Chapter 23: The Wonder of Wonka Land
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! After quite a bit of research, I'm back with the next chapter of Kind At Heart! But before I respond to your reviews, I must note that a lot more content was going to be included in this chapter compared to the final version, but due to length, I decided to cut it in half, leaving the content that was left out for Chapter 24. Now, with that out of the way, let me respond to your reviews!
Guest #1, I will tell you all that the Candy Armory will appear later on! Where? Only I know. ;)
Guest #2, at the time that the group visited the Cold Lemonade Bath room, both it and the lemonade were cold in temperature, but I get what you mean. The generator idea is certainly a good one, and it may be mentioned later on during the tour.
Gage the Hedgehog, indeed! That certainly was a crazy chapter, wasn't it?
Guest #3, it's not because of the spa specifically, but because of the Wonka-Vite and Vita Wonk room. You were supposed to get the explanation in this chapter, but it has been moved to the next one instead. As for the maglev, the Oompa-Loompas do have the Recreation Corridor, but I get what you're saying.
Softkitty55, I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Wonka, being the genius he is, certainly has come up with unique ways to relax, hasn't he? The moment featuring Yuna and Charlie was one of my favorite moments in the entire story, so I'm glad you liked it! As for what's next, it's finally here! Enjoy!
Matt, Tyler certainly is a handful, isn't he? As you could probably tell, part of Tyler's reactions during the maglev were taken from the raft ride in the original story, but quite a bit of the quotes were mine, so it balances itself out pretty well in my opinion. Regarding Wonka-Vite, it didn't state that it was a failed recipe, but rather, that there was a mishap with it, referencing the events of CatGGE. I do think that Tyler and Kitsune would love the Horde O'Zombie Chews, and the opportunity is too funny to pass up!
Guest #4, you all really love Tyler and Kitsune, don't you? I'll heavily consider that quote for the next chapter.
emeraldphan, I'm so happy that you enjoyed the scene with the Baths! The Yuna and Charlie scene was another favorite of mine to write, due to the development contained within it. The maglev was also fun to write, mostly due to Tyler's reactions. XD Now, on with the story!
(Credits: Credit goes to a Guest from Bad Nuts: the Anniversary, whose review inspired Wonka Land.)
"But first," Charlie said suddenly, turning towards another door, "we should check out this room!" He turned towards a door that said, "HOTEL WONKATANIA."
"A hotel?" Chris questioned. "You have an entire hotel in your factory?"
"But of course," Mr. Wonka responded. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Fair enough," Jenna shrugged as the door to the hotel was opened, and their mouths were left hanging open at the wonder that was in front of them. They were standing in a magnificent lobby, and almost everything in it was made of polished wood, shining gold, silver, bronze, and other metals. The floor consisted of a black and white checkered pattern, and Wonka's "W" was encrusted on the top of each tile. At the far end, there was a polished wood desk, and an Oompa-Loompa was sitting behind it. Next to the desk, to the left of it, there was an elevator, and to the right, there was a stairwell. On another wall, there was a door leading to a winding corridor which provided alternate entrances to the other rooms in the Therapeutic Corridor. The room's centerpiece was a life-size sculpture of Mr. Wonka that was made entirely out of dark chocolate. Nobody, not even Tyler and Kitsune, could say a word as they looked around at their new environment.
"Excuse me for asking this," Jenna said, "but what was this used for?"
Mr. Wonka turned to her. In his eyes, Jenna could sense a hint of sadness, and there was a slight frown on his face as he spoke. He sighed, then finally began speaking.
"Back in the day," Mr. Wonka explained with a sigh then continuing to talk, "not even Charlie knows this. You see, this lobby was where all my employees gathered. If they had no family, if they were homeless, they'd sleep here. We'd have our staff meetings here, our taste testing results, our gatherings, our weddings for my employees. But after I closed the factory down, it became a shell of its former self. Now, it's just used as sleeping quarters for the Oompa-Loompas. They maintain it well, and it looks just as nice as back then, but it just doesn't feel the same. Over here, please."
He guided the group over by a wall of the hotel lobby, and they saw a bunch of pictures showing various people next to Mr. Wonka.
"Employee of the month photographs still up even after all these years," Mr. Wonka remarked. "Those spies ruined them, they ruined me." He pointed over to one photo with a gloved hand, and Grandpa Joe was smiling next to Mr. Wonka, holding one of his candy bird eggs in his hand.
"Is that Grandpa Joe?" Yuna asked curiously.
"It sure is," Charlie answered. "My most favorite grandfather."
