(Matilda's POV)

I clutch ahold of my father's hand while, at the same time, try to maintain composure. Wonka's gone completely round the bend by this point. I can see his eye twitching even though I'm roughly 30 feet away from him. And….is he foaming at the mouth?

"Oh, my little princess," he growls maniacally.
"You shouldn't have left the throne. You and your prince could have lived happily ever after."

"Prince?" I ask confused.
"What in the name of sanity are you talking about?"

"How could you have forgotten?" he asks in a sickly-sweet voice.
"You're to marry one of the ticket winners, and it just so happens to be the one who saved you."

Charlie and I slowly turn to look at each other, our faces pale as paper.

"Charlie?!" I exclaim.
"You wanted ME to get married to CHARLIE?"

"And you will still," he hisses as he steps forward.
"For I am your father and what I. say. goes."

"Stay away from my daughter, Wonka," my father snaps stepping forward.

Wonka, shocked at this, lowers the sword slightly.

"Dorian," he growls.
"How long has it been, partner? 3? 6? 10 years?"

"You are no partner of mine. You made that very clear to me when you threatened to send spies to abduct Matilda."

"Abduct is such a harsh word. I prefer the term 'whisk away from' or perhaps 'surprise adoption.'"

"Surprise indeed."

"You really should be thankful, Dorian," he hisses.
"I spared you."

"It was Daisy Bloom who spared me, not you."

"I had the authority to decide your fate. But now I have your daughter, and I will NOT make the same mistakes I made with you!"

He lunges towards us, holding the sword above his head. My dad grabs my hand and pulls me out of the way. Meanwhile I see Daisy Bloom sneak towards a cage (that probably appeared whilst I was under the influence of the throne) and unplug it, draining the liquid from it and then lifting the glass, releasing no less than four adults who run towards our group.

We hear a smack. I turn to see that Wonka has slammed into the wall. Beside him is a big, red button.

"Oh, you won't win so easily, my dear," he snarls at me as he presses the button.

A loud siren and red lights blare throughout the room. Through random trapdoors emerge no less than several dozen oompa loompas that begin to corner us. Just behind them are various people from the great city. Their eyes are glossy and reflect rainbow spirals. My knees begin to knock together as I grasp tightly onto my father's hand.

"Why don't you just give up, Matilda?" Wonka cackles insanely as he approaches me.
"Give up now, and I won't make you watch them all die. Plus you said so yourself. You wanted to be my daughter in the first place. Join me, and we'll do such astonishing things. Amazing things. Beautiful things."

Not only do I hear that he's clicking his shoes in rhythm, but he's also staring me down with strange glowing eyes that I somehow can't look away from. It has me feeling very relaxed. All I see is an emerging streak of rainbow and Wonka approaching me.

"Matilda!" Billie calls, seemingly from a distance.
"Snap out of this! It's not right!"

Don't listen to her, a voice in my head purrs, soothing and lulling me.
No one appreciated your genius in the city, Matilda. You were abused by your cousin and your own mother. They tried to trap you in a mold that you will never be able to fill. But I can help you maximize your full potential. I can help you be the genius you DESERVE to be. All you need to do is take. my. hand. You'll be the envy of, not just the great city, but of the entire world, perhaps even the entire universe. Just imagine all of the greatness that can be achieved, with the two of us as a father-daughter team.

"Join me, my dearest Matilda," he purrs aloud, holding out his hand.
"Join me."

I can feel my hand shake. I want to take his hand. I want this world to be great. I've been misunderstood for so long. Finally things can go my way. My gloved hand rises up until it's just inches away from his hand. This could be it, my chance to make things my way for once.

"I—" I begin.

"Fat chance she will, yeh purple lump!"

All of a sudden, I hear a punch and the colors fade away.

"What happened?" I ask shaking my head.

Looking around I see a bunch of kids, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere and ready to fight.

"Nice hook there, Octavius," another girl, this one with a Southern dialect says before turning to me and shaking my hand.
"Name's Cornelia Prinzmetal. That boy who just took 'em down is Octavius Carmichael."

"William's brother?"

"As sure as the sun is hot! Alright, everyone. Let's take down this dodo! CHARGE!"

The others dash into the battle and everything goes from nought to a hundred really quick. Each kid pairs up and takes on an oompa-loompa and I feel like my ears are going to explode; it's so loud. I try to figure out what I should do, but I end up feeling so overloaded that I cover my ears and close my eyes.

In my distraction, I jolt out of my thoughts when I feel someone grab my arm and rush out of the battle. Suddenly I hear a door open and I'm dragged into this glass elevator. I hear the doors shut.

"Thanks for that. It was getting really—" I begin until I look up and see who it is.

My eyes grow wide as I see him, still armed with his sword.

"Going down?" asks Willy Wonka grinning maliciously like a villainous and crazed Cheshire Cat.

Before I can do anything, he presses a button and we begin to plummet into darkness.