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Chapter Text

Normally his many fantastical inventions in his marvellous, giant chocolate factory took perhaps two or three months to fully complete. But this time was not the case.

Willy Wonka, the famous chocolatier had been fiddling with his latest creation for at least five months now. He had yet another brilliant idea come to his head, a candy that would make the person grow or shrink to their desired height. But this idea had proven to be more complicated than anything that he had ever attempted to make.

And he was growing impatient as the days and weeks passed. This machine was set up in none other than the Inventing Room, and it's many mechanical parts looked newer and more shiny compared to the rest of the whirring contraptions sitting in the room. It took up a lot of room than he thought, and Willy had been forced to take apart some other inventions that he hadn't really paid much attention to.

The chocolatier was currently crouched underneath one of the control panels as he fiddled with a tangled mess of colourful wires. His velvet coat, cane and hat were in his bedroom at the moment so he wore his patterned shirt and a black waistcoat along with his purple gloves. A loud hiss and a puff of smoke suddenly escaped through one of the pipes fixed to the side of the machine, snapping Mr Wonka out of his concentration.

The invention was rumbling like a volcano as something struggled within it, a high pitched whistle emerged as if it were a train. The noise had startled Willy so much that he immediately went to stand up, however he had forgotten that he was underneath a control panel and the back of his head crashed against it.

That will leave a harsh bruise...

Willy groaned and sucked in a quick breath and drew a gloved hand to his head, he stumbled backwards and managed to stand up on his feet without his head colliding into something. His dark purple eyes widened with panic as he saw the temperature begin to rise deep inside the invention. He rushed to the side and tried to pull a blue lever, but it seemed to be stuck and it would not move at all much to Willy's growing stress. He immediately wrapped his right arm around the lever and attempted to push it downwards.

And yet it still wouldn't move an inch!

Willy quickly gestured his free hand towards three Oompa Loompas who had been also helping their boss with the wiring and oddities, and they immediately began helping Mr Wonka by grabbing onto the lever too. Their small hands clamped on top of the chocolatier's gloved ones, and all four pulled with all their strength combined like ingredients in a mixing bowl, and the lever gave in and finally reached the ground.

Willy released his hands free from the lever, so did his workers too, and looked up with a uneasy smile at the temperature. It seemed to be receding now, and he sighed with relief.

That...was a close one.

The inventor heard the sound of a large door opening but didn't turn around to see who it was. He was far too preoccupied with this irritating machine.

"Mr Wonka?" A young, bright voice entered through his ears and Willy instantly knew who it was and turned his head towards him. He had known the child for almost two years now.

Charlie Bucket, the luckiest boy in the entire world. He was ten when he first entered the chocolate factory, and now he was eleven and grown taller than before. His hair was neatly combed and trimmed, and he was smartly dressed in a white shirt with a brown waistcoat and black trousers. His blue eyes were gleaming with wonder and imagination as he made his way over to Willy.

"Hello, Charlie!" The chocolatier greeted and hid away his unpleasant frustrations as he forced a smile at the young boy heading towards him. Though unknowingly, Charlie knew how the older man was feeling. He had been working and stressing himself out for weeks and weeks, barely getting rest but at least he still showered when he wanted a break. He drank at least ten or more strong coffees to keep his energy up. However Willy was bound to completely collapse into a deep sleep sooner or later.

Willy crouched down below the console once more, and resumed his work on the rainbow coloured mess of wires as Charlie stared at him with worry.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as he stopped in front of the machine where Willy was currently underneath.

"Me? Yes, of course!" The man replied almost in a dismissive manner, like he was trying to avoid chatting.

"How is the machine?"

"I'm close to finishing it, Charlie!" Willy exclaimed with hope. "Just a couple more cranks and adjustments and then we'll have a spectacular candy that'll make anyone grow or shrink. If only the infernal invention stopped overheating!"

His hope soon vanished like a speck of dust as yet another burst of steam and smoke exploded through one of the pipes once more and the sound of a warning that the contraption was heating too much had echoed throughout the Inventing Room. Completely louder than the many other whirring machines in the area!

Willy got to his feet in a flash and ordered for the Oompa Loompas to pull the blue lever once more, which they successfully did without struggle. Although, the temperature still rose each passing second! The workers tried to pull the lever once more but it had provided no reaction and Willy instantly squeaked with panic.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The distressed chocolatier rushed past Charlie who looked equally alarmed and nervous. Willy tapped his fingers against the console repeatedly but the screen had seemed to freeze and the buttons became unresponsive. He gripped his mess of hair that had fallen out of it's unusual style due to him working so much.

"We have to manually shut it down otherwise this thing will explode us out of the factory!" Willy quickly ordered with a panic-stricken voice that made Charlie back away slightly. The boy had never heard Mr Wonka sound that frightened before. The fearful Oompa Loompas immediately followed their boss's order and set to work with shutting down the overheating system before it could blow them to smithereens. Their high pitched voices shouting at each other as their fingers pulled cables and pressed buttons for it to stop.

After a few seconds of complete hysteria and alarm, Willy Wonka sighed and held his forehead as the invention cooled itself down and the gears inside it had stopped moving. The screens flashed to complete darkness and the hissing sounds had quieted. All noises that could be heard were the bubbling of chemicals nearby and the whirring of the functioning contraptions nearby.

The Oompa Loompas that had helped with shutting the machine down had patted each others backs with relief, chuckling to themselves and lifting their goggles from their eyes.

Willy however was not relieved, he stood there with expression that was full of hopelessness and frustration. He dropped his head to his hands and rubbed his head with his palms, smearing dirt onto his very pale skin.

"Mr Wonka..." Charlie quietly said nervously as his blue eyes watched the chocolatier walk towards the machine. Without warning, the older man swung his foot at the wall of it and kicked it angrily. Poor Charlie had nearly jumped back in shock. He stared as Willy then walked over to a nearby seat and sat down on it with a steamed look in his purple eyes.

Charlie approached him and sat right next to him, hoping that would provide at least some comfort. Willy Wonka didn't like human contact as far as the young boy knew, seeing how the man reacted in disgust as that girl Violet wrapped her tiny arms around him.

"Did that help?" Charlie asked staring at Willy as he crossed his arms in almost an annoyed huff.

"Yes."

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes." The chocolatier immediately groaned, lifting his foot and resting it on top of his other leg as his gloved hand massaged it in mild pain. His frustrations were greater than what he had just done to his foot. He leaned back in his seat as he stared at his not-well- functioning invention with utter disbelief.

"What happened to me, Charlie?" Willy sighed and continued to rub at his foot. "Perhaps my long streak of making perfect candy and chocolate has finally reached it's end. Or is it because I'm getting older and my ideas are unimaginative?"

Charlie listened to the inventor as he ranted out all his annoyance and worries like he were a man drinking away his sorrows at a bar in one of those movies or TV shows that Charlie's parents had watched with him. It was hard for him to listen to the man's words, he had never thought that he would ever see the famous Willy Wonka like this.

"Mr Wonka, your streak could never end! Your ideas are the most wonderful things I've ever heard and I know you can do them." Charlie reassured Willy with a bright smile that would make any grumpy man cheer up. Even Grandpa George. "You've even perfected the hair toffee you had worked on, and the three-course meal gum! The Oompa Loompas aren't turning into bushes of hair or giant blueberries anymore and the candy has become a great success."

Charlie stared with a hopeful glint in his blue eyes as Willy glanced to him with a growing smile almost hidden by the dirt scattered on his face.

"Maybe you just need to take a break for a couple days. A walk to clear your mind." He suggested. Willy turned to him with a surprised expression in his purple eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "I'm not very fond of going...out there, especially with all those annoying people out there." Willy gestured to the direction of the door with flick of his hand.

"Yes but it's still warm out and you can go when it's darker. Hardly any people will be walking on the streets when it's night." The young boy assured the chocolatier, and that had seemed to work as Willy stood himself up with a small smirk on his ashen and dirt covered face.

"Oh alright then. But I will be only gone for an hour and then I'll be back, 'kay?" Willy quickly replied as Charlie nodded. As the man was beginning to make his exit out of the Inventing Room, Charlie instantly stood himself up and made his voice loud for Willy to hear.

"Mr Wonka! You might need to take a shower before you go!"

Chapter Text

After Willy had took almost an hour and a half of washing himself in the shower, scrubbing the dirt and oil from the corners of his eyes and his jaw with his fingers. He dried his chocolate brown hair and styled it back to it's odd shape using his infamous hair cream. When that was done, he pulled clean clothing from his wardrobe and dressed himself once more.

He wore his green patterned shirt along with his black waistcoat, and pulled his charcoal trousers to his waist before buttoning them all up tightly. The chocolatier pulled on his shoes and finished off by putting his purple gloves on, placing his top hat onto his head and pushing his arms through the sleeves of his velvet coat. Willy took a quick moment to gaze at himself in the mirror, making sure to straighten any creases in his outfit. He had almost forgot to fasten the "W" broach around the collar of his shirt. When he was satisfied with his appearance, he switched off the lights and left the room, heading to a secret entrance in the chocolate factory that he could walk out of.

The secret door had used to be closed off from the factory after those parasitic candy making men had sent spies to steal Willy's secret recipes so that they could use them to make their own ice creams that would never melt. Chewing gum that had never lost it's delicious flavour. Candy balloons that you could blow to incredible sizes and many more ideas that were the chocolatier's life work, and they had taken away the genius ideas from him so easily like pigeons flying towards pieces of bread.

Before that event had happened a couple years ago, that door was mostly used by the workers when they were heading home.

Just as he was getting near to the exit, his purple eyes spotted an Oompa Loompa who was sweeping the dust off the floor with a vacuum. The little man appeared to be on the verge of falling asleep but his eyes widened with surprise when he heard the sound of Willy's footsteps heading towards him.

"You there! Come over here for a sec, would ya?" Mr Wonka motioned for the Oompa Loompa to come to him, which the small worker did without haste and quickly walked over to his boss whilst turning off the vacuum in his tiny hands.

The older man crouched down and reached into the pocket of his velvet coat and retrieved a note in his squeaky hands.

"Here, make sure this gets to Charlie, 'kay? I'll only be out for a bit." Willy smiled as the Oompa Loompa took the note, crossed his arms together and bowed. The chocolatier repeated the gesture and pushed himself to his feet with his cane. He watched as the little man took the note and vacuum in hand, and quickly ran off in search of Charlie.

Willy then continued heading towards the secret exit, humming that jolly song that had greeted those rotten children excluding Charlie of course. The animatronic puppets had been fixed back into their working order once more but Mr Wonka had no idea what to do with them now. They had only been created to greet the guests and served no other purpose other than singing that cheerful tune. He had no desire to throw them out though, he'd have to think more on the matter later on.

When Willy had finally reached the secret exit, he had realised that he had needed to get out his keys to unlock the many locks on it. He rested his cane against the wall for now as he reached for his keys that were fixed to his belt. It took him a couple moments to find the right key, and then insert it into the lock and then unlock the door at last. The door was partly stuck to the frame and Willy had to shove his body to force it open. A gush of warm wind had blown against him as the exit hadn't been opened for years.

Before he walked through the door, he gave second thought. Was this a good idea? He hadn't left the factory since he went with Charlie to visit his...father.

Willy loved being inside his gigantic, marvellous home. And he didn't like human interaction and contact. He felt like he couldn't really trust people after the whole incident that occurred with his secret recipes. If he didn't like going outside then why was he literally going outside right at this moment? Charlie did indeed suggest it, but did Willy really want to follow through with it?

Questions had began to make the inventor's head ache.

He sighed, he did need to get some fresh air for once. And he really wanted to clear his mind of those thoughts. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea?

The chocolatier picked up his cane once more and left the hallway of his factory before his anxious self disagreed any further. He quickly locked it once more as he stepped out onto a gravel ground. Willy didn't want any more thievery to occur, especially if he was out. He checked to see if the door was firmly shut, and then started his walk to the nearby park that was only a few buildings away, his booted feet scraped against the ground each step. He cringed at the noise and clenched his gloved hands, the inventor had really hated the sound of crunching pebbles beneath his feet. Willy made a mental note to do a redesign in this area.

