Disclaimer: We have successfully kidnapped Willy Wonka, so now he's all ours. (Points to empty corner before noticing its empty) What the…dang it, Tim Burton must have rescued him! Guess that means we (regretfully) own nothing. (Dark mutterings follow)
A/N: Please forgive us if updates are slow, school sucks for one writer and work for another, so please be patient! Thanks!
Chapter 8: Receiving the Unexpected:
Nika woke with a pounding head and the smell of vanilla in her nose. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was back in her own room, and Wendell was standing by her bed, a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water in his hands. She instantly held out her own hands and Wendell handed over the glass before emptying out two pills and giving them to her. Nika wasted no time in swallowing them and closing her eyes against the pain. When she woke up an hour later, Nika opened her eyes and saw violet ones staring back at her.
"Gah!" she shrieked, backing away from the intruder.
"Ah!" yelled a male voice in response to her scream.
Wait, she knew that voice! "Oh, God, it's you, Mr. Wonka!" Nika said, her hand pressed against her heart. "Don't ever do that again, please!"
She saw him straighten his hat and coat. "No worries about that, Miss Sinclaire," the chocolate maker said, taking a deep breath as he shifted uncomfortably. "Are you alright, you fainted last night. I had to catch you before you hurt yourself on the floor."
Suddenly, the events of the night before came rushing back to her: her dinner with Mr. Wonka, the tour of the factory, the fight in front of the Inventing Room and the fact that…
"You knew my aunt?" she cried, staring at him. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
He sighed. "Because it didn't occur to me until much later that you looked remarkably like the woman I once deeply cared for," he said, obviously trying to keep his temper in check.
"Deeply cared for?" She looked at him closely. "You loved her…" Nika whispered, not knowing whether to be awed or crushed.
"I don't want to talk about it," he snapped, running his hands over the front of his vest. "You're alright now, that's all that matters."
Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, he was almost completely out the door. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around.
"Oh, and for future conversation, please call me Willy," he said. "Being called Mr. Wonka all the time makes me feel old."
With that, he walked out the door and disappeared, leaving a puzzled Nika behind on the bed.
After she'd dressed in some of the clothes provided by the dressmakers (black pants, white blouse, and some black leather slip-on shoes), Nika spent the rest of the day in the library, going all the way through one of her favorite science fiction books before getting restless enough for a walk. Wendell had left her alone after she'd told him her intention to stay in her 'reader's haven' for the day, but the Oompa Loompa had thoughtfully brought her lunch, as well as a snack of soft chocolate chip cookies and a pitcher of cold milk. Once she was done with her book, though, Danika had nothing to do (or to eat), so she decided to see if she correctly remembered where the rooms in the factory were.
As she walked, Nika was warmly greeted by Oompa Loompas in various outfits, probably due to the different types of work they did in the factory. She was waved at and frequently offered a taste of a few new creations (one of which scared her when it made a tiny explosion in her mouth). She was thoroughly enjoying herself when she stopped outside the Inventing Room and saw that the door was open a crack. Looking around and spotting no one (not even an Oompa Loompa), Nika took a small peek inside, and gasped.
It was the type of laboratory that would make a mad scientist cry in envy. Tube and containers full of different colored liquids were everywhere, and some were connected to one another in a very complicated manner. There were huge machines everywhere, and Danika could see several Oompa Loompas running around with containers in their hands. One of them spotted her in the doorway and motioned her inside. Not wanting to get in trouble, Nika pulled back from the door and closed it.
'No way am I going in there uninvited,' she thought, slowly backing away from the door. 'The last thing I want to do is piss off Mr. Wonka more than he already is!'
She was six inches away from the door when it opened and an Oompa Loompa reached out, grabbing her sleeve and tugging her inside, the door closing behind her. Somehow she ended up with a pair of black goggles over her eyes, and she couldn't resist walking forward…especially when an Oompa Loompa was tugging her further inwards! Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Nika stepped forward.
'I didn't know there could be so many different ways to make candy,' she thought, looking at all of the bubbling, churning, mixing, and all other types of chemical reactions going on around her.
"No, no, no, that's not going to work!" cried a familiar voice.
Nika tried her best not to panic. If he found her here, then she'd be in big trouble. Well, actually, the Oompa Loompas would be in trouble, but she couldn't let that happen to them! They'd probably be alright, though, considering Mr. Wonka didn't want to punish the tiny people for anything, but she couldn't take that chance. Trying to move away slowly, she was stopped by several hands grabbing her clothes and pushing her forward, towards the very-loudly-complaining Mr. Wonka.
"No, that candy obviously won't work! Children will never buy a candy that's sour enough to keep their lips puckered for days, not to mention it turns people yellow!" Scribbling could be heard, as well as the crumpling of paper. "Now I have to find another idea for hard candy!"
Nika walked around a machine that was spewing blue smoke and found a very agitated Willy Wonka pacing back and forth in front of a table. Once he stopped and made to turn around, his hands shot straight up and began waving around, as though he were directing airplanes to land somewhere. She couldn't old back a small snort of laughter when Willy began mouthing words to himself, and it was that small noise of amusement that caught Willy's attention. Whirling around, he spotted her.
"Danika!" he cried, his hands still in the air. "What are you doing here?"
Nika coughed. "Um, the Oompa Loompas insisted that I come in here for some reason," she said, looking around, trying not to make eye contact. "Your Inventing Room is quite lovely, by the way."
