"I don't get it," Bastian said as he held his hand around AURYN while it hung around his neck. "I keep trying to wish Mike back here, but AURYN's not responding."

"Maybe he's not coming because he can't," George suggested. "What if he was captured? Or killed? Or worse?"

"W- what's worse than being killed?" Tiny Tim asked nervously.

"There are many things worse than death," George told him. "Curses, hexes, forbidden magic. Unforgivable acts such as-"

"Or AURYN wants us to go to him," Bastian realized as he headed for the door. "We need to find Mike and bring him back here."

"Are you crazy?" Violet asked. "The Salts will capture and kill the lot of you. Then they'll come here for the rest of us. If the resistance dies here, then it's all over. The Salts will have won and world ends."

"Then we're going to give them one hell of a fight," Bastian told her as he turned back toward her. "Mike's one of us and we don't leave friends behind."

"He's right, Mike's like our brother," Tiny Tim replied as he followed Bastian. "We need to help him if he's in trouble. We won't drag you into our fight, but we won't let Mike stay with the Salts."

"I've never been one to back down from a fight," George added. "Let's go get our little buddy and make sure he's okay."

"You truly are brave souls," Violet said. "If they have captured Mike, they'll take him to the Salt Candy Factory to question him. If he's there, it won't be easy to get in."

"Well, we don't have time for subtlety," Bastian said as he looked at George. "You up for using some magic for some mischief?"

"I haven't caused mischief since Fred was...," George said before trailing off. "I don't know if I can now."

"You have to try, Mike's life could depend on it," Bastian told him. "If we can get Mike, we can fix this story before any of this came to pass. But we're going to need one more thing. Tiny Tim, I need you to go back to Neverland and get Terrance. If we make the trip back to the past, I'll open the door for the two of you."

Tiny Tim saluted as Bastian wished on AURYN to open the doorway back to Neverland. He hobbled through as Bastian looked at George. "Come on, we've got a friend to save."

At the Salt Factory, Veruca paced around nervously.

"Okay, bring him up." Veruca said as Mike was lifted out of a vat of sour lemon juice with cuts all over his body. He was lowered to the ground in only his underwear, shivering from the cold temperature of the factory. "Are you ready to talk?"

"Suck my everlasting gobstoppers, you bitch." Mike said through gritted teeth while shivering as he stared up at her.

"This nut isn't cracking, ma'am," one of the Oompa Loompa guards said. "We've been torturing him for hours and he hasn't even flinched."

"Why isn't he breaking?" Veruca asked. "We've been torturing him and still nothing. Why won't you talk!?"

"I've seen worse things than your ugly face," Mike told her. "I'll never betray my friends."

"Your friends have left you here to die," Veruca said as she slapped him. "You don't owe them anything."

"I owe them everything, I could have grown up to be just like you," Mike told her. "I could have kept going down a path of greed and violence, but now I know I want to be better."

"Better?" Veruca laughed. "I saw the news report of you winning that ticket. You're just as much of a self-absorbed monster as the rest of us were. You can think you can escape that? I don't know how you haven't aged in years, Mike Teavee, but I'll learn your secrets. And once I do-" Veruca was cut off by a thunderous rumbling that shook the factory. "What is that?"

"Uh, ma'am," the head soldier said. "You might want to see this."

Veruca headed to the window to see the front gate being pushed down before an army of sentient gummi bears with gummi spears and shields charged through, heading for the factory.

"How is this possible?" Veruca asked. "Guards, destroy that candy army!"

As the guards started filing out to meet the charging gummi bears, a series of fireworks exploded around them, blinding the genetically altered Oompa Loompas enough for the gummi bears to overtake them. George flew through on his new Firebolt broom, courtesy of AURYN.

"Careful, boys, too much candy isn't good for you!" George shouted as he tossed more fireworks down to keep the coming soldiers at bay while Bastian snuck into the factory.

"Someone take that flying freak down!" Veruca shouted, her attention diverted from Mike, who was too weak to move. Bastian snuck in and put an around his friend's shoulder.

"What'd they do to you?" Bastian whispered.

"Tortured me," Mike said as Bastian helped him stand up. "I didn't break, though."

"See? You're stronger than you thought," Bastian told him. "We have a way to fix this, but have to get back to the original factory before-"

A glass jar smashed over Bastian's head, causing him to fall unconscious to the ground. Veruca stood over him with an evil smirk.

"Your friends can't save you now," Veruca told him. "They'll all die and I'll make you watch if you don't tell me what I want to know. You truly are weak if you think this fool can save you."

"I'm not weak!" Mike shouted as he pulled off one of Bastian's shoes and tossed it at Veruca.

"Even your aim is weak." Veruca sneered.