He was relieved of the unpleasant noises below him when he finally had walked onto a smooth concrete path heading towards the destination he wanted to get to.

The warm air blew softly against his brown hair and face, and it had seemed that his worries and frustration had floated along with it too like a rubber duck on top of a steady river. Willy's stiff posture relaxed as he walked in the growing night. The sun had already vanished into the horizon long ago, and had left a mixture of purple and orange waves in the darkening sky. It was certainly a mysterious yet beautiful sight and the chocolatier was beginning to enjoy the stroll.

"I should do this more often if the sky is always like this." He thought with a soft smile rising onto his pale face.

He'd have to thank Charlie later for thinking of this great idea. Willy had never realised how stuffy the factory could be after years of isolating himself from the rest of the world. Of course he did have that occasional trip in the great glass elevator but that was nearly two years ago and he hadn't been out since. Maybe it was the perfect time to take a vacation to somewhere relaxing and people-free. And when he returned he could have a head full of spectacular ideas once again!

Before he could come up with the perfect country to have a few days to himself, he froze and stopped in his tracks when he spotted three very familiar men walking together on the path across to the side of where Willy was currently walking. During his thinking, he had already reached the park and started walking down one of the dirt paths and that was when his purple eyes had spotted them.

Fickelgruber. Prodnose and Slugworth.

Those three filthy thieves who sent those parasitic spies into his precious chocolate factory and retrieved the secret recipes. And here they were together, chatting away smugly as if they hadn't stolen someone's lifes work! Anger and hate soon began to swell inside Willy Wonka for the first time in years, he hadn't seen them since he locked himself away and he had hoped that he would never see their rat-like faces ever again. He had so desperately wanted to march over to them and whack them repeatedly with his cane and stomp their annoying faces with the bottom of his feet.

But Willy was outnumbered. Even if he did go over to them, they would certainly overpower him for sure and would most likely blackmail him into giving them more secrets! The best decision here was to run far away from them before they could spot him.

And Willy did just that.

He legged it as fast as his legs could take him, glancing back a couple times to see if those three men had spotted him and were following his steps. His keys jangled against each other as his body ran for it. Because he was moving so fast, his top hat had nearly fallen off his head and he had to hold it in place with his left hand as the other held his cane. The panicked chocolatier spotted a large old tree coming into view and decided to head towards it.

As much as he wanted to keep running, Willy was running out of breath and was slowing down. And so, he hid himself behind the tree and out of view of the candy making thieves. His ashen forehead was speckled with sweat and he was beginning to get a uncomfortable cramp in his stomach from the movement. He could even hear the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.

Willy hadn't ran for his life like that since he was bullied continuously because of his braces when he went to school. And he certainly hadn't been panting as much as this since he was being chased by those wicked Whangdoodles.

The inventor's chest rose and fell rapidly as he pressed himself tighter against the old wood of the tree. Unknowingly, the back of his feet were resting on the edge of a deep abyss and Mr Wonka hadn't realised it. The hole seemed to crumble with each movement that the chocolatier made, the dirt falling apart because of the pressure of his feet.

As his breathing became more calmer as the minutes passed and the heartbeat in his ears had begun to vanish, the cramp in his tight chest was fading away and so were the sound of footsteps that certainly belonged to the men Willy was running from. He turned his head around the side of the tree and scanned the park for a sign that they were still here and waiting for him to pop out from his hiding place.

There was no sign.

Willy was alone once again.

A sigh of relief escaped from his cold lips as he rested his head against the tree behind him. Willy crossed his fingers that those thieves would never show their ugly faces around him again. If there were a next time, then he probably wouldn't have restrained himself from attacking them as much as he did earlier.

As all his panic and anger had finally been soothed as he looked up at the beautiful sky with a soft smile. Willy had only now noticed the sounds of dirt and stones fall apart and into pieces beneath him, and the sensation of his feet sinking into something. It was as if he were standing upon sand on a beach.

When his purple eyes gazed down towards the ground. The soil and grass had completely fallen apart, revealing an abyss as foreboding as a black hole floating in endless space just right behind him. And before he even had time to realise just where he was standing, the inventor lost his footing and drifted backwards. He couldn't even get a strong grip on the branches of the tree.

And Willy Wonka fell.

Chapter Text

He was falling.

So incredibly fast! And at an alarming rate.

Willy's body flown and twirled in the air, his screams of pure fright echoed throughout the crumbled walls of this hole. His hat had flopped off his head and flew up in the wind as his thin body rotated like a pin wheel in the air. He became so dizzy and disoriented that his fingers slipped from his cane, so that had flown from his grip too. A cold breeze blew against his clothes as he spun as if he were in one of those teacup rides at an amusement park.

The speck of light that had seemed to be the entrance that he had fallen through was drifting away and became smaller as Willy Wonka collided into bookcases and clocks.

Wait...

Why were there bookshelves and grandfather clocks in this chasm?! The tunnel was scattered with all kinds of different furniture you'd find in perhaps a Victorian style home which puzzled the inventor's mind. Books, candles, picture frames and much more things that were certainly from that century!

And to add to the increasing confusion, they were floating as if they were in outer space too!

The hole was so deep and far, it was almost like a mine shaft, the walls were even softly lit by the candles and chandeliers that were hung onto the rocky dirt. However the falling chocolatier had decided not to pay attention to the odd furniture and items as his mind was on full-mode panic and fear.

WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!

This terrifying fall was bound to kill him any moment now as soon as his body would come into contact with the ground. Wherever the ground was. Willy did not want to meet his end here! He had so much more candy to create and accomplishments to make!

Who would look after the Oompa Loompas?

What about Charlie and his family?

The chocolate factory?

He didn't want to die! Especially in a dirty, cramped environment such as this!

In his efforts to live, Willy attempted to grab onto some loose vines that were hanging as he passed, but they soon broke apart and snapped as they had been tangled in a chandelier which had joined the inventor's fall.

Each one of the candles fell out and one by one slammed right into Willy's forehead. Thankfully there were no flames to set his hair and clothes alight, but each of the candles smacking against his head hurt as much as a slap to the face or a walnut thrown at his head from a mischievous little squirrel in the nut sorting room!

Unfortunately now his head was beginning to ache, and Willy could taste bile in his throat as his body flipped and turned without his control. All these feelings made him want to faint and throw up at the same time at once!

Willy continued to fall despite his attempts to grab onto literally anything that would stop him from continuing to flail around rather pathetically. His coat billowing out behind him, covering his face a couple times.

Fortunately his seemingly endless fall had at last finished when the yelling chocolatier smashed right through some sort of thin ceiling, and was sent crashing into a large pile of leaves. The autumn leaves fluttered into the air for a split second as Willy softly landed in them with no serious injuries or broken bones. The stunned man groaned and turned himself over onto his stomach painfully as remnants of the ceiling and dust prickled on top of him and his head.

Mr Wonka was so terribly dizzy from the fall that his stomach had desperately wanted to expel it's contents through his mouth and he gagged a couple times whilst holding his head in shock.

How on earth did he survive that?!

Willy had thought that fall would be the end of him and everything he had known but apparently not. He wasn't even remotely close to dying!

He was bewildered, astonished. Whilst also attempting to be focused on not puking. A mild shockwave of pain and a stinging sensation burned through his shoulders and to the right side of his body, most likely because he had just literally fell through a ceiling and somehow survived with no broken limbs.

Willy was almost certainly going to be having bruises tomorrow. Either that or his body was somehow indestructible.

It took at least a couple long minutes for the uneasy dizziness and sickness to completely go away. Once it did, the confused inventor pushed himself onto his back and was shocked to see that the ceiling that he had just crashed through and broke apart into millions of tiny little pieces, was unbroken and seemed like he hadn't just fallen through it! The hole he had fell down was nowhere to be seen and Willy immediately thought that he must of lost his sanity at last.

Willy Wonka couldn't come up with a logical reason as to why the ceiling had magically been fixed, nor why the chasm was currently missing or how he had even survived the fall in the first place.

Perhaps he had gone mad even before he had stepped out of the warmth of his chocolate factory, and he had snapped out of a trance and were locked inside an insane asylum for mad people.

But that didn't make sense either.

His velvet coat was covered in crumbs of wall and dust, along with leaves stuck to his trousers. Brushing them off with his gloved hands and slowly pushing himself to his shaky feet, he nearly squealed with relief as his hat was on its side near to him.

Except it had been slightly damaged to his horror, the patterned plaid that was wrapped around it was unfortunately ripped and was falling apart. The threads coming out with even the slightest touch. Willy picked it up and examined it more carefully. The hat must of caught onto something during the unexplainable fall. He would probably need to fix it up at one of the local hat shops nearby his chocolate factory. Willy returned it to it's rightful place on top of his head and hoped that it didn't become even more damaged as he tried to find out where the hell he was.

His purple eyes spotted his cane as well which gladly didn't seem to be damaged apart from some minor scratches.

After picking it up, Willy decided to look around to see what kind of room he was in. Which actually was a corridor instead of a room. It had cream cracked bricks for the walls and a dark oak wooden floor with leaves scattered around. There were picture frames which were not straight at all and were tilted to the side, and did not seem to have any art in them which was odd too.

Maybe this was a dream and that was why things were not adding up?

Willy slapped himself in the face to make sure.

Nope. Not a dream.

His hand was numb for a few seconds before it started to tingle, and his cheek was burning with pain. It couldn't be a nightmare either. As Willy explored the corridor, his purple eyes spotted a large black wooden door at the end of it. There wasn't any other exits as far as the chocolatier could see, so he decided to head for it as it was the only way out.

He reached out a trembling gloved hand towards the doorknob and twisted it. When the door slowly opened, and his head peering round it, there was a burst of cold wind flowing at his ashen face and his purple eyes widened with amazement as a vibrant navy forest littered with thorns and bushes had entered his sight.

Willy was dumbfounded.

The forest was thick with a light mysterious fog and shadows, streaks of what seemed to be a bright blue landed on the bushy grass from the trees, like light aimed from a magnifying glass. The fog in the air looked like dust floating in an abandoned room. Willy hesitated to step out of the doorway, slowly placing a foot on top of the spikey greenish blue grass.

Before the awestruck chocolatier knew it, he was spinning himself slowly around in a circle, taking in his surroundings with almost an open jaw like a young child who was experiencing the delight of snow for the first time. He had never seen anything so spectacular and yet strange in his life. The sight reminded him of Loompaland, where he had saw the Oompa Loompas for the first time. Except this place was a hundred times more colourful and vivid than those thick jungles!

Willy looked up and there was even a deep blue sky scattered with white fluffy clouds above him! But hadn't he just fallen down a very long shaft? There's no way that he had somehow magically appeared on the other side of the planet like he had dug a hole all the way to China.

Everything was just not adding up for the confused chocolatier, and it was starting to make his head hurt.

Willy spotted a pink and blue mushroom sat next to his feet, and because he was lost in his amazement. He crouched down and took a tiny bite out of it as it had reminded him of one of the marshmallow mushrooms topped with cream in his chocolate room. The inventor's eyes widened once more and instantly spat it out in disgust, tasting dirt stuck against his teeth and something else that he couldn't identify. Willy desperately hoped that it hadn't got anything to do with poison. His face scrunched up with displeasure as he spat out any remaining mushroom in his mouth.

As he stood up again, he noticed a clear space ahead of him where the forest died and led out to open land with more jagged grass. And Willy decided to head down that path, perhaps he could find some answers or at least some people?

He had definitely needed some sort of explanation!

When he reached the end of the delightful forest, a large windmill came into view. The sails seemed to be broken beyond repair, and a soft yellow glow radiated from the cracked windows. The light shot out from each hole in the wood and wrecked windows and beamed down upon the grassy floor. And also revealed a long table littered with plates, cups, teapots and kettles. Along with the fancy cakes and food of course that all rested upon a dirty tea stained table cloth.

