Christine's POV:
Once Noodle slips some acacia mints into the cleric's pocket, Willy & I slip the zoo security guard another sleep-inducing chocolate, take his keys, and drive Abigail to the Cartel chapel.
Abacus: "Everything alright back there?"
Willy: "Everything's fine. Isn't it, Abigail?"
Abacus: "Tell her she might want to duck."
Willy: "Tell her she might wanna what?"
Abacus: "Duck!"
As we drive under a bridge, Abigail ducks her head to avoid getting hit.
{Time skip}
Once we release Abigail at the chapel's front door, Lottie hijacks the cleric's call for a zookeeper and redirects it to us.
Larry: *over the phone* "Hello, Zoo."
The rest of us make animal noises, though it's hard for me to keep a straight face when I hear Willy's impression of a monkey, so I join Piper in imitating an elephant so my laughter doesn't stick out.
Larry: "Quiet down, you animals.-*gurgles*-You too, octopus.-*pauses*-What?-*over the phone*-Oh, yeah, I think we did lose a giraffe.-*pauses*-Ok, geez. I'll send the guys around."
{Time skip}
So, the others drive us and sneak us into the chapel, with Willy, Noodle & I hiding in the giraffe cage. Abacus then sends the secret elevator down, and we step onto the top. When we arrive underground, we remain hidden until the Mistress of Keys eats her Big Night Out chocolate. Once the dancing part kicks in, Willy watches in wonder.
Willy: "Wow, she can really move."
When she finally leaves to call the zoo security guard and falls asleep, we leap off the top of the elevator and walk towards the Cartel's base, grabbing the Mistress' keys off her person so we can get into the vault. We then rummage through every file and folder searching for the green ledger.
Willy: "Anything?"
Noodle: "Nothing."
Me: "Same here."
Willy: "Well, keep looking."
Noodle: "It's not here, Willy."
Willy: "But Abacus said that it was here."
Noodle: "Abacus has been in the Wash House for the past 4 years. Maybe all the scrubbing has gone to his head. 'Cause all that's down here is just a bunch of stupid old chocolate."
Noddle grabs a box of chocolate and throws it at the wall, revealing a secret door hiding in plain sight. We open it to reveal the green ledger we've been looking for.
Me: "Willy, look!"
Willy: "We did it, girls. We got 'em."
We turn in surprise as Slugworth fires a warning shot while Prodnose & Fickelgruber stand to his left and right.
Slugworth: "Naughty, naughty, Mr. Wonka & Ms. Carter. You've caused us quite a bit of trouble. You and your urchin."
Willy: "Yeah, but she's not just an urchin, is she, Mr. Slugworth? You're family."
Noodle: "What? What are you talking about, Willy?"
Willy: "You know that ring, Noodle? The one your parents gave you? Mr. Slugworth has one just like it. Don't you, Mr. Slugworth?"
Slugworth: "As a matter of fact, I do. That belonged to my brother, Zebedee."
Noodle: "Was he my father?"
Slugworth: "A hopeless romantic is what he was. Fell in love with a common little bookworm, died before they could marry. Leaving me sole heir to the family fortune. Or so I thought. But 9 months later, your mother turned up on my doorstep, begging me to get a doctor for her sick little newborn. I said I would help."
Noodle: "But you didn't. Did you?"
Slugworth: "Oh, no."
Noodle: "Instead, you put me down a laundry chute. Mrs. Scrubitt found me. She saw the ring. Thought it was an 'N', and called me Noodle. But it wasn't. It was 'Z', for Zebedee."
Slugworth: "Well, quite. When your mother returned, I told her you had died. She was heartbroken, of course. But, uh, I gave her a handful of sovereigns and had her escorted from my property."
Noodle: "What was her name?"
Slugworth: "Eh?"
Noodle: "My mom. What was her name?"
Slugworth: "Ooh. Let me see. Um...No, I don't think I could remember that.-*chuckles*-Sorry, but you have to understand, she was very poor.-*Fickelgruber gags*-Sorry, Felix."
Willy & I check the ledger for anything relevant that might've been recorded that year and find the answer to Noodle's question.
Willy: "Her name was Dorothy."
Me: "Dorothy Smith. It says so right here."
Noodle: *chuckles* "Dorothy?"
Willy: *chuckles* "Well, what do you know? I guess you did teach us to read after all."
Slugworth: "Well, this is all very touching, but back to business."
Fickelgruber: *takes ledger* "We'll take that, thank you."
Slugworth: "How much chocolate do you have at your factory, Mr. Fickelgruber?"
Fickelgruber: "Oh, about 80,000 gallons."
Slugworth: "Prodnose?"
Prodnose: *mumbles* "75?"
Slugworth: "And I've got 150. That should be enough."
Noodle: "For what?"
Slugworth: "Death by chocolate."