Willy seemed at a loss of words for a moment, which the Oompa Loompa workers standing nearby considered a first-time event. The chocolatier simply stood there and blinked at her, trying to fully comprehend what she'd just said to him. His mouth opened and closed several times before finally closing for good, and his lips seemed to twist around all on their own. All in all, it was quite the amusing sight for both the Oompa Loompa and human female audience.
Finally, Nika spoke up. "Um, you can lower your arms now," she said, trying to keep a straight face. "I'm not holding you up or anything."
Willy actually blushed and lowered his hands. "Right, then," he said, straightening his coat. "Well, if the Oompa Loompas think you should be allowed in here, then who am I to argue? They are good judges of character, so I suppose I'd better listen to them just this once."
The tiny men nodded at him before he sent them away to their duties. An awkward silence came between the two, and no eye contact was made, making things even more uncomfortable between them. When Nika finally had enough, she saw that an Oompa Loompa was gesturing towards the table, which held many large sheets of paper on it.
In spite of herself, Nika couldn't help asking, "What are you working on?"
Willy jerked in surprise. "Oh, uh, nothing, j-just a sort of h-hard candy for ch-children," he stuttered, standing in front of what were obviously his future plans.
"Oh," she said, looking away towards a machine that was steaming pink smoke that smelled like blueberries. "You know, the only problem I've had with hard candy is that it always dissolves just when I'm starting to really enjoy it," she blurted.
She saw his head tilt. "Really?" he asked slowly, drawing out the word.
"Sure," Nika said, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, I can pop one in my mouth while at work to keep myself busy, but I never really get to enjoy it because it just dissolves, just like that." She snapped her fingers in demonstration. "I'd love a hard candy that I can keep sucking on and not have it disappear before I can really enjoy the flavor or flavors it has to offer."
Nika could feel herself suddenly being lifted up in a hug. Looking down, she saw a creative spark in Willy Wonka's eyes, one that made her feel all happy and warm inside. She smiled when she saw the grin on his face, his perfectly aligned white teeth sparkling as he beamed at her.
"You're brilliant!" he cried, twirling her around. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
He quickly put her down and raced for his plans, yelling at various Oompa Loompas to get started on a new machine at once! Nika watched as the small men disappeared into various parts of the room and began assembling a new machine right then and there. A second later, she felt a tug on her pants and looked down to see Wendell looking up at her with a smirk on his face. Jerking his head towards the exit, he held up a watch that plainly said it was dinnertime.
"Quite right, Wendell," she said, winking at him. "It is dinner time, but I don't think that Mr. Wonka will be joining us, will he?" The shaking head of the Oompa Loompa indicated she was probably right. "So I'll just eat up in my room, okay?"
Nodding, Wendell led Nika back to her room for dinner and a nice long, hot, pretty-smelling bubble bath for afterwards.
All night Willy Wonka worked on his new creation, which he called the Everlasting Gobstopper. It was quite brilliant, actually; a candy that a child could suck for ages and not get any smaller! Of course, some people would think that would ruin him, but that simply wasn't true. Sure, it would never get any smaller, but there would be so many to choose from! A person could buy one that always tasted of one flavor, or it would have a repeating pattern of a variety of flavors, all layered together.
Willy had a feeling the multi-flavored Gobstoppers would be the most popular, so he made sure the flavors came in numerous combinations with half a dozen flavors for each ball, and that each flavor lasted for 15 minutes exactly before changing. To make sure they were small enough to suck on comfortably, but large enough not to choke on, Willy made them the size of a silver dollar. He also made sure that there was a nice container that could be used to store the Gobstopper so that children's hands wouldn't get all sticky. Best of all, the children who never got much spending money could have candy, too, and that's what really made this small ball of hard candy so gosh-darn special.
'I really should thank Danika for this idea,' Willy thought as he made his way to bed at three o' clock in the morning. 'And I know exactly what that 'thank you' should be!'
The next morning, instead of a breakfast tray greeting her, Nika found five Oompa Loompas at the side of her bed, waiting for her to wake up. After making a squeak of surprise, she read a note from Willy, asking her to join him for breakfast, and that he had something very important to tell her. Shrugging, she donned a long black skirt, red shirt, and black velvet shoes before allowing Wendell to lead her to the dining room. Breakfast had been quiet, but pleasant because both people were in such good moods. After the last dish had been taken away and all that was left was a single beverage in front of them, Willy decided it was time for his surprise.
"Danika, I would like to thank you very much for the idea for an everlasting hard candy," he said, giving her a small smile. "I've decided to make it a reality, and it'll be called the Everlasting Gobstopper."
She blushed. "It was nothing, Willy," she said, smiling back at him. "I'm flattered you liked the idea, though."
He coughed. "Well, I've decided to show my thanks in an unusual fashion," Willy said, now fiddling with a piece of toast leftover from breakfast. "I've decided to allow your family to come here and see where you are and how you're doing."
Nika stared at him. "Are you serious?" she gasped. Could this really be happening?
"I've sent out a note, asking for them to come to the front gates at midnight so that no one can see them enter," he said, still fiddling with his toast. "And they can stay for a few hours so you can catch up on everything. The thing is that they'll have to leave well before dawn so that they aren't seen."
Leaping from her chair, Danika threw herself upon Willy and gave him the first hug he'd had from a person since he'd been a child…and it was the best one of his life.
AN: Aw, sappy chapter ending! We both hope you liked it, and if you do, please review! Hey, that rhymed…