The table was on top of what seemed to be a carpet, that had all sorts of crumbs and food scattered around all the seats. Oddly enough there were also smashed cups and plates on the floor.

It had seemed to be some sort of outdoor tea party.

At the head of the table seemed to be a person hiding underneath like they were searching for something that they had accidently dropped on the floor. The chair that they were barely sitting upon was tall and partly wrecked. Willy could barely see a tip of a battered top hat just above the surface of the table. And a smile rose upon his pale face as he approached the scene. He hadn't seen another top hat wearing individual like himself for quite a long time.

It was then when he had realised that at the other end of the table, sat a hare dressed in a waistcoat?! And the animal had chucked a sandwich across the table, which then had hit into the chair where the mysterious man was sat.

When Mr Wonka had arrived close to talking range between him and the odd party members, the person in the top hat immediately bolted upright and was holding onto a medium sized chocolate cake covered with a lot of cream in his hand.

The man's face was ashen white, just like Willy's except it looked more like a porcelain doll. His cheeks were high and smooth, and the edges were dark almost maroon. The man's lips seemed soft and were a dark shade of plum. His eyes were a bright lime, almost brighter than a glow stick and Willy nearly couldn't take his own eyes off them. When he blinked, he had a beautiful bright blue shade on top of his eyelids. His vivid orange hair burst out wildly underneath his fantastical hat, his eyebrows were also bushy but were raised to his forehead as he were staring at the clothed hare in front of the table. His lips were stretched into a mischievous grin, showing off his gap-toothed teeth.

The man wore a sort of large polka dot cravat along with a deep brown jacket and a colourful belt tied across his torso. The hat was what caught Willy's attention. He had never seen such an odd and brilliant hat such as the man's in his life! It was taller than his own, and was patterned and decorated with all sorts of materials. The ribbon wrapped around it was a pale pink and it's ends fell down the man's back.

"Take this, Thackery!" A soft and high yet rough voice called out from the man's coarse lips.

Before Willy could study the man's appearance any longer, the man had hurled the cake towards the hare in the waistcoat with a hysterical chuckle. However, the animal had dodged it so easily by ducking underneath the table. And unfortunately, the cake was flying in Willy's direction before the chocolatier had even a chance to react.

The cake had collided with his face and Willy was sent falling backwards and landing on his bottom in the grass because of the force. How much strength did that guy have? Cream exploded against his skin and trickled down his cheeks and neck as chocolate crumbs landed in his already messy hair.

His hat had yet again fallen off his head much to Willy's annoyance.

Chapter Text

"Oh dear, I am incredibly sorry!"

The high yet rough voice spoke to Willy, however cream covered his eyes so he could barely see! He could hear growing footsteps coming towards him and the chocolatier tried scooping off the cake that had stuck itself to his face and hair so that he could see once more.

"That cake was intended for my friend, the March Hare over here. But you can just call him Thackery or Thack for short!" The man apologised and Willy felt two arms on the sides of both his shoulders pulling him softly up to his feet again. Mr Wonka pulled off the sticky cake from his eyes and dropped it onto the carpeted floor with his gloved hands.

He would certainly need another shower. If he could find one or somehow return to the chocolate factory.

When his eyesight had been rid of all the cream and crumbs, he focused his attention back on the strange man stood in front of him. And that was when Willy realised how unusually vivid the man's eyes were. Earlier it was hard to examine his eyes because Willy was walking towards the other end of the table. But now they were in full focus and they were so incredibly green that the chocolatier was instantly taken aback by them which were blinking back at him apologetically along with a smirk that had rose upon the man's pale face.

The man reached into the pocket of his deep brown coat and picked out a tea stained napkin, he held it for Willy to take. Most likely for him to wipe all the cream that was still on his face. Unfortunately, the chocolatier was in a sort of daze as his purple eyes continued staring into the stranger's piercing green ones.

Willy felt his stomach flutter and he had absolutely no idea why. Was it because of the man's eyes? Why was he beginning to grow hot when the air was cool and there was a soft breeze blowing against him?

"Would you like for me to clean your face instead?" The man joked and let out giggle almost as high as a helium balloon which had gladly snapped Mr Wonka back to reality at last. Willy hesitated to take the napkin as it looked rather dirty and it seemed that it hadn't been washed for a long amount of time. Though it would be impolite for him to not take it.

Willy drew his hand back once or twice but took it out of the man's thin fingers that had bandages, rings and all sorts of oddities tied around his fingers. The inventor wiped the napkin over his face and eyes, cleaning all the edges and his jaw. He could smell the tea from the napkin and instantly his mouth and throat became thirsty for anything. Willy hadn't a proper beverage since he continued working on that overheating machine earlier today.

"My name is Tarrant, but most people nowadays call me the Mad Hatter!" The man now known as Tarrant grinned and tipped his top hat slightly as if he were from the Victorian age, Willy had almost expected him to say "Greetings sir, what fine weather we are having this lovely afternoon!"

"And what would your name be?" The Hatter eagerly asked as the chocolatier picked the crumbs out from his brown locks. He passed back the napkin to Tarrant's pink spotted fingers. Willy was surprised when the man stared at it for a couple seconds like he hadn't seen it before and then tossed it over his shoulder as if he was discarding a crumbled up ball of paper.

"Willy...Wonka." He answered slowly, watching the napkin float to the ground so softly as it were a feather from a bird.

Willy was startled once more when Tarrant took his gloved left hand and shook it very quickly. The inventor was certainly surprised by the sudden touch but didn't disagree against it, he usually hated whenever people either took his hand or brought him inwards for a sad excuse of a bear hug. But when he shook the Hatter's hand, Willy did not feel any displeasure for it which was odd.

In fact, it was comforting in some way.

"It's very nice to meet you, would you like to stay for a cup of-- oh what a lovely hat!" Willy had been in the process of picking up his damaged hat and cane which had landed on the floor after the cake was thrown at his face, when he had almost jumped at the sound of how enthusiastic and excited Tarrant had become. Willy picked it back up with his hands but did not place it onto his head once again, as the Hatter was currently examining it with his shining lime green eyes. Thankfully the cake hadn't touched the hat so Willy didn't have to worry about scrubbing cream off velvet.

"Thank you!" The chocolatier lips turned into a smile full of appreciation. "Although I'm going to have to get it repaired at some point. Your hat is really splendid too!"

The Hatter's eyes had widened even more with delight and his gap-toothed mouth stretched as high as they could into a grin full of happiness. Willy had never seen anyone look so joyful in his life, apart from Charlie when he had realised that he was being given an entire chocolate factory. Or the Oompa Loompa chief when he accepted the offer to live and work in the chocolate factory where payment were simply cocoa beans.

"Why thank you. I can fix it right away for you! Come on over here and we can share some tea together." Willy opened his mouth to say his thanks again, but Tarrant had instantly and gently took his wrist and guided him to a seat next to the head of the table. The chocolatier was understandably surprised by how energetic the Hatter could be. And for some reason Willy was interested in what this guy did in his life, and he could feel an odd connection that he couldn't explain.

Willy sat himself down on the seat to the left side of where the Hatter had got himself comfortable. And the chair was surprisingly very soft for it looking so battered and chipped. The inventor placed his hat upon the partly clean table surface and watched as Tarrant picked up a vintage tea cup and saucer. He placed it right in front of Willy and then started searching for a teapot.

"You fix hats?" Willy asked as Tarrant was moving half eaten foods and smashed up pieces of cupcakes and sandwiches aside. The chocolatier could spot a sleeping white dormouse in an empty teapot. He assumed that it was a girl because of the small pink dress.

The March Hare named Thackery was currently in the middle of examining a plate that had a crude cracked hole in it, his yellowish amber eyes were full of curiosity and his paws were trembling nervously as he held the broken plate.

When the Hatter had found the teapot he was looking for, which had been buried under cutlery and snacks. He let out a short "Aha!" and smiled once more.

"Course! It's my trade of creating hats for those who love and enjoy wearing them out and about." Tarrant explained passionately as he poured the piping hot liquid into the cup. Willy would've preferred a nice hot chocolate instead of tea, but he didn't make a fuss about it. He liked tea, but did not have it often.

"How many sugars do you take?" The Hatter asked as he finished pouring the tea and milk.

"Three please." Willy answered, leaning his cane against the table and crossing his legs to get comfortable.

Tarrant looked partly surprised at Willy's answer but didn't argue. Instead he went to grab an object to his right but he had picked up nothing, the Hatter furrowed his bushy eyebrows as he looked underneath the table for a split second before spotting the object he was searching for, which was on the other side of the table near to Thackery.

"Thackery! Pass me the sugar bowl, would you?"

Due to the March Hare moving on from staring at his broken plate to pouring salt and other unidentifiable substances into his tea, Tarrant's ask for the bowl had seemed to get mixed up in the hare's mind, and instead Thackery grabbed it and thrown it towards the Hatter. Tarrant ducked instantly as the bowl smashed into the top of his chair. Willy leaned back in his seat with a bewildered expression as the sugar and shards exploded and fell down the back of Tarrant's coat.

Willy was gobsmacked as the Hatter brought himself back up from below the table with an unfazed look in his face! Like that moment hadn't happened!

"Here it is!" He revealed another sugar bowl, and it seemed to be the exact same one as the previous that had been smashed which had greatly confused the chocolatier. Willy relaxed himself back into his chair, his head currently wondering what he had gotten himself into today as Tarrant picked up a spoon and started stirring the tea. The strange man tapped the spoon against the porcelain edge of the cup and then placed the drink on the saucer in front of Willy.

"Thank you." Willy smiled and raised the tea towards his lips, blowing it for a couple seconds before sipping it gently. The tea was lovely and sweet however it burnt at his throat and tongue when he swallowed it.

"I've been meaning to ask, where am I exactly?" He asked.

"Yer having tea with us, that's where ye are!" The hare piped up with a trembling voice as he helped himself to what looked like a waffle but had all sorts of crumbs and pieces of food topped on it. The Hatter chuckled along and poured himself a tea with a biscuit on the side of his saucer.

Willy had wanted to slap a hand against his face in response but restrained himself from doing so.

"How could you possibly not know where you are?" Tarrant questioned incredulously as he swallowed a mouthful of tea.

"Are you not from Underland?"

Underland? That was the name of the place he was currently in? Certainly an peculiar name. One that Willy hadn't heard of before or had seen on a map just like Loompaland.

"No, of course not. I was taking a walk and then I fell down some weird hole and I ended up here!" The chocolatier answered frustratingly, slamming down his tea cup with a little too much force necessary.

Tarrant's lime green eyes widened with surprise, and Willy could tell that the Hatter was holding back a smile because the man's lips twitched slightly and his eyes became lighter.

"You're from above!" It first sounded like a question but it had turned into almost a squeal of excitement. Willy nodded however he was still unsure. Was this place underground then? How did that explain the clouds and sky though? Nothing was making sense at all, and it started to give him a headache. "Do you happen to know an Alice by any chance?"

"ALICE!" The hare shrieked and smashed his plate by slamming it onto the table, spilling his own cup of tea in the process. Willy jumped slightly in his chair, nearly bashing his knee underneath the table. The dormouse that had been sleeping in an empty teapot had woken up with a start and fell inside of the pot. Her black shiny eyes were furrowed with anger as she picked up a sugar cube and hurled it at Thackery when she had revealed herself again. The cube knocked against the hare's furry head before plopping into the puddle of tea and shattered plate in front of him.

She placed her paws on her hips as she shook her head with a frown. Her pose was almost like a disappointed parent. Her black eyes turned towards the Hatter and then noticed Willy. And then her disappointment turned into curiosity.

"Who's this, Hatter?" The dormouse asked as she pushed herself out of the teapot and sat on the rim of the porcelain. Tarrant placed his tea cup back on it's saucer after he had eaten his biscuit, and glanced at the chocolatier a couple times with a grin.