So, the three chocolate makers send us into the chocolate vault.
Willy: "Uh, gentlemen? Considering the situation, I wondered if you'd do a good deed on my behalf."
Fickelgruber: "A what?"
Prodnose: "A good deed. It's a sort of pointless act of selflessness..."
Slugworth: "Yes, of course, Mr. Wonka. What would you like us to do?"
Willy: "I was wondering if you could give this to someone. Only if you happen to see him."
Slugworth: "And who is it?"
Me: "A little orange man."
Slugworth: "Eh?"
Willy: "A little orange man. About 8 inches high, with orange skin and bright green hair. We owe him a jar of chocolates, you see. And, well..."
Willy pulls out a handkerchief and magics a jar of chocolates to appear in his hands.
Willy: "I think these might be the best I ever made."
Slugworth: "Well, in that case, I'll make sure he gets them personally."
Willy tosses the jar to Slugworth, who catches it and leads the other chocolate makers out of the vault.
Slugworth: "Farewell, Mr. Wonka. Ms. Carter. Urchin."
With that, he locks us into the vault after Fickelgruber flips the switch that makes the melted chocolate fill the room.
Noodle: "What are we gonna do, guys?"
Me: "I don't know, Noodle. We'll think of something."
Willy: "I got it!"
Noodle: "What is it? Did you think of something?"
Willy: "Yes, I did. if we're gonna drown in chocolate, girls, and let's face it, we're gonna drown in chocolate, then it's gonna be Wonka chocolate."
Me: "We're not gonna drown, Willy. Look, there's a light. We'll let the chocolate lift us up, bang on the glass, and hope somebody hears us."
Willy: "That's a much better idea."
So, once the chocolate lifts us high enough, we bang on the glass and call out for help. But instead of someone coming to rescue us, the three chocolate makers appear and wave before walking away.
Willy: "We're sorry, Noodle."
Noodle: "Don't be. You found my family. A mom who loved me. That's all I ever wanted."
Me: "Willy, listen. If this is the end of the line, I need you to know that-"
Before I can finish, the chocolate envelops us. We hold our breaths until the chocolate is drained from the vault.
Noodle: "What's going on, guys?"
Willy: "It's draining. We've been saved!"
Noodle: "By who?"
Willy & I look up to see Lofty.
Me: "By the Little Orange Man? Haha! Who else?"
Willy: "Look!"
Noodle: "Thank you, Little Orange Man! Thank you!"
Once all the chocolate's been drained, we rush out of the vault, board the elevator, and dash to the front steps of the chapel, where the chocolatiers are talking to the chief of police with the ledger in Noodle's hands.
Me: "Officer Affable, would you kindly take a look at this?"
Slugworth: "Wonka! Carter!"
Noodle: "It details every single illegal payment these men have ever made. Thousands of them."
Chief: *scoffs* "Affable, don't listen to her. She's lying."
Slugworth: *chuckles* "Well, of course she is."
Affable: "She's not, sir. She's absolutely right. It's incredible."
Chief: "Oh. Well. Then that sounds like a case for the Chief of Police.-*chuckles*-So you give it to me, Affable. I'll, uh, take it off your hands. You know, save you the paperwork."
Affable: "I can't do that, I'm afraid, sir."
Chief: *chuckles* "Why's that?"
Affable: "Because your name is written down here. A lot."
While Affable arrests the ex-chief, the chocolate makers run off. Noodle moves to chase them, but we stop her.
Willy: "That's ok, Noodle. Give it one second."
The chocolatiers hover through the air as they did the day we met them.
Me: "You didn't eat any of those chocolates, did you, Mr. Slugworth?"
Slugworth: "Why?"
Willy: "Because they're Hoverchocs. Delayed action, but extra strong."
Slugworth: "You two think you're very clever, don't you, Wonka & Carter? Well, there's a billion sovereigns of chocolate beneath our feet. We'll get the best lawyers, bribe the judge, rig the jury if we have to. We'll be fine."
Me: "I wish we'd thought of that."
Willy & I smirk as the melted chocolate bursts out of the town square fountain, now laced with Willy's unique ingredients, ruining the cartel's enterprise. The cartel leaders themselves then lose their balance and float higher into the air.
Willy: "Hey, don't worry, gentlemen. You'll come down eventually. Probably. I think. But until then, ladies and gentlemen, Willy Wonka, Christine Carter, and friends invite you to enjoy our chocolate."
The townspeople do so as we rejoin the others.
{Time skip}
Willy & I sit on the front steps of the chapel as we watch our friends help share the chocolate we shared with them. Then, Willy pulls out his special chocolate bar and finally opens it. Inside, along with a bar of chocolate, is a golden note that reads, 'The secret is it's not the chocolate that matters, it's the people you share it with-Mamma xxx'. Willy looks up, supposedly seeing his mother as she promised, but the crazy thing is, I see her, too. She blows Willy a kiss, who blows a kiss to her in return, then turns to me and whispers, 'Thank you'. Then, she disappears as Willy breaks the chocolate into pieces and hands each one to me and our friends.