"Yeah, wasn't aiming at you." Mike said as the shoe hit a lever, causing sour lemon juice to spray out of the tank at Veruca in full force, causing her to hit the wall. Mike helped Bastian get to his feet as they headed for the door. "Come on, buddy, let's get out of here and end this nightmare."

"I knew you were a hero," Bastian weakly said as they walked to the exit. "Where's my shoe?"

After wishing for some new clothes for Mike and a replacement shoe, the trio headed back to the old candy factory.

"You going to be okay? She cut you up pretty bad," Bastian said. "I know AURYN healed what it could, but-"

"I'll be okay," Mike told him. "I can't even feel the cuts now, but I remember what it felt like. That's probably never going to go away. I was supposed to go on a fun tour, and I got kidnapped and traumatized and mutilated. At least I get a happy ending if we set things right."

"I don't think it's going to take Veruca long to retaliate, she probably had us followed," Bastian said as he changed the subject. "We need to hurry and go back in time to stop this from ever happening."

"Mr. Wonka, i'm- I'm sorry I caused all of this," Mike told the old candymaker. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but-"

"Did you learn your lesson about being slothful and violent?" Wonka asked in his aged voice.

"Yes, sir, for several lifetimes," Mike said. "I'll never watch t.v. or touch a gun again."

"Then I'd say it all worked out," Wonka told him. "Now go enjoy the tour. And you might want to take this."

"A gum ball?" Mike asked.

"Save it for the end of the tour," Wonka told him. "Trust me."

"Come on, Mike!" George shouted.

"They're coming!" Veruca shouted as she looked out the window. "She's got enough firepower to level the factory!"

Mike jumped into the boat next to George as Bastian put his hand on AURYN and concentrated on going back in time to the day of the original factory tour.

"I hope this works," Bastian said as AURYN started to glow while the boat moved into the tunnel. "The time tunnel's opening, George!"

George pulled out his wand for a teleportation spell that would work with AURYN's time traveling magic.

"Apparate!"

The boat and everyone on it started disappearing the closer it got to the tunnel until they were well on their way into the past.

"Good luck," Wonka said as Veruca's attack on the factory began...

St. Petersberg

"Huck, why did we have to wait until after dark to hold hands?" Nibs asked he walked through the cemetary with his boyfriend Huck Finn. "Shouldn't everyone be happy that we've found love? Tom seemed okay with it, and so are Bastian and the rest of the group."

"Nibs, I really do care for you, and I'm glad our friends accept us, but- not everyone likes it when they see two fella's bein' romantic with each other. A lot of people see it as sinnin'. If anyone in the town saw us holdin' hands or kissin', they might... they might try to hurt you. I can't stand the thought of anyone layin' a hand on you."

"What about you?" Nibs asked. "Won't they try to hurt you, too?"

"No one can hurt me as long as I have you," Huck told him. "All I gotta do is see that smile and I know it's all gonna be okay."

"Huck, if no one here accepts us as a couple, then.. why don't you leave? Come live in Neverland with me," Nibs told him. " Wide open spaces to run in, a whole ocean to swim in, no one telling us we can't be together. We can have our own adventures with no one trying to separate us."

"That does sound tempting, but Tom's been my best friend since I can remember, and as much as she annoys me, I have an old widow here I gotta look out for since she adopted me," Huck told him. "And I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to my good friend Jim."

"I love how loyal you are, Huck Finn," Nibs said as he wrapped his arms around Huck's shoulders. "I love everything about you."

"Just wait, you ain't seen nothin' yet," Huck smirked as they started kissing. "Someday maybe we can make that move to our own little private paradise. Just you and me and and a whole world to explore. Speaking of which, let's get on with that tour. I want you think of this world as yours. This should feel like your home, too, whenever you want to make it yours."

Huck and Nibs held each other's hand as the duo continued through the cemetary toward the town, unaware that someone had seen them kissing while drinking in the cemetary. The moment Huck and Nibs walked off, the old drunk started running back the other way to spread the word that Huck Finn was sinning with another boy.

The boat came out of the other end of the tunnel as George quickly teleported the trio outside of the factory before anyone could see them. The three boys ended up in the alley across the street as Bastian was the first to look at the city.

"No pollution, no destroyed buildings, abnormal amount of fog, this looks like England," Bastian said as he looked at his watch. "And just a few hours before the tour if we landed in the right time."

"Then let's get Mike home so he can get ready," George told them. "Let's fix this mess."

"Yeah, but to do that, Mike has to do one thing," Bastian said as he looked at Mike. "He has to go back to how he was before Peter Pan kidnapped him."

"You mean-?"

"Mike Teavee has to become a douchebag all over again." Bastian told them.

TO BE CONTINUED...