"This is Willy Wonka, our new guest!" He gestured to him with his pale and pinkish hand. He then moved his hand towards the dormouse and turned to Willy. "Willy, this is Mallymkun. Or for short, Mally!"

Willy looked at her with an awkward smile, he would certainly have to get used to seeing and hearing animals talk in this bizarre place. The dormouse frowned and her dark eyes seemed to be looking at the top of Willy's head.

"What's with his funny hair?" She started to chuckle as she dropped off from her position on the teapot and picked herself a very tiny tea cup. Willy was prepared to insist that he didn't have a funny haircut and that she had no sense of style but Tarrant had already beaten him for words.

"Now, now Mally that was rude. You should never be rude to your guests!" The Hatter waved his finger from side to side, disapproved. The irritated inventor had just settled with a glare towards her, crossing his arms almost with a huff.

Perhaps he should get a haircut when he gets back to the chocolate factory seeing as almost everyone did not like it.

Including Charlie Bucket.

Chapter Text

"I'm sorry but I don't know an Alice."

Willy answered the question that had popped up a few moments ago. Tarrant looked saddened for a minute before forcing the smile he wore before. The hare and dormouse had been quiet when the inventor had spoken too. It was like he had said something awful! And Willy couldn't help but feel a little sorry for speaking that.

"Who is this Alice?" Mr Wonka questioned either of them curiously.

"Alice came from above just like you." Mallymkun answered as she raised her own tiny cup of tea to her furry mouth. Willy wondered how she had even managed to even pour herself a drink in that incredibly small cup in the first place. "She joined our tea party for a bit before she decided to leave. Since then, Alice hasn't returned yet."

Willy felt a speck of hope grow within him as his purple eyes widened slightly.

Alice had left?

If she could leave this strange place then there would certainly be a way for Willy to leave too! And perhaps he could return back at some point, there could be new and extraordinary ingredients for making more and more candy. Which meant more exciting ideas!

"Does anyone know how she left?" The inventor popped his tea cup back on the table and leaned back slightly in his seat and folded his arms together. He was getting a little chilly with the soft breeze blowing against him.

Both Thackery and Mally shook their furry heads and Willy took that as a no.

His hope was beginning to crumble and his chest was becoming tighter. It was almost like how he had felt when those thieves had stolen his life work.

Tarrant looked confused and surprised at the same exact time at Willy's sudden wish to leave Underland. The chocolatier knew that he had only just arrived in this mysterious and fascinating place and part of him had really wanted to explore the many wonders around him, but he needed to return to the factory. Charlie was soon to be worried about Willy's disappearance, and so would the Oompa Loompas too.

"Why do you want to leave so suddenly?" The Hatter asked as his bushy eyebrows rose to his pale forehead. "Aren't you finding your surroundings to be a spectacle?"

"Well yes, but I didn't mean to fall down that hole, arriving here was an accident! I need to return to my chocolate factory before something dreadful happens to my secret recipes." Willy explained as his fears grew almost higher than fudge mountain, which then gave all three of them confused expressions and a brief moment of uncomfortable silence coming from them. The inventor's purple eyes glanced to each of them, they were staring at him like they had no idea of what he was talking about.

"I'm a chocolatier. I create my own candy." Willy added awkwardly. And the unsure expression in the Hatter's face had transformed into joy.

"Wonderful! Absolutely delightful!" Tarrant clapped his hands together with a wide smile as Thackery cheered by throwing his empty tea cup to the ground, which had instantly smashed. The dormouse just rolled her dark eyes in response to the broken cup, holding back a smile too.

Mr Wonka felt a little pride at their happiness and glee, and a very small smile twitched onto his ashen face. However it had not lasted long as Willy had realised that the three had not told him how Alice had left in the first place.

"So there isn't a way for me to return to my factory?" The chocolatier questioned with his voice growing mostly of doubt and sadness. What was he going to do if he was actually stuck in this place? Charlie hadn't learned everything about the secrets of the factory yet, and he was still Willy's apprentice. The child couldn't manage the gigantic factory and the Oompa Loompas by himself, he wasn't ready.

If Willy couldn't return, then the whole business could very well collapse! And all his secret recipes would be stolen once again, and all his life's work and legacy would fade away into nothingness. The Oompa Loompas would probably have nowhere to live freely anymore!

And everyone would soon forget about him.

All of this intense worrying about the current situation was making Willy's urge to vomit rise each passing second. It did slightly vanish when his head turned towards Tarrant, who seemed to be thinking of an idea. His vivid green eyes brightened like a lightbulb.

"The white queen may know a way for you to return back home." The Hatter finally answered softly, with another of his smiles that made Willy want to smile too. "If Alice could leave then certainly you can too!"

Willy was mildy surprised that Underland had a queen, it wasn't common of course. The only queen Mr Wonka had ever met briefly was the one who ruled in the United Kingdom. Also why was this queen called the white queen?

"How far is her castle? I suppose it will be a difficult task for me to meet her." Willy scratched at the back of his neck with his fingers nervously.

"Nonsense! I know her very well, I'd be happy to take you there myself!" Tarrant's words made Willy astonished. This stranger who he had only just met was willing to take him to see a queen! And it was rather coincidental that the Hatter also apparently knew her very well. He would have to ask how Tarrant knew her later on.

Mr Wonka just kept getting lucky didn't he?

"It would be a bad idea for you to go alone too, with all the red knights and creatures patrolling and lurking about. Especially at night!"

"That is really appreciated! Wait, red knights?" Willy's grateful smile soon vanished as confusion swept through him. "So there is a red queen as well?"

Instantly, Tarrant's eyes had turned into a fearsome yellow, and around his eyes had magically darkened in less than two seconds. The chocolatier raised his eyebrows in shock and was about to ask what was wrong.

"Downal with bluddy behg hid!" The Hatter's accent had transformed in an instant. For a moment, Tarrant had sounded like he had came from Scotland! Perhaps he was mad like he had said he was. Even the hare and dormouse had joined in with the shout and Willy had almost accidently fallen off his chair in response.

They all had sounded so angry at the mention of the red queen, leading the inventor to realise that this queen might not be a likeable person. He certainly won't be heading over to her castle for sure. And Willy rather did not want to ask them why the red queen was so bad.

"Since the sky is growing dark, I suggest you stay the night in my humble home which is the windmill." Tarrant gestured with his pale and pinkish hand towards the run down building. His yellow eyes softly turned back into the vivid green that they were, and the darkness around his eyes had vanished. "And then early morning we shall set off!"

"But it's on the verge of collapsing, and it looks rather unsafe!" Willy protested with wide eyes.

"Nonsense!" The Hatter disagreed with a giggle and shook his head. His bushy orange hair moved with the shaking of his head. "I've slept in there for a few years and not one bit of it has fallen off! I assure you, it's very cosy and warm inside."

After Tarrant was able to reassure the chocolatier, even though Willy still had doubt about his words, the Hatter stood himself up and walked right behind Willy's seat.

Mr Wonka was about to question what he was doing, until Tarrant pulled his chair backwards and patted Willy's shoulder with his hand for him to follow. The inventor's purple eyes watched as the Hatter then made his way towards the door to the windmill. Willy got himself up to his feet and grabbed his hat from the table and followed Tarrant.

When he caught up to the Hatter, Willy heard Thackery shriek with a hysterical laugh and then Tarrant had immediately ducked and pulled Willy down with him. The chocolatier was gobsmacked as he felt a gush of wind and then the sound of shattering porcelain colliding with the door in front of the two.

The hare had thrown his tea cup and it had narrowly missed the two! And then there was a burst of giggling coming from Thackery and Mallymkun behind them! Willy was just about to turn around and yell at the two animals for nearly injuring either him or the Hatter, but Tarrant had already opened the door and guided Willy inside the windmill.

Mr Wonka was greeted by possibly fifty lit candles scattered around on the floor, windows and tables. Small cracked puddles of wax decorated the wooden floor. Along with the candles, there were so many books and papers littered around the room. It was a warm cosy environment just like the Hatter had said. And even though the state outside was deteriorating, there was barely any damage on the walls apart from the cracked wallpaper.

"I'll just be a moment." The Hatter held up one finger and headed up the nearby stairs. Leaving Willy to his own devices for now.

Carefully examining the papers that were dropped on the floor, they seemed to have sketches of different designs of hats. The hats were remarkable, and even though they looked stranger than any hat in a simple hat shop, Willy rather liked the peculiar designs. Tarrant was certainly a talented hat maker.

His purple eyes gazed towards a nearby sewing machine, but it looked rather dusty on the top as if it hadn't been used in a while. There was a pile of ribbons tangled together that was sat next to the machine. Along with a box that contained pins and needles and all sorts of colourful buttons and materials.

The chocolatier could hear footsteps above him and things being moved around up above him, a soft smile rose on his face. Tarrant was most likely tidying to make sure everything was neat before Willy had entered there which amused the inventor.

"You can come on up now!" The Hatter's voice called for him and immediately Willy climbed the stairs and saw Tarrant standing nearby holding a set of red plaid pyjamas. He was stood next to a navy blue king sized bed with a chest at the end. There were chestnut tables either side of the bed, with yet more candles on it's surface.

The Hatter seemed that he really liked everywhere nicely lit.

"Here," Tarrant walked towards Willy and handed him the pyjamas with a grin, the inventor had to place his damaged hat on top of the bed to take the set. "You seem to be the same size as me so these will fit you well."

Mr Wonka's eyes widened as the set was placed in his gloved hands. They looked very soft and comfortable, and he liked the plaid. Back at the factory, he wore his crimson silk pyjamas when he was going to sleep which unfortunately wasn't really often.

Mostly because he was always trying his hardest to think of fantastical ideas for brand new candy that would become another huge success.

"Thank you, again. I really don't deserve this much kindness." Willy smiled and placed the pyjamas onto the bed next to his hat.

"You're my guest! And I always treat my guests well." The Hatter grinned.

The chocolatier glanced around for a couple seconds, expecting to see a sofa of sorts that he was supposed to rest on tonight. However it was only the king sized bed in the room, and Willy instantly became confused.

"Where do I sleep?"

Tarrant had giggled in response which had slightly irritated Willy. It was just a simple question wasn't it?

"Right there, of course." The Hatter pointed towards the king sized bed as if Willy hadn't noticed it in the first place. The confusion still did not go away as he looked back at Tarrant with a frown.

"W- where would you be sleeping then?" Willy questioned, pretending to not notice the embarrassment rising in him. He had immediately wanted to slap himself in the face when he stuttered.

"Don't worry, I will be resting downstairs and will be fixing your hat." Tarrant smiled and the glanced towards Willy's damaged hat that was laying on top of the bed. "Do you mind if I take it now?"

"No, not at all!" Willy shook his head and picked up the hat and handed it to the Hatter. Tarrant took it and examined it for a brief moment before nodding his head and then walking towards the stairs to leave.

"Goodnight, Tarrant. Thank you again for letting me stay."

The Hatter turned his gaze back towards Willy with a joyful grin once more as he stopped in his tracks.

"Rest well, Willy. We have a long journey tomorrow!" With one more smile shot at Willy, the Hatter walked down the stairs and out of sight, leaving the chocolatier alone.

Mr Wonka sighed and rubbed his head, he only just now realised how exhausted he felt.

He did have a very eventful day. The inventor had spent months working on that infernal machine of his, and then he had fallen down that hole and ended up in this strange place called Underland that he hadn't heard of before in his life.

As he removed his clothes and dressed himself in the pyjamas Tarrant had given him. Willy groaned as his legs and shoulders were beginning to ache, especially his neck and the back of his head. He removed his gloves and set them aside on the nightstand as he then rubbed at his head. The chocolatier sucked in a breath as he felt a bump on his head.

It was most definitely from when he had accidentally whacked the back of his skull against the console of the newest invention. Hopefully it would be gone in the morning.

Willy pushed the duvet of the bed back and settled himself in for the night. He pulled the blanket over him and got himself comfortable. He was surprised that the bed was actually softer and warmer than his own in the chocolate factory! And he thought he had slept in the best bed in the entire world!