"Believe it or not," Mr. Wonka said, a hint of regret in his voice, "I originally didn't recognize Grandpa Joe up front at the gates during the original tour. It was only until Charlie became my heir that I finally realized who he truly was."
"Is my grandfather here?" Chris asked curiously.
"What was his name?" Charlie asked.
"Owen," Chris responded. "Owen Davidson."
Charlie scanned the pictures on the wall, then finally pointed at one.
"Ah, here he is!" he said triumphantly. "Right there!"
Chris stepped back and looked at the photograph. Owen Davidson looked exactly like how he appeared in his grandmother's photo album, and like the rest of the employee of the month photos, he was smiling next to Mr. Wonka.
"Wow," Chris gasped as he held Jenna's hand.
"This man," Mr. Wonka said as he pointed to another photograph, "was named Roald Dahl."
The photograph that they were looking at showed a balding man with brown hair on the sides of his head. He was smiling, and he was wearing a red suit with a white collar and blue tie.
"Hey, he was the father of my Uncle Matthew and Aunt Sophie!" Chris pointed out. Mr. Wonka looked at him and smiled.
"Mr. Dahl," Mr. Wonka explained, "was one of the first workers I ever hired, and by golly was he one of the best-"
He glared at Mindy, who was about to open her mouth.
"The best workers in the entire factory," he continued. "He always came up with such amazing ideas, and he loved every invention that I created, whether they be success or failure. Once the factory closed, he became a world-famous author for children, but died after writing his last story, which was called The Vicar of Nibbleswicke. As soon as I heard the news, I became more isolated than ever before. I even had a ceremony in this very lobby."
"He truly had," Charlie sighed sadly, and Mr. Wonka put a gloved hand on his shoulders, "a pure imagination." The two chocolatiers looked solemnly up at a huge photograph that was above all the others. It showed a group picture of Mr. Wonka next to all of his employees, and they were all smiling.
A few minutes later, after everyone collected themselves, they exited the Hotel Wonkatania and made their way out back into the corridor. Once again, they were standing in front of the door leading to the Wonka-Vite and Vita-Wonk room. Mr. Wonka turned the handle, and in they went.
What they saw absolutely shocked them. They were standing in an exact replica of Tokyo, Japan, from the towering skyscrapers, the bright signs, and the historic temples. There was even another maglev station located here; multiple maglev stations in fact. Oompa-Loompas both male and female were walking around the room as well as staring at the various Wonka-themed neon signs. It was made to look like night-time in this room, but it was still bright as ever, despite the ceiling of this room being a dark blue with twinkling lights made to resemble stars. The group watched as Oompa-Loompas were also seen walking on sidewalks, as well as driving life-size electric cars.
" おやおや、" Yuna muttered to herself.
"Yare yare," Mrs. Sayuki murmured in surprise.
"Welcome to Wonka Land, everyone!" Mr. Wonka announced proudly.
"It's Tokyo," Daniel Sparkman corrected.
"No, it's Wonka Land," Mr. Wonka responded. "It's like Tokyo, but it's my version."
"I don't see a difference," Daniel murmured.
"Man, you mumble way too much," Mr. Wonka smiled. "It's really starting to bum me out."
"Anyways, feel free to explore," Charlie beamed. "But we'll meet up in about fifteen minutes. Tyler and Kitsune…" He stared at the duo as they were walking away, "you two are gonna walk with us."
"Oh, come on!" Kitsune groaned.
"Why is it always like this?" Tyler said, disappointed.
Before the rest of the group separated, Charlie handed each group member a map of Wonka Land.
"This should help you all to navigate," Charlie explained. "Once the fifteen minutes are up, one of us will call you on this room's intercom."
Everyone began to split up. Yuna managed to separate from her mother, and Mindy managed to locate Daniel, and so did their respective parents. As usual, Jenna went with Chris, and Tyler and Kitsune walked with Mr. Wonka and Charlie.
After what seemed like walking forever, Chris and Jenna came across what looked like an ancient Japanese temple. It stretched high up into the sky, and its roofs were sloping downwards. It was a bright red color, and the two of them were fascinated by it. The two of them walked by the entrance of this strange place, and a female Oompa-Loompa wearing a yellow kimono greeted them, sliding the wall to the left and smiling at them.
"Konnichiwa," the female Oompa-Loompa bowed, but Chris and Jenna looked confused. "That means "good day" in Japanese. My name's Akari, by the way. That means 'light' in Japanese."
"Ohhhh!" Chris and Jenna said in unison, bowing back as a form of respect. "Konnichiwa to you too, mam!"
"Where's the door?" Chris asked curiously.
