Disclaimer: We tried to switch a life-like Wonka doll with the real thing, but Tim Burton is smarter than we thought…so we don't own the Amazingly Hot and Sexy Chocolatier…yet…

Warning: This chapter contains an aggressive assault on a woman. Nothing too graphic, but please be warned!

AN: Wow, we really can't believe we made it to chapter 20! It's absolutely amazing, and we'd like to thank all of you for sticking with us and loving our work. Thanks so much! Sorry about the cliffhangers, but can you really blame us for making things interesting? (wink, wink) Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 20: Unexpected Heroics:

Struggling against the arm across her waist, Danika had never been so frightened in her entire life. She'd never been attacked or 'ruffed up' in all her twenty-odd years of life, and it was making her knees weak with fear. She wanted so badly to call for help, but there was a hand across her mouth, and no one would have heard her anyway. It was dinnertime, and most, if not all, of the town residents were at home having supper with their families. She could only pray that her attacker only wanted her money…

"Relax, Nika, it's only me," whispered a male voice in her ear.

Danika's eyebrows almost flew off the top of her head in surprise. She knew that voice…

"I'm going to remove my hand, so don't scream, okay?"

Danika nodded her head and the hand slowly removed itself from her mouth. Turning her head slightly, she let out an angry huff. "Aaron, what are you doing?" she snapped, struggling against his hold on her. "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Pale blue eyes blinked at her from under blond bangs. "I didn't mean to scare you, Nika," he softly replied, looking thoroughly ashamed.

Nika sighed. Aaron wasn't exactly a bright man, which is what made it seem almost utterly amazing that he'd managed to become a dental assistant in her uncle's office. He was good at what he did, but wasn't particularly 'with it' when it came to things that required common sense. For instance, dragging her off the street instead of greeting her like a normal human being. Rubbing her eyes, Danika tried to get her mind (and her patience) together.

"Aaron, you can't just snatch people off the street like that," she said, trying to sound calm and collected when all she wanted to do was punch the guy.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he whispered. Her "attacker" looked down at his feet, behaving like a small child instead of the 25-year-old, six-foot-tall man he was. He was also amazingly broad-shouldered, as well as strong, but he was still a gentle guy…as far as she knew…

Managing to pull away from Aaron's hold on her, Danika straightened herself out. She carefully opened the black trench coat to shake out the ankle-length, crushed velvet green dress that she'd changed into that morning. After she was sure that was back to normal, she readjusted her coat so that she looked presentable. Once she was sure of her appearance, Danika crossed her arms and glared at Aaron.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about, Aaron?" she asked, still trying to keep her cool.

He smiled at her. "I wanted to know why you haven't been coming to work lately," he said, putting his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. "I've been worried about you."

Nika tried not to wince. She knew that Aaron had held a small crush on her since they'd met about four months ago, but she didn't think of him the same way. Sure, she was nice to him, but then, she was nice to everybody; it was just the type of person she was. The only people she wasn't nice to were people who were mean to her little cousin. She had paid no special attention to Aaron, but apparently he believed otherwise.

"I've been moving in with my boyfriend," she said, trying to appear nonchalant.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that her relationship with Willy didn't really have the sort of relationship levels like boyfriend and girlfriend. However, Nika really did think of Willy as her boyfriend, and it made her blush to actually get it out in the open. She cared very much for him, and the smallest thought of him and her being together in that way warmed her heart and made it swell in her chest. A dreamy smile settled across her face, making her green eyes sparkle.

Aaron looked surprised at the news. "When did you get a boyfriend?" he demanded. "Who is he?"

Danika frowned. "I don't have to tell you," she said, glaring at him. "That's my own business, not yours!"

"It is my business!" Aaron insisted. "I've been wanting to ask you out for months, and then all of a sudden you have a boyfriend?"

"Well then you should have asked me out sooner," she said, taking a step towards the alleyway opening that led into the street. "And even if you had asked, there's no guarantee that I would have agreed to date you."

Aaron's jaw dropped. "You mean you wouldn't have gone out with me even if I'd asked?"

She nearly groaned at the man's cluelessness. "Aaron, just because I've been nice to you doesn't mean that I'm interested in you in that way," she said, walking towards the street. "Now I have to go, my boyfriend's expecting me."

A large hand grabbed her arm. "He can wait," Aaron growled, pulling her back towards the alley. "I want to talk to you about your 'new man.'"

"Well I don't want to talk to you about him!" she snapped. "Now let me go before I start screaming for help!"

Another large hand gripped her throat as its twin pressed her against a wall. "There, now you can't talk unless I let you." She was pressed harder to the wall. "Now, who's this boyfriend of yours?"

Nika glared up at him and refused to speak. If Aaron knew that she was in love with Willy Wonka, she didn't know what he'd do. Instead of risking harm to Willy and his company, she kept silent, praying that Aaron would give up this little inquisition of his and let her go before he did something drastic. She didn't like being held like this, and it scared the crap out of her.