The mattress felt like he was floating on clouds, and the pillows were so very delicate even though Willy's head was resting against it. Before he knew it, his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing became more slower and calmer. His thoughts and worries drifted off like a boat sailing on the sea.

Before Willy found himself asleep, he had not been surprised that the whole bed had smelt of tea.

Chapter Text

As Willy peacefully fell into a comfortable slumber in Tarrant's deteriorated but quite cosy windmil, drifting off to a palace of dreams where his worries and dread about returning home were soothed until he eventually awakened.

Charlie Bucket meanwhile up above and not in Underland, was currently rushing through the air of the chocolate factory inside the great glass elevator. Whizzing past rooms with a speed that normal elevators couldn't even get up to, and turning sharp corners that almost sent poor Charlie crashing into the glass wall and pressing many buttons.

The young boy had departed from the Inventing Room after he had told Mr Wonka to take a shower before he went on his night stroll, and was heading to the biggest rooms in the whole factory. Which was where the chocolate and candy were being wrapped and sent for delivery.

Charlie had been fascinated by the machines and conveyors since his eyes first laid upon them when Mr Wonka was showing him the rest of the unbelievable, spectacular factory which was his home and only home. Watching the machines wrap the chocolate in foil and paper, and then placing them in boxes. It was somehow satisfying to watch, and sometimes Charlie liked to just stand and watch the machines do their work.

When the great glass elevator had arrived after passing fudge mountain and many other rooms, Charlie made sure that he could see the doors opening before he exited the glass box. Mr Wonka had quite often walked right into the doors when they were beginning to open, one time he had accidentally broken his nose in the process that caused him to fall to the floor and not get up until some Oompa Loompas had given him medical attention. The inventor was in a very irritated mood for the rest of the healing process, and his nose had become black and purple.

He couldn't even stop by at the Television Room to work because the goggles that he had to wear, hurt his healing nose terribly. From that incident, Charlie had to make sure that Mr Wonka would wait in the elevator for a few seconds as the sound of the doors reached their ears.

As the young boy stepped out, he could hear small quickened footsteps coming towards him and he turned his head to locate the source of the footsteps.

Which of course was an Oompa Loompa.

The small man was huffing, and was certainly out of breath as he stumbled over to Charlie in a hurry. He seemed to have been trying to find the young apprentice for a while! In his hand, he clutched a piece of paper that was almost too large for him to hold.

"Hello!" Charlie greeted with a smile, the Oompa Loompa nodded tiredly and quickly passed it to him. Before then collapsing onto the ground on his back. Charlie made a move to help him but the small man had seemed to just be catching his breath.

"Is this from Mr Wonka?" He asked him. The Oompa Loompa responded by giving him a limp thumbs up. Charlie nodded and unfolded the note, clearing out the creases so that he could see the handwriting clearly.

"Charlie,
When you receive this note, I should be outside walking in the nearby park. I will be back in half an hour and hopefully with brand new ideas! Till then, Willy Wonka."

It took Charlie only a couple seconds to fully read it, another smile growing on his face. He pocketed the note and turned his mildy concerned gaze back onto the Oompa Loompa that was resting on the floor. He crouched down and lent his hand for the smaller man to take.

Charlie desperately hoped that Mr Wonka would be in a better mood when he eventually returned to the factory.

~

It was the sound of a sewing machine that had awoken the chocolatier from his pleasant sleep.

Willy's body was still mildly sore as he turned himself onto his stomach and clutched the duvet closer to him, almost covering his head that was nowhere near on top of a pillow. He groaned as he tucked his aching knees inwards to his stomach and adjusted his position slightly. Why was there a sewing machine going off inside his room? Hadn't the strange dream finally run it's course?

Willy was incredibly confused as he tried blocking the irritating noises by covering his ears with the thick blanket. He scrunched his eyes tighter in an effort to return to his lovely slumber. However he had awoken now, and as much as he wanted to carry on sleeping, his body did not want to rest. All traces of exhaustion had vanished, and Willy wanted to grab a cup of hot chocolate to start his day. He would probably have to return to completing that irritating machine in the Inventing Room.

The chocolatier forced himself up into a sitting position, and rubbed at his eyes as they painfully adjusted to the bright light in his room.

Wait.

Bright light?

Where was that coming from? His bedroom didn't have windows!

As his purple eyes began to focus on the room that he was currently in, he realised that this bedroom was in fact not his own that was in his factory. It was too light and very cosy.

Oh. Right.

It wasn't a dream. Willy Wonka was still currently in Underland, and he wasn't back in the safety of his chocolate factory. His confusion turned to a mild sadness as he pulled the warm duvet off his legs and dropped them to the wooden floor. A tiny part of him was actually glad that this whole situation was not a dream though, that Hatter was a pretty interesting fellow and the chocolatier desired to get to know the man better. Willy stretched his arms and rotated his neck as he stood up and approached his clothing that was in a neat pile.

Tarrant, the new and incredibly friendly man that Willy had met yesterday, was probably downstairs judging by the sounds of the sewing machine that had woken the inventor. Willy hoped that the man had kept his word and was actually going to take him to this white queen. Mr Wonka was becoming homesick the more time he spent in this new land.

Willy dressed himself once again in his clothes from yesterday, holding back a couple yawns as he pulled on his shoes and fastened the broach around the collar of his neck. He became panicked when he went to search for his hat, but it was not in the room with him. He mentally facepalmed himself as he realised that Tarrant was or had fixed his hat judging by the whirring sounds down below.

The chocolatier stretched his arms once more, along with a yawn as he walked down the stairs and was met by the Hatter who was hunched over at a table. His bushy orange head was very close to the table surface as he scribbled on something. The sound of a pencil being scratched against the paper could be heard.

Tarrant was missing his coat, which laid draped over his chair that he currently sat on. He wore a crimson waistcoat with a navy blue undershirt, along with his polka dot cravat that was tied loosely around the collar of his neck. He was not wearing his hat, which was also on the table next to the paper he was intensely drawing on.

Tarrant's left hand was turning the wheel on the sewing machine to continue the noise, but he was not using it to fix hats or anything. Why did he feel the need to keep the machine on? Surely the noise was distracting him.

Willy awkwardly felt that he should announce himself in some way, as Tarrant had not heard the inventor's footsteps creaking down the chipped stairs.

"Uh, good morning!" The chocolatier greeted in almost a shout as the sound of the sewing machine was rather loud and Willy could almost not hear himself think. He watched as Tarrant instantly sat upwards, dropping his pencil and turning his head towards Mr Wonka, his left hand slid off from the wheel of the sewing machine which stopped the loud noise. Before his expression had transformed into an excited one, his lime green eyes had looked extremely focused and Willy had almost felt bad for interrupting him.

"Oh! Good morning to you too!" The Hatter grinned and got himself up to his feet, not even noticing the pencil he had previously been holding, dropping to the floor.

"Did you have a pleasant sleep?" Tarrant asked, with genuine curiosity exploding onto his ashen face. Willy hadn't expected him to ask how he had slept, so a small grateful smile rose to his pale cheeks.

"Yes, I did. The bed was surprisingly more comfortable than my own." Mr Wonka chuckled as he watched the Hatter walk over to another table and retrieved something that Willy was unable to see.

"I'm very happy to hear that!" Tarrant replied gleefully as he turned back around to face the chocolatier. "I have fixed your hat by the way."

Willy was delighted to see that in the Hatter's pale and pinkish hand, sat his hat. And it had been fully repaired! There was not a single scratch or rip upon it as his purple eyes examined and searched for a trace of damage. But there was none whatsoever. It was as if Willy hadn't damaged his hat at all!

Remarkable!

Tarrant was certainly good at his job!

"Thank you so much!" Willy's jaw almost fell to the floor as joy filled his eyes, and his cheeks were beginning to hurt by how much he was smiling. His smile soon vanished slightly as when he moved to take the hat from the Hatter's hands, Tarrant instead had returned the hat by fitting it back onto Willy's head himself. Which had surprised the inventor.

He hadn't expected the Hatter to do that.

Willy curiously watched Tarrant's fingers wipe the brim of the hat as he made sure that the hat was properly fit on top of the chocolatier's head. When he removed his fingers, his expression transformed into one full of pride and glee.

"There! Your hat is in perfect condition now. If it gets ripped or damaged in some way again, let me know and I will be happy to fix it up again." Tarrant grinned, making Willy snap out of his curiosity and then return a smile too. Mr Wonka had never met such an intriguing man in his life! Especially with his eyes almost bright as fireflies, and his hair in crazy orange twists. And a magnificent talent of creating hats.

Willy felt a connection to this man, and for the love of all his chocolate and his factory, he could not figure out why that was!

Perhaps it was their love of hats?

Maybe later when they've started the journey to the white queen's castle, they could converse on what they liked together. Maybe they unknowingly shared hobbies and interests and that was why there was a connection. As the thought of the journey finally arrived in his head, he snapped himself out of his wondering of Tarrant.

"Thank you," Willy coughed to clear his throat and rubbed at his arm with his right hand, mostly out of habit whenever his introverted side unwillingly came out. "Are we still heading off to the white queen?"

The Hatter who was picking up papers with rough sketches of hat designs off the floor looked up at Willy from his crouched position with a toothy grin.

"Indeed we are! We can leave as soon as you want." Tarrant's eyes lingered on Willy for a couple moments, and then he focused on picking up the scattered papers. Mr Wonka wondered why the Hatter had stared for so long. Did he feel that connection too?

Willy was surprised at Tarrant's answer, he had expected the both of them to be leaving immediately, but no. They were to leave when the inventor was ready, no rushing off.

"Oh okay then, is it alright if we head off now?" The chocolatier shuffled on his feet slightly, pushing his arms through the sleeves of his velvet red coat. Tarrant, with a pile of drawings in his pale and pinkish hands, shot another smile towards Willy as he walked over to a table and placed the pile on it's surface. He brushed the dirt off his fingers by wiping it on his knees, and then turned towards Mr Wonka.

"That's fine! Before we go however, I will need to pack us some sandwiches just in case one of us gets a little peckish on the way." Tarrant smiled brightly and picked up his own coat, before grabbing his own top hat and placing it on top of his wild orange head of hair.

Willy Wonka followed the Hatter as the two exited the room, and outside to the wonderful bright world that was Underland.

Chapter Text

Willy's purple eyes took a moment to adjust to the bright, warm sun shining down upon him. But when they did, the chocolatier was surprised to see that hare Thackery was still where he was when the chocolatier had first met him.

Did the hare sleep at the table or had he only just arrived here from his house if he even owned one? Multiple questions rose in Willy's head, and it was starting to give the inventor yet another sore headache. But before his mind could question it, he was pleasantly surprised to see the Hatter begin to wrap a couple sandwiches that were still intact, and two cupcakes in clean napkins. 

Where on earth Tarrant had managed to find clean napkins with no stains, Willy had absolutely no idea but then again, a lot of things he’d witnessed here made no sense either.

"Right then!"

The Hatter eagerly shoved the napkin covered foods in his pockets and clapped his hands together with a charming grin that then quickly turned into a frown. 

"Willy and I shall be heading off now and-- Thack? Where's Mally?" 

The chocolatier turned towards the table where Tarrant set his confused gaze, and certainly the dormouse was not here. She didn't seem to be sleeping in any of the tea pots either. Perhaps she had left last night to return to her own home? However Tarrant seemed to be greatly confused as to her whereabouts. So she usually stayed the night still at the table then just like the crazy hare.

What an odd bunch.  

"Mally said she was goin' off tah see the white rabbit! She said that they were meetin’ Absolem!" The March Hare answered with his shaky voice and a goofy smile to go along with it. The Hatter nodded, though that concerned expression did not fade from his face.

Who was Absolem?

"I hope she'll keep herself safe and armed! The red knights are incredibly fierce and I do not want to see her be taken to that awful castle." Tarrant shook his head slowly, concern transforming into a mix of anger and worry. 