"Why, over here the walls are the doors!" Akari chuckled. "We call those shōji, and they often take the place of doors and walls in places such as mine, which makes these houses quite customizable!"
"That sounds so cool!" Jenna smiled.
"It is!" Akari answered. "Would you like to see inside?"
"Sure!" Chris and Jenna said together.
Chris and Jenna entered through the shōji, and noticed that they were inside a small room with a brown shelf on one side, and golden hooks on the other that resembled human hands.
"This area is called the doma," Akari explained. "In this area, both people are supposed to take off their shoes and coats before entering the main area of our home."
As soon as Akari said this, both Chris and Jenna began to take off their shoes. Akari walked a few feet from them and took out two pairs of sandals- or at least, that's what they looked like. The top of them resembled typical flip-flops, but the bottom of these strange shoes were elevated by what looked like wooden blocks, and there was a rubber strip attached to the bottom of each of these, which wavy teeth for gripping. As Chris and Jenna began to touch them, they began to realize that the wooden base wasn't rubber either- it was made out of smooth wood, just like the bases that lifted them off the ground.
"These are called geta," Akari explained. "I wear them to prevent my kimono from dragging on the ground, but they're also worn on beaches, as well as during events like rain, and very rarely, the snow."
"Ah!" Jenna screamed suddenly, looking behind herself. "One of the hooks has my hair!"
"Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous," Akari reassured the duo as Jenna freed her hair after a bit of struggling. "Don't be alarmed."
"Japanese culture is so interesting!" Jenna remarked as her and Chris put their geta on and began walking down the narrow corridor once again. A few seconds later, they re-emerged in a room with more shōji on all sides, and it was white and brown, completely made out of wood. There was a wooden table in the room's center, as well as four red cushions surrounding it.
"These are called zabuton," Akari explained, walking over by one of the cushions. "We use these for sitting on instead of chairs due to the kind of flooring in our houses. The flooring is called tatami, and it's a rush-covered straw mat used in flooring here. This room is called a washitsu, in case you're curious."
"This is so beautiful," Chris gasped as he looked around at the wonders surrounding him and Jenna.
"So romantic," Jenna blushed, chuckling to herself.
"Arigatou!" Akari smiled. "That means 'thank you' in Japanese!"
"Arigatou to you, too!" Chris and Jenna responded.
"I have one more thing to show you before you go on your merry way," Akari smiled as she slid away one of the walls once more, revealing a huge garden full of pink flowers. In the center of each flower, everyone could see small cherries.
"These are Mr. Wonka's Scrumptious Sakuras!" Akari beamed. "That means 'cherry blossom.' These cherries are very sweet, and you can even eat the flower!"
Chris and Jenna looked closer at the garden of Scrumptious Sakuras, and Akari handed them one each.
"Here, try one!" she smiled.
The two of them smiled at Akari, then smelled the flowers that they were holding. Not only was there a cherry in the center of each of them, even the petals smelled like cherries. Jenna smiled and placed her cherry in Chris' mouth, and Chris took his cherry and placed it in her mouth. The two of them giggled happily, and a few minutes later, they waved to Akari as they went off to explore elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Yuna Sayuki had found another field of the Splendiferous Sakuras and was rolling around in them with glee.
"I feel just like I'm back home in Japan!" Yuna smiled.
"Yuna, if you're eating one of those stupid candies-" a voice shouted suddenly. It was Mrs. Sayuki, and she was stomping towards Yuna, and her face was red with anger. "Come back here!"
Mrs. Sayuki stomped through the field of Splendiferous Sakuras and picked up Yuna by her arms. As quickly as she could, Yuna took a handful of cherries and stuffed them into her mouth. In retaliation, Mrs. Sayuki squeezed her cheeks together, and all the cherry gloop flew through the air and landed on her face, giving her time to escape.
While this was going on, Mindy and Daniel were together, and so were Mrs. Bell and Mr. Sparkman, all of them looking through the various technological stores in Wonka Land. They walked inside one, and a male clerk greeted them.
"Konnichiwa!" the male clerk greeted. "How can I help you?"
"Oh, we were just looking," Mr. Sparkman remarked. "Thanks for the help, regardless."
"We have all sorts of high-tech sets for sale here, see?" The clerk guided the foursome through the store, and they saw television sets of various shapes and sizes playing Wonka commercials.
"What?" Daniel snarked. "Why would two chocolatiers sell television sets?"
"I thought Mr. Wonka said that he hated television?" Mr. Sparkman remarked.
"How would you know that?" Mrs. Bell asked.
