For A Moment - A Wonka AU

Chapter 25: Pure Imagination

The two whirled around to find...

...a little orange man with green hair. Standing right behind him.

Willy's face broke out into a smile and Charlotte couldn't help but smile as well.

"It's the little orange man with green hair..." she said quietly.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you again!" Willy chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, Mr. Wonka. Not until you've paid the rest of your debt to me," the little man said, straightening his jacket. "Now, I know you have tried, but the Loompa-Law is very clear on this subject," the little man went on with his ramble. "So, until I have the chocolate physically in my ha-"

The little man stopped talking as Willy slipped a jar of circular chocolates into his hand. "There you go."

"Oh." The little man seemed surprised by this. "Thank you," he said awkwardly, as if unsure how to react.

Willy smiled. "And thank you for helping Charlotte save my life."

"Yeah. Thanks from me as well," Charlotte said.

"Well, I suppose that concludes our business." The little man cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot, as if he were reluctant to leave now. "I now consider your debt repaid and shall return to my beloved Loompaland, where the cocoa beans grow in disappointingly small numbers and my friends look down on me."

Charlotte had no clue what the little man was talking about, but she chose to stay silent.

Willy raised an eyebrow. "I thought they called you Lofty?"

"As a matter of fact, I am a quarter inch below the average size for an Oompa Loompa," the little man admitted gruffly. "They call me...Shorty-Pants. Now, good day, sir."

The little man proceeded to turn around and began reluctantly walking away.

"It's a shame you have to go," Willy called out after him.

"Yeah!" Charlotte chimed in. "Why don't you stay with us?"

The little man did not turn around. "I said good day."

"If I'm going to share my chocolate with the world, I'm gonna need more than just a shop," Willy went on.

"I'm sure you will," the little man replied, still walking.

"I'll need a factory."

"Good luck with that!"

"...And someone to head up the tasting department."

That seemed to catch the little man's attention, as he stopped walking.

"The tasting department, you say...?" he asked, intrigued.

Willy smirked and nodded. "The tasting factory!" he repeated. "Come with me, you two." He grabbed Charlotte's hand and dragged her along through the streets, leaving the little orange man with no choice but to them.

"Alright," the little man said. "Where to?"

"To a world of pure imagination!" Willy exclaimed, running eagerly through the city's streets with his two companions. He led them to a ruined castle towards the outskirts of the city.

"This is a ruined castle," the little man stated flatly.

"Don't be difficult. Take a look," Willy went on, spreading his arms around as they stood in front of the ruined castle, "and see into your imagination."

Charlotte tried to imagine what this place would look like once they fixed it up, while the little man simply said, "I very much doubt that."

Willy let out a giggle of pure happiness and led them further into the caste. "We'll begin," he said, twirling Charlotte around in his arms, "with a spin. Traveling in the world of my creation!"

Charlotte giggled and looked over to the little man, who seemed to be trying to look at the castle through Willy and Charlotte's eyes. "Look around, little man," she said to the little orange man.

"I am an Oompa Loompa!" he replied, rolling his eyes.

She chuckled and ignored him. "What you'll see will defy-"

"Explanation!" Willy finished.

The Oompa Loompa paused his negative comments for a few seconds, trying to imagine the factory the three of them could turn this place into.

"That does defy explanation..." he murmured as he finally began to see the potential within the place.

"ust imagine it, Mr. Loompa!" Charlotte spun around in a circle. This was going to be the best chocolate factory this world had ever seen! She was so glad Willy was giving her the opportunity to be a part of this. "This could be paradise. We can fix this place up into something that you'd only think to be a figment of your imagination!"

"Well said, Charlie." Willy put his hands on his hips and let out a soft, contented sigh, looking up at the sky through the open ceiling.

"Not bad..." the Oompa Loompa murmured.

Willy looked at Charlotte and smiled, offering her a hand. "Whadya say, Charlie? Let's fix this place up into a factory that'll make your eyes pop out of their socke-lets!"

She chuckled at his word choice and took his hand. "Let's do this, Willy."