Obviously by the tone and the way the Hatter bitterly spoke of the Red Queen and her knights, they were certainly not the most delightful and friendliest people to be around and the chocolatier hoped that he wouldn't have to cross paths with them. Which made Willy wish to arrive at the White Queen's castle even sooner. He couldn’t wait to return to the safety of the factory. Charlie and the Oompa Loompas would have noticed his missing by now. 

Tarrant sighed and nodded his head, he straightened his coat and adjusted his top hat with a smile now bright and full of confidence again. 

"You keep yourself safe too, Thackery! We will only be gone for perhaps a day or two." He eagerly assured Thackery.

The March Hare simply responded by hurling another tea cup at the Hatter who instantly ducked down, the porcelain narrowly missing the tip of his magnificent hat. Willy's jaw dropped almost to the ground as both Thackery and Tarrant burst into a loud laughter together as the cup smashed onto the floor in shards and pieces. 

It was a wonder how they hadn't smashed all the tea pots and cutlery from the table yet. 

"Well then! Shall we begin our journey, Mr Wonka?" Tarrant asked after his minutes of laughter and high giggles had finally ceased. He had started to approach the forest before gesturing his left arm upwards to the trees as if he were revealing something spectacular. 

Like when Willy had cut the ribbon to the gates of his factory and showed the magnificent building to hundreds of wide eyed people for the very first time. The inventor simply nodded eagerly with a smile growing onto his pale face now. 

“Yes, let’s go. I suppose, farewell then Thackery?” Willy turned slightly to bid goodbye to the odd animal who was busy pouring himself yet another unsurprising cup of tea as he began making a tower of scones. The hare merely grinned at him as a response and the chocolatier proceeded to walk towards the forest where the Hatter still stood.

Tarrant smiled at Willy who stopped just beside him and cheerfully waved at Thackery.

“Fairfarren Thackery!”

And with that, the Hatter entered the forest with Willy following closely behind. This was probably going to be a long and exhausting day.

~

And exhausting it was indeed. Not even half an hour had passed and Willy Wonka's legs were beginning to ache and the back of his neck was sore. The back of his head was still rather painful from when he’d hit it accidently against his invention, albeit only whenever he touched it with his hand or his hat whenever he’d adjusted it. 

The journey so far had been rather hot and bothersome to add to his already aching feet and legs. Though walking under the trees helped as it was cooler in the shade instead of walking along a grassy path in the bright sunlight. Willy uncomfortably felt sweat trickle down his spine and the sides of his face. 

This would probably be the last time he would spend walking outside in the fresh air when he returned home. Willy did not enjoy having to swat infuriating flies away from his face and flick bugs that had somehow made their way onto the shoulders of his coat. 

The Hatter on the other hand was enjoying the journey, smiling brightly as he took deep breaths of the fresh air and stretching out his arms as he walked with almost a gentle and playful bounce to his feet. Willy had almost expected the man to run off chasing butterflies with a laugh.  

“How long will the journey be to- what was the castle called again?” Willy asked Tarrant who turned around and began walking backwards instead, uncaring about accidentally tripping over and not looking where he was walking.

“ Marmoreal that would be!” Tarrant answered eagerly.

“Ah right, how long will it take for us to arrive at Marmoreal ?” 

“It shouldn’t take us a while. Possibly a day or two if the Red Knights come across our path.” 

Willy resisted the urge to sigh, he should have been expecting a long trek to the White Queen’s domain. It wasn’t as if it had been right next to the Hatter’s windmill waiting for Willy Wonka to step into. He would have been too lucky if that was the case. Falling down a ominous dark chasm that didn’t make sense which meant instant death but instead he’d survived to which his brain was still questioning how the impossible happened. And then meeting someone who was supposedly connected with a ruler who possibly knew a way for him to leave. 

Underland absolutely broke Willy Wonka’s brilliant mind.

“May we have a quick lunch break? I’m famished.” Willy asked and almost immediately, his stomach growled for food. 

He had forgotten that not only did he forgot to not eat dinner at the Bucket’s house last night which could have saved him the trouble of ending up here, but he didn’t even have breakfast this morning! That last one was his fault however, Willy did insist on leaving right after he had woken up. 

Tarrant’s eyes widened quickly and abruptly stopped walking backwards, making Willy almost bump into him. 

“Of course!” The Hatter replied with almost an apologetic expression as he sat himself down against a tree and motioned for the chocolatier to join him, which Willy did and sat down opposite Tarrant who was now reaching into his pockets and retrieving the food he had packed prior the morning. 

“Which do you prefer, ham or cheese?” Tarrant inquired as he held out the two with one in each hand. 

“I’ll have cheese. Though I don’t have a preference so I can have the other if you would like the cheese sandwich.” 

Tarrant shook his head with a bright smile and just handed the cheese sandwich to the inventor’s hand. And the two proceeded to eat their food in an almost awkward silence. Willy wasn’t very good at making small talk, he’d normally just finish off eating and then return to inventing and thinking of new creative ideas to try. However he could not really go and invent anything right now could he?

He was relieved that the other made conversation instead of him. 

“You said that you create confectionery for a living, what sorts do you make if I may ask?” the Hatter asked, he was showing interest in Willy’s career! Willy beamed with mild excitement, he always enjoyed expressing pride about his profession. The Hatter would probably be shocked to find out that he was chatting to the most famous chocolatier in the whole world! 

“All the candy you can think of! I invent new recipes too.” Willy answered keenly as he popped the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and used the napkin to rid the crumbs from the corners of his lips. 

“Really? That’s extraordinary!” 

“Yes, actually I think I even have one of my chocolate bars in my coat.” The inventor patted the pockets of his coat and his fingers had found just what they were searching for. Willy brought out one sadly snapped in half bar of his best selling, Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight! He brought this along when he was heading off for the walk in the park in case he got peckish. And it had definitely gotten snapped in half during that terrible fall most likely. 

Willy unwrapped the bar of chocolate and picked up the half to give to Tarrant who took it with an enthusiastic grin. 

“Thank you!” 

The chocolatier patiently watched Tarrant to break part of the chocolate and popped the piece into his mouth. Almost immediately, his expression changed into one full of absolute delight as he munched on the piece. Willy suppressed a giggle as Tarrant quickly took another small block of the bar and savoured the chocolate in his mouth. Willy knew that the Hatter must be greatly enjoying it as he kept on breaking pieces when he’d finish the last piece in his mouth. Eventually the half of chocolate he had in his fingers had gone and now Tarrant was smelling his fingers.

“My, that must have been simply the best chocolate I have ever eaten in my life!” The Hatter exclaimed happily, still smelling the chocolate on his fingers. 

“You like it?” 

There wasn’t a particular reason why Willy had asked since it was fairly obvious that Tarrant indeed enjoyed the sweet treat, but he still wanted to know the Hatter’s opinion.

“Like it? It was extremely splendid and I loved it! You are a very amazing chocolatier, Willy.” 

On a bad day, Willy would have simply said that he already knew that and that the statement was very obvious. But he did not want to be rude to the man who repaired his hat and was leading him to someone who knew how Willy could return home. And Willy had also taken an increasing liking to the Hatter who enjoyed tea parties even though they had only just met yesterday’s afternoon. He was partly glad that he wouldn’t be leaving Underland so soon, he could spend more time in the company of Tarrant. And he could even return here to get to know the hat-maker a bit more too!

“I’m very glad!” Willy smiled as he wrapped up the leftover half of the chocolate and placed it back inside his coat. “You would certainly like the rest of my many products, I wish I’d brought more for you.” 

Tarrant seemed delighted and excited over the idea of trying more of the Wonka brand, and Willy definitely made yet another mental note to give him more of the fantastical confectionery he had made in the factory. Charlie would certainly find Tarrant odd, but he’d certainly like the Hatter too. Perhaps Willy could maybe take the Bucket family here in the future, they’d love it here for sure! 

“Ah, I’d certainly like to try more! I’m certain the rest will taste as spectacular as the chocolate.” Tarrant grinned once more as he wiped his fingers with a dirty napkin from his coat. And Willy didn’t notice his own cheeks blushing slightly in response, only when the Hatter spoke once more. The inventor immediately rubbed his hands against his face, attempting to get rid of the flush of his cheeks.

“Willy?” 

“Yes, Tarrant?” Willy could not for the life of him remove the redness, instead his hands had made it slightly worse. And no doubt the Hatter had noticed as Willy removed his fingers from his face and internally held back the feelings of mild panic. He began thinking of an explanation to give to Tarrant when the hat-maker would finally question why all of a sudden Willy Wonka’s face had turned almost bright red.

“Do you have any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?”

Chapter Text

Hours passed once more as Mr Wonka and the Hatter continued their long voyage to Marmoreal, and the sky was becoming darker each passing minute. The sun of the impossible atmosphere had vanished long ago, and the forest was becoming more ominously dark as the light faded away. The trees gently swayed with the cooling wind as they stood tall and watched the two top-hat men settle themselves down on the floor for the night. 

However, when the sun disappeared below the horizon, yet another occurrence appeared to the stunned inventor’s purple eyes. The forest began to glow with the colourful luminance of mushrooms big and small, and flowers that seemed almost alien-like radiated with vivid blues and purples. The sight was such a spectacle, like a magnificent scene straight out of a sci-fi movie about a man who was on another world far from Earth. 

Willy had never seen such pure beauty before him, and he had thought that nothing could top the moment he first stepped into Underland! 

In the current moment of his curiosity (which had not ceased since he arrived in this world), the chocolatier was examining the glow of some nearby mushrooms whilst Tarrant was busy trying to light a campfire after collecting some broken logs and twigs of trees that had fallen nearby. The man was sitting cross legged on the floor, and his hat was set aside just next to him. 

The chocolatier cautiously poked the gleaming mushroom, and he didn’t really know what to expect as it didn’t have any reaction to his gloved finger. Willy really wanted to find out why it was so incredibly glowing, and perhaps if it tasted of anything. Obviously in case of the possibility of using these mushrooms for new candy in the future when he got home. 

“Don’t take a bite out of the mushrooms, Willy.” He heard the Hatter lightly warn with a giggle. 

“Ah, I wasn’t intending to. I already tried one when I arrived here and it tasted rather foul.” 

Willy glanced back and shot a grin at Tarrant who smiled back with a nod. The inventor turned back to admiring the radiant group of fungus for a final moment before standing up and walking over to the warmth of the new fire that Tarrant had managed to create finally. He was very talented with a lot of things, wasn’t he?

“Most mushrooms here do taste foul, I’m afraid!” The Hatter sat and leaned his back against the tree behind him with a mild apologetic expression. “Some alter your height, others just cause you to throw up, few actually poison you. But a couple do go well in a lovely soup!” 

The chocolatier looked up from warming his gloved hands from the lovely fire with surprise littered across his pale features.

“The mushrooms change your height?” He turned his head to have a quick look at the group of fungus. The mushrooms had suddenly become even more interesting, and if the whole glowing part didn’t catch his attention earlier then the height part certainly did which made him want to take back some souvenirs of the fungus back home. 

“Oh yes! There are two types that are rarely found in these forests. One that makes you grow, and the other makes you shrink. But there are cakes and potions you can make to give the same outcome, dear.”

Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, Willy was too immersed with the current swarm of ideas flowing through his head as fast as the chocolate river and therefore he did not notice Tarrant’s slip and also the look of immediate panic in the man’s vivid emerald eyes. 

The mushrooms could be a quicker way of making the candy that the chocolatier had been working hard on! Except that the Hatter did not mention if the growing and shrinking of one’s height was permanent or not, and Willy did not want the candy to permanently change anybody’s height. He didn’t want another everlasting change to occur again like those failed three course meal gums. 

“The two mushrooms sound quite a lot like one of the newest candy that I’ve been attempting to perfect for five whole months now.” Willy remarked with a slight raised brow. 

“Really? That sounds compelling! The White Queen is excellent in brewing potions and baking the cakes, I’m sure she will happily allow you to take a look at the recipes when we make it to her castle tomorrow.”