"I heard in an interview once," Mr. Sparkman said quickly.
"What?" Mrs. Bell questioned. ""His factory hasn't been open for forty years."
"I mean, before the factory closed before the first tour," Mr. Sparkman said. "He was being interviewed and stuff, and one reporter mentioned him being on television, and Mr. Wonka told everyone how much he hated it. Yup, that's how I know." he chuckled.
"Uh, does your dad have a screw loose?" Mindy whispered to Daniel.
"I heard that, young lady," Mr. Sparkman said firmly.
"What's it to you, old man?" Mindy snarked.
The clerk sensed a fight beginning to break out, and he cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him, and he continued speaking. "Let me explain exactly why we're selling television sets," he said. "This is because these serve as one of the testing grounds for one of Mr. Wonka's inventions, Television Chocolate."
"Uh, I don't like where this is going," Mr. Sparkman said uncomfortably. "Can we please get out of here as soon as possible?"
Daniel shushed him, frustrated, and the clerk continued speaking once more.
"Television Chocolate works as such- you know how ordinary television works. So what Mr. Wonka did was this: he took a large Wonka Bar the size of a mattress and managed to shrink it down to the size of a normal one that you can buy in stores. As you know, everything looks smaller when shown on television."
"That's not true," Daniel frowned. "You can show close-ups of things, and they'll always appear larger on television."
"Are you mumbling now?" the clerk smiled. "I've heard a lot about you and your habits."
"What?" Daniel said. "I'm mumbling to Oompa-Loompas now too? I thought I would finally escape it now that I'm as far away from Mr. Wonka as humanly possible at the moment, but nope."
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Mr. Sparkman said, hustling everyone out of the door as the clerk waved back at them.
"Sayonara!" the clerk waved. "Goodbye! See you later!"
Finally, Tyler and Kitsune were walking with Mr. Wonka and Charlie Bucket, and as you may have guessed, they were not happy one bit. Instead of looking around and enjoying the sights, they were sulking. They had their heads down, and their arms were crossed.
"Chill out, you two," Charlie chuckled. "Learn to let loose, and enjoy yourselves without getting into trouble!"
"But we wanna prank!" Tyler whined.
"There's a time and place for everything, little boy," Mr. Wonka told them. "And you, Kitsune. You only encourage your son's habits. You, of all people, should have the common sense to know when to do and when not to do certain things. After all, that is what led Antonio to his elimination from the tour, was it not?"
Kitsune only shrugged, then Charlie looked through the window of a clock shop they were just passing by.
"It's been fifteen minutes," Charlie remarked. "Don't you think it's about time for a meet-up?"
"I do, Charlie," Mr. Wonka smiled as he reached for his wireless microphone, causing his voice to echo all around Wonka Land. "I would like you to meet us by Wonka Land's clock shop. It is time for us to move onto the next portion of the tour."
After what seemed like half an hour, the rest of the group met up with Mr. Wonka and Charlie.
"That was the best experience of my life!" Jenna's father smiled.
"I agree!" Chris' father smiled back. "Learning all about the Japanese culture was one of the most interesting things I've ever done! Who knew I'd be learning about something like that in a chocolate factory?"
"I'm glad you had fun," Charlie grinned. "Now, it's time to continue onwards tsuā no tsugi no bubun ni mukatte."
"What?" everyone said, absolutely confused.
"He said, 'to the next portion of the tour,' Yuna smiled as everyone looked at her.
"Ooooh!" everyone said in unison.
"But how will we get there, Wonka and Bucket?" Mrs. Bell asked curiously.
"Why, transportation has already been arranged, my dear guests!" Mr. Wonka smiled, his arms outstretched with his cane in one hand. Everyone looked, and they saw a huge, grey chariot made entirely of chocolate that was coated with edible spray paint for a metallic finish. It was enclosed, like a carriage, and an Oompa-Loompa was sitting on a bench at the front holding reins to three horses that were made out of caramel.
"All aboard, everyone!" Charlie smiled politely as everyone entered inside of the chariot one by one. "Let's go!"
Charlie closed the door to the chariot and locked it, and the Oompa-Loompa snapped the reins of the horses, beginning their journey.
"Please tell me that we are not going on another fast ride like that train," Tyler sweated. "Please oh please oh please oh please." He put his hands in a praying gesture.
"Unfortunately for you," Mr. Wonka said, trying to hide a smile, "yes we are. The next area of the Wonka-Vite and Vita Wonk room that we're heading to is very far off, so we must go fast to get there in a reasonable amount of time."
"Oh, come on!" Tyler exclaimed. "This can't be happening! Two times in a row, seriously?"
