talk about the berry plant?" Wonka shook his head and continued clenching and unclenching his gloved hands. 'What have we here?' The image of a certain blond-haired detective flashed through his mind as Wonka pointed at the bag.
Count D warily put the plastic bag onto the ground. Silence filled the room as he cut the bag open. Smells of blood and bodily fluids permeated the air. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as Count D straightened himself up to glare at the man seated quietly on the couch. "Did you do this?" His normally calm voice had a sharp edge of ice to it.
'This' was the body of Vene-chan. Crimson gashes covered his face, neck, and torso. Gaping red holes had replaced the area where startling yellow eyes had been. His snake-like body from the hips down glistened with the coppery tint of blood that had pooled in the bag.
"Do what?" Wonka looked up from the Cocoa Crème Berry plant at Count D. His pencil was still moving rapidly over the small notepad in his hands. Purple eyes alighted on the corpse in the bag and he shuddered. "Ew, gross, that." The chocolatier placed his attention back towards the plant. "No, I actually didn't. What is it?"
"It happens to be called Vene-chan. He's a very rare creature that I found deep in the Amazon years ago."
"Then what was he doing in my chocolate factory? What was he doing ruining all my life's work? What was he doing trying to eat my only heir!" interrupted Wonka. He stood up and placed his hands on his hips.
"What happened to him?" Count D broke in.
A staring contest commenced before Wonka tucked his pencil and pad back into the folds of his coat. "He tried to eat Charlie."
Manicured fingers curled harshly over Count D's cheongsam as he struggled to keep from harming the man. "I know that much, Mr. Wonka. But. What. Happened?"
Wonka ignored the question and crossed his arms. "What has Charlie ever done to you, huh? What?"
Count D narrowed his eyes but didn't answer.
"Nothing, right? Charlie has never done anything to you. Then what are you doing? Sending people into my factory, to destroy my work, to kill the best thing that has ever happened in my life?" the man gave a great sigh and inhaled deeply, a blush suffusing in his pale cheeks.
"I didn't send him." D picked up his now lukewarm tea and added some more steaming water into the cup. "I sold Vene-chan to a man by the name of Mark Ficklegruber. Does that ring any bells, Mr. Wonka? He had said he wanted revenge against someone, but I didn't know exactly who."
Wonka sank back into the plush cushions of the couch, his face frozen in a blank expression. The previously turned down cup of tea was back in his hands and he mechanically began stirring in large spoonfuls of sugar before sipping it with closed eyes.
"Feng Huang killed it."
"What?"
"I don't know what happened. It went after Charlie and then, all of a sudden, Feng Huang jumps onto that…creature's back." The empty tea cup clattered onto the table and rolled onto the carpet. "She starts howling and slashing at it and, before any of us knows what's going on," Wonka giggled and rubbed his face with his hands, "Your Vene-chan's gone." A shuddery breath escaped Wonka's lips. "The worst thing is what she looked like. Golly, she was covered in his blood, pieces of his…his," the sound of a contained retch barely makes it to Count D's ears. "It just wasn't right…and the look in her eyes…"
'I let Mr. Ficklegruber send Vene-chan to his death.' D loosened his grip on his cup and gazed ruefully towards the snake. 'Feng Huang has always been rather protective of her owners.'
"I apologize, Mr. Wonka, for causing you such trouble," murmured the Count. He walked to the man's side and tilted up Wonka's quavering chin. Troubled violet eyes shone pleadingly up to him. Gently, Count D cupped the face in his hands. "Get some rest, Mr. Wonka. You're quite a mess."
The scent incense in the room changed and Wonka's eyelids drooped. Slowly, D pulled away and watched as the man nodded off to a dreamless sleep.
"So whaddaya going to do about him?" asked T-chan, prodding the man's exposed neck.
"Let him sleep. He's going to need it." Count D prepared another well-deserved cup of Oolong tea. T-chan scowled and walked away to find Pon-chan who had run immediately after smelling the blood. She was probably hiding somewhere now. Stupid little kids.
To be continued. . .
Chapter Seven is finished and betaed! That's going to be next
Chapter 7 Summary: Even though the 'monster' is gone. More problems plague the factory and its owners! Even Count D gets his own troubles to deal with. What is the world coming to?
Review and tell me what you think. If you like it I'll be more likely to crank out Chapter 8. I get so much inspiration from my reviewers it isn't even funny. Flames will be read and then deposited into the incinerator in my mind. Constructive critisism is welcome.
Hellsfire.scythe