Willy beamed with a grateful smile as the Hatter placed a few small twigs upon the campfire, it made a satisfying crackle as tiny bits of fiery ash flew up into the air for a moment. There was nothing but the sound of the fire sizzling and snapping now as the two became silent. The chocolatier did not know what to do or what to say, and so he was in once again an awkward position.

So he tried to busy himself by taking off his velvet red coat, and laid it onto the floor so he could use it to rest on top when he decided to sleep. But right now he wasn’t feeling tired enough to lie down and attempt to get some sort of rest. Willy took off his hat and placed it nearby, not close enough to the fire though. He did not wish to wear a burnt top hat. 

Sitting himself back down in front of the lovely crackling flame, he found himself wondering not of the White Queen, but the Red Queen instead. Surely she wasn’t that bad? Though the apparent Red Knights that patrolled the land like Tarrant had said made it sound like she was just a power-hungry queen with perhaps a harsh rule. 

“If it’s no trouble to ask, Tarrant,” The Hatter quickly looked up with a curious expression after fiddling with the oddities tied around his pale and pinkish fingers. “I was wondering if you could give me more information on this Red Queen?”

“Downal wyth bluddy big head!” Tarrant immediately shouted in his Scottish brogue once again, causing Willy to fall against the back of the tree he was sitting in front of. 

“...Yes I- I heard that one yesterday.” Willy piped back up with his voice slightly higher than before. He coughed into his hand and fiddled with his fingers.

“The Red Queen is the tyrannical ruler of Underland, she had overthrown her sister long ago who is the White Queen and is meant to be the proper ruler instead of her.” The Hatter sighed and resolved some of the burning questions in the inventor’s head. Willy didn’t expect that they were related, so possibly sibling rivalry was what this world was dealing with?

But then Tarrant described the Red Queen as tyrannical. That didn’t sound good at all. 

“Those who oppose her oppressive rule are swiftly executed. By means of her favourite method, the chop block.” Not only did that make Willy gag and wish to throw up, but Tarrant did a motion of his finger going across his throat. The chocolatier paled.

Alright, so not just a power-hungry monarch then.  

Ew . 

“Has nobody at least tried to overthrow this nasty woman?” Willy asked, though he already anticipated the answer to be no. If there already had been an attempt, then surely it would have failed since she was still currently ruling the land. Willy dreaded to think of what had happened after the failure of getting rid of the cruel woman. 

“I’m afraid not. Every person here is absolutely in fear of her and her capabilities. Nobody wants to hear that they’ve been sentenced to get their heads--” 

“Please don’t go any further with that, I may actually be sick.” The chocolatier swallowed, placing a hand over his mouth. The Hatter snorted with amusement before staring with an apologetic smile. 

“I’m sorry, Willy. It’s not an appealing story to tell.”

“No, no it’s fine, I did ask in the first place.” 

Tarrant nodded softly, though Willy noticed that the other man was beginning to feel uneasy with almost an unrecognisable look that the chocolatier couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe it was best if he didn’t question further about the Red Queen. Perhaps Tarrant was more involved in this situation than he thought. 

“I think I’m going to try and get a bit of sleep, hopefully it doesn’t get too chilly tonight!” Willy notified, trying to make the mood lighter after the slightly morbid conversation. He was glad to see the lovely smile return to the Hatter’s face once again.

“Very well, Willy. I’ll keep watch. Goodnight.” Tarrant nodded before shuffling a bit closer to the fire to keep warm and to also keep a watchful eye on it. 

Willy laid himself down on top of his coat and used his right hand for support under his head. It was rather displeasing to be resting outside in a forest on no comfy bed or pillow, but Willy just had to deal with it. They’d probably be arriving at Marmoreal tomorrow so he could sleep in a proper bed again. Besides that, sleeping next to a fire had reminded Willy of his time in Loompaland! 

“Goodnight, Tarrant.” Willy yawned and closed his eyes, already falling asleep even though it was slightly annoying to be sleeping here. But at least there was a soft warm fire and Tarrant to keep him company.

~

Sleeping on the floor was probably the most uncomfortable thing Willy had done in his life. When he was in Loompaland, he luckily had a tent and an airbed to sleep on but this time he had absolutely no camping supplies. 

His back was aching and so was his head. His coat that he used as a mattress did nothing to help the matter, and Willy groaned as he sat himself up with a large and tired yawn. He stretched his arms wide and rotated his shoulders. The inventor cringed at the smell of his clothes that hadn’t been properly washed for probably three days at this point. He despised filth. And his velvet coat now had leaves stuck on the sleeves and back. No doubt that his hair was messy and out of its style now. He should have pocketed his hair cream.

Letting a highly irritated sigh escape from his dry lips, Willy stood himself up and glanced towards Tarrant who was in a deep slumber and not keeping watch like he had firmly said last night. Perhaps the Hatter had been up all night and couldn’t keep his eyes open and had eventually drifted off into the embrace of slumber? 

Willy chuckled softly and decided to do a bit more investigating of the mushrooms, though staying near Tarrant as he didn’t want him to panic about his whereabouts. Trudging through the leaves and following a small path of mushrooms to a massive patch of them, Willy was slightly disappointed that the fungus was no longer glowing, but still the colours were lovely to the eyes. 

Crouching down and taking a closer look, Willy felt a mild gush of wind however he assumed it was just from the trees. 

Unbeknownst to the chocolatier, a pair of bold teal eyes were staring down at him as they floated in the air, defying the weight of gravity. Willy picked up one of the red mushrooms from the ground and held it close to his curious eyes. Examining the small freckles of white and orange scattered on top.

And then there was suddenly purring. 

And a voice.

“ Some mushrooms here don’t taste foul, you know. Like the very one you hold in your hand.”

That voice didn’t belong to Tarrant, though it didn’t sound foreboding or hostile. Willy was alerted nonetheless though as he stood himself quicker than a bolt of lightning and looked around the area where he was standing. There was nothing! Unless they were hiding behind a tree!

“Who’s that there now?” 

Willy demanded as he glanced behind himself in case the mysterious person was peeking around a tree. Still, there was nothing and once again, Willy Wonka was confused. 

“Where are you? Show yourself!” 

“As you wish, I am merely above you.” The mysterious voice answered.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Willy was stunned to see...a floating cat?

He wiped his eyes to see if he was still asleep, but that didn’t help and he once again attempted to slap himself awake and Willy yelped as his hand made contact with his right cheek once more. 

“That will leave a mark.” 

The grey and blue striped cat grinned, and cats could smile apparently in this world? And he’d thought talking animals were ridiculous enough, and now there was a cat floating above him with a grin so massive that it showed off so many teeth and reached up higher than it’s furry cheeks.

“How are you talking to me-- wait no that’s a stupid question, who are you?” Willy watched with shock now turning into amazement as the cat floated and twirled down to his level and relaxed the intense grin that it bore so proudly. 

“I am the Cheshire Cat, and you must be Willy Wonka?” The Cheshire Cat smiled softly as he floated around the chocolatier and swirled around weightlessly. Willy struggled to keep his purple eyes on him, almost becoming dizzy.

“You know who I am?”

“Only from the chatter of a certain dormouse.” 

“Mallymkun, was it?” 

“Indeed.” 

The cat faded away from sight for a split second before appearing once more, now lying down upon a branch of a tree, completely relaxed as he stared down at the inventor while also purring deeply. 

Blimey, my name travels fast in this world too.

“How do you do that?” The chocolatier asked the peculiar cat, crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side slightly.

“Do what?” 

The Cheshire Cat grinned once more and repeated Willy’s motion of tilting his head, only more exaggerated and it looked as if the cat’s neck was about to break. But it didn’t, instead to Willy’s horror the cat’s head turned all the way around in a full circle without any repercussions! Willy nearly fainted.

“Th- That!” 

“Why, it is my simple power of evaporating, of course.” 

Oh yes, very simple indeed. Willy had wanted to sarcastically say. 

“What was that you said about the mushroom?” The inventor questioned, raising his hand that held the mushroom towards the cat as he used his other hand to point at it. 

“Despite how quirky they may seem to you, I find myself often nibbling on them when I find them. They are rather flavoursome.” The Cheshire Cat responded, and right on queue a blue mushroom appeared in his paw and he took a large bite with his wide mouth. 

Most mushrooms here do taste foul . Tarrant’s warning and his voice echoed through Willy’s head. Maybe the Hatter was wrong? He seemed crazy, and it even showed in the nickname he had. Heck, perhaps Tarrant just assumed that they tasted foul since they were fungi. Willy turned his gaze to the mushroom in his hand as he lifted it towards his mouth. He always enjoyed trying new things, and he also was planning on coming back here for new ideas for candy! This mushroom could very well be the next famous candy he’d make! 

“Go on, take a bite.” The Cheshire Cat pressed on, and unfortunately Willy did not notice the mischief in the cat’s voice and he took in a deep breath and bit into the soft red mushroom. Surprisingly, it tasted of vanilla and it was sweet in his mouth. The fungus crumbled in his mouth like freeze-dried ice cream and yet it felt like eating a marshmallow at the same time. It was possibly one of the most bizarre and unique thing he’d ever tried! Sadly, the mushroom was already gone in one bite as it was very small. 

He’d definitely need to find more later on. Those tasted very--

Willy’s stomach gurgled, and he was shot with a wave of dizziness and nausea overwhelming him. He frowned and moved to hold his forehead but then noticed a tingling sensation flowing through his body and to his fingertips and toes. His eyes widened with complete horror as he stared at his hands which seemed to be shrinking. And before he knew it, he felt himself becoming shorter each second and the trees becoming taller! 

What was happening?!

The whole world instantly became dark as Willy lost his balance and fell backwards as his clothes and hat remained the same and enveloped the disoriented chocolatier in darkness.

Chapter Text

Birds were chirping in song as they landed on branches to sing to the morning sun. The leaves of the trees gently fluttered in the wind, occasionally a couple of them fell from the wood of the branches. The summer of Underland was departing, making way for autumn to arrive and the atmosphere to become cooler as the next few days passed. The trees were already transforming into lovely colours of brown and orange, the green and blues were steadily fading away. 

One certain leaf fell from the branch and gently floated down to a stirring man who had been curled up on the grassy floor on top of his maroon coat with his top hat lying nearby, the leaf falling to his ashen white cheek. Near to him was a dead campfire that had lost the flame hours ago, a light smoke floating up into the air was all that remained apart from the ash and burnt wood that would crumble into yet more ash if you would touch it. 

Tarrant Hightopp slowly woke himself from his sleep as he removed the leaf from his face, he was slightly stunned and yet also angry with himself for falling asleep when he was supposed to be keeping his eyes out for those patrolling Red Knights! He and Willy were lucky that they hadn’t spotted the glow of the fire last night otherwise the two would probably be heading to the Red Queen’s castle instead. Yawning and getting up to his feet with a stretch, Tarrant picked up his coat and shook it to get rid of any dirt. He pulled on the sleeves with his arms and adjusted his polka dot cravat. 

It was then when he was about to go and awaken the chocolatier, when there was no chocolatier. Where Willy once lay, was an empty spot and he was nowhere to be found! Panic struck as the Hatter immediately picked up his top hat and quickly set it onto his head as he moved his vivid green eyes around the area in fast search for Willy. He was gone!

The Red Knights hadn’t taken him, had they? As far as Tarrant could see, there were no large tracks that belonged to them. And anyway, if they had been in fact here, wouldn’t they have taken him too? It made no sense. Willy knew the danger, Tarrant had firmly told him, so why would he abandon the campfire? The constant swarm of questions was beginning to hurt his already fractured brain! 

“Willy?” Tarrant called out, but he had received no response. It was just the sound of birds singing their tunes in the air and the trees swaying with the wind. 

Perhaps Willy went to search for more wood for the fire? Then again, he was examining those mushrooms last night and perhaps he continued his further examination of them? That made sense. He could have accidentally ventured far and had not realised it. Glancing back to Willy’s spot, Tarrant noticed that the inventor had left his cane behind. So he must have gone investigating then otherwise he would not have abandoned the cane unless he was going to return to the campsite. 