Everyone looked ahead, and they saw that the road began to turn. The reins snapped once again, and the horses abruptly ran to the right, causing the chariot to turn to one side and Tyler to scream like a baby.
"Get me off of this crazy thing!" Tyler screeched. "We're going too fast!"
"You are screaming in my ear," Daniel said, annoyed. "Knock it off." Tyler snarled at him in response.
This pattern continued for many minutes as the chariot raced down roads, went up and down hills, and dodged traffic. At last, Tyler looked ahead of him in a panic as they approached another tunnel. It was pitch-black, and nothing could be seen inside of it.
"No, not another tunnel!" Tyler cried. "I hate tunnels! Turn this crazy thing around right now!"
"Where are we even going?" Mr. Adams asked.
"I don't know," Mr. Davidson said, "but I don't like the looks of that tunnel up there! Hey Wonka, I want off!"
"'Round the world, and home again!" Charlie grinned as they embarked into the darkness. "That's the sailor's way!"
"Hey, let me off!" Tyler's voice could be heard screaming, followed by the rest of the group. Chris and Jenna's screams, however, were screams of delight. "How does he even know where he's going?"
"There's no knowing where he's going," Mr. Wonka said calmly. "Switch on the lights!"
As if on cue, a slew of rainbow lights began to shine all across the tunnel, as if they were on a dance floor. The horses began running faster and faster, and Chris and Jenna's adrenaline levels grew higher and higher.
"Man, telling everyone about my tour in the factory as soon as I'm back home will only make me more famous than ever!" Yuna grinned happily. "This is so exciting!"
"Finally I agree with you, darling," Mrs. Sayuki agreed, and Yuna only snarled at her.
"All you've done is attempt to ruin my experience," Yuna frowned. "You're nothing but a greedy dirtbag, which means your opinion does not matter, so please, shut up."
Mrs. Sayuki glared at her in anger, but she said nothing. Minutes later, the group noticed a huge light coming from the other end of the tunnel, and they began to calm down as they entered into a clearing. The chariot began to slow down, and everyone slowly got out of it after Charlie unlocked the door. As Tyler exited, he specifically had tons of sweat running down his hair resulting from his screaming and fear.
After the group stretched their arms and legs out, they finally got a chance to view their surroundings. They were standing on a huge patch of swudge, and far off in the distance there was a tall brown house. Like the house that Chris and Jenna visited, it had a sloped roof, and there was a stage on the right side of the room. There were Oompa-Loompa children playing tag, and various grown-ups, both male and female, were laughing and telling jokes to each other. After walking through an extravagant archway, the group came nearer and nearer to the house.
"This, my dear children," said Mr. Wonka proudly, "is where we make Wonka-Vite and Vita Wonk!"
"But why is it so deep in this room?" Daniel asked.
"To prevent thievery," Mr. Wonka explained. "These two recipes are extremely valuable, so they must be protected at all costs."
"But what's it do?" Yuna asked curiously.
"All in good time," Charlie smiled as they arrived at the brown house. This time, there was a door. Mr. Wonka opened it and led everyone inside.
Author's Note: Wow, what a chapter! That certainly was a long one, wasn't it? I had tons of fun writing it, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as well! Of course, I'm sure you all have a couple questions, so I'll answer them right now.
First of all, both Yuna's and Mrs. Sayuki's Japanese dialogue at the beginning means, "Oh my goodness." I felt Yuna's Japanese background wasn't used to its full potential in the original, which is why I added Wonka Land.
Speaking of Wonka Land, it has no relation to the Cyber Room from MysteriousMaker1185's A Box of Chocolates. The only thing they have in common was they're both based off of big cities, and they both involve Television Chocolate in some way. I thought that would be fitting here due to Tokyo's technological district.
Second, as I mentioned in the beginning AN, Wonka Land was inspired by a review left on my collab with Matt, titled, Bad Nuts: the Anniversary. They suggested a room that looks like Tokyo, along with a candy named "Sakura", which I repurposed into the Scrumptious Sakuras here.
Third, the Hotel Wonkatania was a huge repurpose of the main area of Matt's spa in Where All the Bad Nuts Go. The appearance remained mostly the same, but I added a hotel in it, as well as its backstory. I hope you enjoyed reading about it.
Overall, what did you think about this chapter. Sorry if it wasn't the "grand demise" like you were all expecting, but nonetheless, that will happen soon, as I just need to write it out and think of some song lyrics. ;)
As usual, feel free to review and leave your thoughts, and stay tuned for the next chapter, everyone!
Until then,
Gabe S. :)