Noodle: "So, how does it feel, Willy? Is it as good as you remember?"
Willy: "Every little bit. I wish it could last forever."
We all look up as the clock strikes 5:00.
Me: "I guess it's time."
Noodle: "Time for what?"
Willy: "Do you know how many people in this city are named D. Smith?"
Abacus: "106."
Me: "And luckily, you have a friend who works at the telephone exchange. And she spent the entire afternoon ringing around. And guess what?"
Lottie: "We found her."
Noodle: "You found my mom."
Abacus: "She works in the library. That's where she lives."
Willy: "Come on, Noodle."
Willy & I lead Noodle through town to the library where her mom works. When we get there, we stop a few feet away as Willy surprises me by singing his version of the song I was singing earlier
Willy:
Come with me
I turn to Willy in surprise, and he nods for me to join in, as always.
Me:
And you'll be
Willy:
In a world of pure imagination
Reach out, touch what was once
Me:
Just in your imagination
Then, Dorothy exits the library and pauses when she and Noodle lock eyes.
Willy:
Don't be shy, it's alright
If you feel a little trepidation
Me:
Sometimes, these things don't need explanation
Noodle resumes walking, opens the gate, and rushes to greet her mom with a hug.
Willy:
If you want to view paradise
Simply look at them and view it
Somebody to hold on to, it's
All we really need
Nothing else to it
Me: *chuckles* "And they say I'm the lyricist."
Willy: "Well, I had a little help from watching you all these years."
Willy then turns to me, gently guides me to meet his gaze, and says what I couldn't in all the years I've known him.
Willy: "I love you, Missy Chrissy."
I chuckle as tears of joy fill my eyes.
Me: "And I you, my Silly Willy Wonka."
And while a pinkie promise is enough for most promises, we seal this one with a loving, longing kiss that would've lasted longer if not for...
Lofty: "So goes a good deed in a weary world.
We pull away and turn to see Lofty standing a few feet away from us.
Willy: "We were wondering if we'd see you again."
Me: "I could've done with a few more minutes apart, though."
Lofty: "Yes, sorry to intrude, but I'm not going anywhere, Willy Wonka & Christine Carter. Not until you've paid your debt. Now, I know you tried. Loompa law is very clear on this subject. Until such time as the chocolate is physically in my hand..."
Lofty holds out his hand, and Willy gives him a large jar of chocolates, just enough to pay our debt.
Lofty: "Oh. Thank you."
Willy: "Thank you. For saving our lives."
Lofty: "Well, I suppose that concludes our business. I will now return to my beloved Loompaland. Where the cocoa beans grow in disappointingly small numbers, and my friends look down on me."
Me: "What? I thought they called you Lofty."
Lofty: "The truth is that I am a quarter-inch below average. They call me Shorty-pants. But there it is. Good day to you, sir, madam."
Willy: "Uh, it's a shame you have to go."
Lofty: "I said good day."
Me: "If we're gonna share our chocolate with the world, we're gonna need more than a shop."
Lofty: "I'm sure you will."
Willy: "I'm gonna need a factory."
Lofty: *chuckles* "Yeah, well, good luck with that."
Me: "And someone to head up the tasting department."
Lofty stops walking.
Lofty: "The tasting department."
Willy:
Come with me
Lofty: "All right."
Me:
And you'll be
Lofty: "Where?"
We lead Lofty to an abandoned castle for sale we found that will be our chocolate factory someday soon.
Willy:
In a world of pure imagination
Lofty: "It's a ruined castle."
Me:
Take a look, and you'll see
Into your imagination
Lofty: "Frankly, I rather doubt it."
Willy:
*chuckles*
We'll begin with a spin
Willy & I:
Traveling in the world of our creation
What we'll see will defy explanation
It's taken some time, but we now own and operate the factory of our dreams.
Lofty: "Well, that does defy explanation."
As for ownership details, we are no longer Willy Wonka & Christine Carter. Now, we're Willy & Christine Wonka, equal partners in everything and every sense of the word.
Me:
If you want to view paradise
Willy:
Simply look around and view it
Me:
Anything you want to, do it
Wanna change the world?
Willy:
There's nothing to it
Lofty: *drinks chocolate & eats flower* "Not bad."
Me:
There is no life I've known
To compare with pure imagination
I hand Lofty our latest invention, and he tastes it, nodding to say it tastes good as Willy pulls me over to him and twirls me around.
Willy:
Living here, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be
He then dips me into a kiss, and our fairytale dream is complete.
THE END