Tarrant nodded at the cane and decided to head towards the patch of mushrooms that Willy was looking at that previous night. And he was glad to see that there were light tracks in the dirt of his heeled shoes, implying that he had been exploring the fungus! The Hatter smiled widely and instantly followed the tracks. If there would be a next time that they were sleeping outside in a forest, Tarrant would tell him not to go wandering in the morning before the other had awakened. The Hatter already had the annoyed words he would use to scold him, he just hoped that his eyes wouldn’t scare the chocolatier once more.

However, Tarrant had reached the end of the trail and his eyes looked up from the footprints to see a lump of clothing that Willy was originally wearing, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found! Even his lovely top hat laid abandoned on the clothing like a cherry on top of a cupcake! He’d vanished! 

Unless…?

“Willy?” 

Tarrant called out to the lump of clothing on the floor as he approached the pile. If you did not have good hearing, you probably would not have noticed the panicked muffle of Tarrant’s name being called back! But Tarrant had good ears, he’d always noticed the tiniest of noises, such as the smallest mouse standing below at his feet or the distant chirp of a cricket nearby. And so as soon as he heard the muffle of Willy’s voice buried deep in his own clothing, Tarrant quickly got to his knees and very carefully lifted the chocolatier’s top hat from the clump. 

Unfortunately when he removed the hat, Willy was still nowhere to be seen, but Tarrant could see that the patterned green shirt he once wore was slightly moving. The Hatter did not know whether it would be okay or not to unbutton the top few buttons of Willy’s shirt as he didn’t want to invade one's privacy, especially Willy’s, but it seemed that the chocolatier was desperate to escape the clump of his clothing. And so, Tarrant proceeded to hurriedly unbutton the first three buttons of the collar of the shirt to allow Willy freedom at last. 

It seemed that it helped greatly as the top of Willy’s now tiny messy brown head popped up from the large opening of his shirt. His small purple eyes full of confusion and panic as he stared up at Tarrant in with utter shock.

“Wha-- What happened?! Why am I tiny?!” His cheeks reddened with embarrassment as he stared at his pale hands and hastily pulled the collar of his ginormous shirt over his now naked body. His jaw dropped as he stared up at the giants of trees and now the very big Hatter who was staring worriedly down at the poor inventor. 

“Tarrant, you’re-- you’re huge!”

It seemed that the curiosity was too much for Willy to handle and he must have eaten one of the mushrooms. Even though Tarrant had told him not to. And now Willy had to suffer the hilarious consequences of his actions. 

“It seems that you’ve consumed one of the mushrooms that change your height, I did tell you not to do so!” Tarrant shook his head with an amused expression as he attempted to hold back the strengthening giggles in his throat. Willy’s panicked face then soon transformed into one full of annoyance as he shivered slightly. 

“It wasn’t my fault, that darn floating fluff ball urged me to try it!” Willy angrily cursed into the air above, pointing a finger towards an empty branch nearby. He was fuming with humiliation and also looked a bit queasy. Probably from his body’s realization that he had shrunk to nearly five inches!

Floating fluff ball?  

“Oh dear, you mean Chess?” Tarrant questioned as he moved Willy’s top hat away and removed the velvet red coat from the patterned shirt that the inventor was desperately covering himself with. No doubt that this was the Cheshire Cat’s doing, he had a knack for mischief when he was bored and Tarrant wasn’t surprised that Willy had fallen for his antics.

Willy uncomfortably nodded, and Tarrant noticed how cold he must be now that he unfortunately was no longer fitted to his clothing anymore. The poor man was shivering slowly as he gripped the collar of his shirt tightly and attempted to cover even more of himself but couldn’t. 

“No matter, Willy, I can have your clothes fitted to you again in no minute!”

“Really? How?” Willy replied, astonished.

“Now unfortunately I have no upelkuchen on my person to return you back to your original height,” Willy’s expression then turned into disappointment, shuffling slightly as he pulled his knees up to his pale bare chest. “But, I can easily craft you some clothes to wear out of your bigger ones.”

Willy instantly changed from being disappointed to being in complete horror, Tarrant wondered why that was. The chocolatier was bearing so many emotions that the Hatter was expecting him to probably combust! 

“Oh no, not my clothes!” The inventor clutched his shirt in a terrible attempt of shielding his clothing away from Tarrant’s hand who pulled away. It was now his time to be confused.

“Would you rather continue our heading to Marmoreal completely devoid of clothing? Especially when you’ll be introduced to a Queen, it will not be a good first impression for her!” 

Tarrant watched as Willy fell silent, not only would meeting a queen would lower the chances of Willy potentially leaving Underland (which Tarrant would not allow him to go to the castle with no clothes anyway), but it would obviously be humiliating to be doing that anyway! It would be embarrassing for literally anyone. The Hatter knew that Willy would definitely not like to not get into that position, especially by how he had reacted to Tarrant barely seeing him nude.

“Al-- Alright then. Just please don’t use my coat. I’d rather like to still have it when I’m back to-- to my regular size.” Willy nervously agreed, glancing worriedly towards his coat and hat.

The Hatter grinned as he gently retrieved one of the empty arm sleeves, being careful to not uncover the chocolatier’s nakedness. Tarrant took the small scissors from his pocket and removed the patterned sleeve from the shirt much to Willy’s dismay.

“That was my favourite shirt.” 

Willy said to nobody in particular as he crossed his arms and held his knees. However his purple eyes widened with surprise as he watched how swift and nimble Tarrant’s pale and pinkish fingers moved as he snipped and snapped at the material with the scissors. In a matter of seconds, he had managed to create a much smaller shirt that would fit Willy’s smaller size which had amazed the inventor. 

Along with the shirt, Tarrant did the same with the trousers till he managed to craft a full outfit for Willy, which he took gratefully and dressed himself underneath the bigger shirt. Tarrant turned his eyes away just in case. 

“For a small outfit, this looks pretty good, Tarrant. Thank you.” He heard Willy acknowledge with positivity of his current situation which made the Hatter grin with approval. He turned around and watched as the smaller man adjusted his sleeves slightly and exited the lump of clothing. 

“I don’t suppose we can take my hat and coat along for the rest of the walk?” He asked with a pleading frown on his face, Tarrant almost hoped for puppy eyes.

“Sure we can! I’ll be able to carry them both. I’d never leave such a fantastic hat behind anyway.” 

Willy smiled and took one last look at the remains of his previous outfit before beginning to walk back to the camp that they both previously slept next to.

“Where do you think you’re walking to?” Tarrant giggled, turning around whilst still being crouched on the floor. Willy instantly stopped in his tracks and turned around as if he were a child being caught doing something bad.

“Aren’t we continuing on our journey to the White Queen’s castle?”

“Yes, but I won’t allow you to walk around in that size. It’ll be much safer if you stay on top of my hat, after all it is the best way to travel!” Tarrant smiled as he took his own hat off and placed it on the ground as Willy approached once more. He was once again inquisitive as he hesitated to take a step onto the rim of the Hatter’s top hat. 

“Are you sure?” 

The Hatter nodded and beckoned Willy to step onto the hat which he had been deciding if it was a good idea or not. And so the inventor proceeded to do so which brought yet another delighted grin to Tarrant’s face. Willy stood himself on top of the rim and quickly drew his fingers to clutch the pale pink ribbon around the hat when Tarrant carefully lifted it from the ground to return it back to his manic orange messy head of hair. 

“Be careful down there, ‘kay?” 

Willy called from above as he sat himself down after struggling to balance himself, still hanging onto the ribbon, desperate to not fall off Tarrant’s hat. The Hatter giggled and carefully picked up the velvet red coat and draped it over his left arm and then finally grabbed Willy’s top hat and held it with his right arm.

“Well then, shall we continue on our walk? We’re not far now, possibly a few hours away!” Tarrant’s eyes glanced upwards with a chuckle, not that he could see the chocolatier above. It was true, by the speed they had been walking at, it had taken no more than a day so far to arrive here at this point. And now they were getting closer to Marmoreal , and were sure to make it by the early afternoon. 

There were no signs of the Red Knights patrolling around that Tarrant had come across, so there probably would be a small chance of both him and Willy encountering them which further pleased the Hatter. He made sure that the campfire was surely destroyed and left it behind, continuing on the journey that they had paused last night. Tarrant kept a good hold on both Willy’s possessions and buttoned up his maroon coat slightly, there was a bit of a chill in the air. He hoped that Willy wouldn’t become cold.

“You know, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, Tarrant. And you have my full gratitude for taking me to the White Queen.” 

He heard Willy pipe up with courtesy, and Tarrant knew that there must be a smile upon the man’s pale face. And that brought a joyful grin upon the Hatter’s face. He also enjoyed spending time with the chocolatier. Even though they had known each other for barely a week it had felt as if they had known each other all along. Like a friend he’d known since he was a little child. Tarrant partly wished that that was the case, and part of him wanted for Willy to stay though that would be selfish of him to think that.

He was a very charming yet a slightly odd man with a strange haircut, but Tarrant liked that about him. It was as if he’d finally found someone he could relate to. At one point the Hatter’s eyes had been mesmerized by the lovely features of the man’s face whilst he slept. Willy’s face usually seemed focused and in deep thought when they had been walking that day. And when Tarrant saw his sleeping form, his face had been so relaxed and so innocent. Gone was the heavily concentrated expression, and his pale features had transformed into peace as he slept. 

Tarrant’s face immediately flushed red as his mind lingered upon Willy’s face from the night, and the Scottish voice in his head cursed him for thinking of such things. He would not allow himself to ask Willy to stay in the world of Underland .

Willy had a life to lead, and apparently a chocolate factory to return to. And Tarrant would not stand in the way of that no matter how much he wanted to continue searching out what intrigued him about Willy Wonka. He’d never met anyone so similar and yet so different to himself before. However, Willy belonged to a different world, the above.

Perhaps one day, Tarrant could be able to visit the world to which both Willy and Alice belonged. There could be hope for that when the White Queen returned the chocolatier to his home up there. Tarrant could still get to know more about Willy, and perhaps explore the above with him too! Hopefully Willy would allow tea parties in his chocolate factory.

“I’ve enjoyed your company greatly too, Willy. There’s no need to thank me.”

~

After time had passed once more and the two had departed the campfire long ago with the Hatter’s footprints becoming covered with dirt and leaves once more, a new person had arrived at the abandoned camp. Their thick black booted feet scraped at the burnt ash below which disintegrated into smaller particles that fell to the dirt. 

It was an uncommonly tall man dressed in armor of black and red, he had only one eye with his left being completely gone, hidden away by a leather heart of red that barely hid the jagged scars upon his face. Streaks of long black hair fell down to just below his armoured shoulders as he examined the burnt sticks of firewood that rested on the floor.

The Knave of Hearts stood himself tall onto his booted feet and turned to see a colourful cane that rested against a tree and he approached it with heavy footsteps as he reached a black gloved hand to pick it up. His dark and only eye peered at the peculiar cane. It seemed like something that the Mad Hatter would own, given how deranged and out-of-place the man was. However, the Knave had been following two tracks of footprints and now there was only one track. Which meant that the Hatter had company with him. And they were headed to Marmoreal . 

He’d spotted a crumpled pile of discarded clothing prior to finding the cane, which signified that the other person had shrunk. And now the Mad Hatter’s footprints carried on with possibly the second individual in his pocket. What could they be heading to the White Queen’s castle for, unless they were plotting against the Red Queen.

And so, the Knave of Hearts mounted his steed with the abandoned cane in hand, and immediately left the camp behind to call for his group of Red Knights. He wouldn’t make it in time to cut the two people off for reaching their destination, but they weren’t going to stay at the White Queen’s castle for long weren’t they? The Hatter would eventually return to his pitiful tea party, and then the Knave would then find out the information he desired.

The Red Queen’s throne would not fall.