"Tell me, Danika!" Aaron spat, the arm holding her against the wall pressing even harder. "Who's this man that has you so worked up and in the clouds?"

Instead of answering, she did something she never thought she'd have to do. She kicked him right between the legs.

Aaron went down in a large blond heap, and Nika made a run for it towards the factory. She'd just made it into the courtyard in the front of the factory when she heard someone climbing up and over the gate. Panicked, she began running towards the front doors. She hadn't made it three feet before a familiar big hand grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She opened her mouth to scream but Aaron covered it to prevent any sound from escaping.

"Thought that loony chocolate man Wonka could protect you when you ran in here, huh?" he whispered harshly into her ear. "There's not a chance of that ever happening." His hands gripped her even tighter. "I've watched and wanted you for months, Danika, and there's no way I'm going to let some other man take you away from me!"

His lips pressed harshly against hers, and she could feel stubble from where he hadn't shaved. Nika tried to pull away from the disgusting kiss, but Aaron wouldn't let her. She twisted and turned her body a dozen different ways to try and get away from him, but nothing worked. When he finally pulled away from the kiss, she began screaming for help.

"You can scream all you like, Nika, but no one can hear you!" he jeered down at her. "Everyone's at home, and there's no way anyone in the factory's going to come to your rescue!"

The hand that had been around her mouth now drifted towards the hem of her dress, quickly sliding underneath the fabric and going upwards. The thought of what he might do to her scared Danika out of her wits, and she wished more than anything that she'd stayed in the factory with the man she loved.

"Willy!" she screamed, hoping against hope that he would hear her. "Willy, please, help me!"

From inside the factory, Willy could hear someone screaming for help outside of his doors. Normally he despised having contact with other people, but if they were in trouble, he had to help them; after all, it was the right thing to do. He may be somewhat of a germaphobe, but he still had a heart when it came to helping others who were in trouble! A superhero he was not, but if he could help save someone who needed it, he'd do it. Gripping his cane for defense, he raced down towards the front doors, calling a group of Oompa Loompas to follow him and to arm themselves with Taffy-Trapping Guns, just in case.

Now, normally, Willy Wonka despised violence and guns. However, with all of the people trying to get into his factory, he'd had to develop some sort of defense against the outside world. So the Taffy-Trappers were designed to do just that: trap and bind people non-violently in a web of taffy that they could eat themselves out of in a couple of hours. However, Willy had a feeling that this evening's situation would require much more than the Trappers…

A few subtle hand motions, and the most experienced fighters of the Oompa Loompa tribe were instantly standing by, ready for battle. Taking a deep breath, Willy slid outside, seeing and hearing the most horrific scene possible, right in front of him…

As Danika continued to call out for help, she could feel Aaron settling himself between her thighs. Her screams grew more frantic, and tears were streaming down her face.

"You think Willy Wonka is going to help you?" Aaron laughed. "He wouldn't give the Queen of England the time of day! Why would he care about you?"

"Because she is the woman I love," stated an angry voice from behind him.

The blond man turned around and was instantly hit across the face with the end of a cane. Stunned, but by no means down, Aaron lay on his back on the ground, his lip bleeding and swollen. Not moving, he simply stared up at the chocolatier that had chosen to hide from the world for so long. In the fading light, Willy Wonka looked taller and far more sinister than anyone could believe in a top hat and long coat, a cane gripped threateningly in his gloved hands.

"The woman you love?" Aaron asked, disbelievingly.

"Is there an echo out here?" replied a sarcastic Willy Wonka, who was busy twirling his cane with nimble fingers. "Yes, she is the woman I love, and if you aren't off of my woman and my property in five seconds, I'll have you spitting out your teeth in six-five-four-"

Aaron was instantly on his feet and flying at the chocolatier, his hands raised to attack. Willy gracefully stepped to the side, his cane twirling impressively in his hands. In the next few seconds, the cane met with several sensitive places on Aaron's body, and the tall blond man was face down on the ground, unconscious, as Willy was helping up a trembling Danika.

Staring at the man lying in front of him, Willy wrapped his arms around his lovely lady, holding her close to his body to try and calm her down. Gloved fingers reached into his coat and retrieved a handkerchief before going to wipe away her tears. She sighed and leaned against him, happy that he'd come to help her when she needed it most.

Escorting his trembling beloved inside, Willy made a quick call to the Oompa Loompas, who soon had the intruder/attacker outside the gates. They left him wrapped up in several yards of grape taffy, with most of his teeth missing and several lumps on his face and body from Willy's defensive attack. Satisfied with their work, the tiny people were wicked enough to kick the unconscious man in the rear end a few times before heading inside to tend to their Tall People.

AN: Wow, Willy Wonka to the rescue! (cues the heroic music) Our hero…(dreamy sighs) Anyway, please review and let us know what you think of the chapter!