Visions of Greed

Chapter 23: A Conflict of Conscience

Notes:

 In this chapter, were actually going to see Once-ler get to enjoy his money. In this fic I was really leaning into the workaholism, angst, and whump angles, so I didn't really show that before, so I figured now would be a good time to do it. Gotta remember that while Once-ler's family does have a lot of influence over his actions, another major reason he's doing what he does is simply to make money and get rich. Of course though, this is Visions of Greed so there will definitely be some whump/angst later on in the chapter and also some mental anguish, so keep that in mind. I hope you all enjoy and thanks again for reading.

Possible trigger warning TW: Mental Anguish

Reccomended Songs: Fame < Infamy- Fall Out Boy, Everything is Fine- All Time Low, Once- Two Door Cinema Club, Faceless- Red, Telekinetic- Starset

With the factory being closed for the next several days due to the expansion, Once-ler now had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the wealth and luxuries he had accumulated over the past few months. Once-ler mainly spent the days in his spacious and opulent penthouse, where he found various ways to entertain himself.

In the mornings, Once-ler would make himself a stack of pancakes along with a cup of tea, served on fine china, and enjoy a leisurely breakfast in his dining room. During afternoons and evenings, Once-ler often spent his time playing music on his guitar, watching movies on his huge flat-screen television, lounging on his porch, or drawing at his spacious desk in his art studio.

Once-ler also enjoyed reading books and knitting whilst sitting in one of the various luxurious couches or chairs that filled the penthouse, including the ones in the parlor room downstairs. Once-ler had found that when the room was not filled with guests, it was actually quite a nice and elegant room to relax in.

On one unusually cold day, Once-ler decided to sit in one of the parlor room chairs and knit in front of the room's large fireplace. As Once-ler worked next to the warm flame, he wondered how he could have ever had been content to live in that small cottage in the truffula forest.

Once-ler's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of a sinister voice. "Ah, isn't this nice..." Greed-ler whispered.

Once-ler gasped at the sound in surprise. He stopped knitting as he nervously turned to look for Greed-ler, but Once-ler could not see him.

"Just think, if you would have just listened to me and focused on biggering instead of hesitating and re-doing things over and over, we could have been living this way a long time ago." Greed-ler continued. "Yes...we could have been enjoying our wealth and relaxing in this luxurious penthouse, instead of staying up all night in a cramped office desperately trying to meet deadlines." Greed-ler scoffed.

Once-ler froze as he realized that Greed-ler was right. Once-ler knew that he did in fact bring a lot of stress on himself because he hesitated on biggering aspects of his business. Once-ler recalled how he had barely made the deadline on completing the blueprints for the expansion, and how he also didn't have any equipment ready for said expansion. Causing him to have to invent the super axe hacker practically overnight. Once-ler also knew that he could have prevented the blackout if he had updated the factory equipment earlier, and that he also should have made the penthouse bigger and added the lower levels when he first had it built. Once-ler knew that if he had done so, he wouldn't have had to rush to get everything ready before the party, and he could have been relaxing in his parlor room so much sooner.

"Thankfully, it seems you have finally learned your lesson and things will be better from now on. Won't they?" Greed-ler sneered with a laugh.

Once-ler cast his eyes downward in shame at Greed-ler's words, only to widen them when he realized what he had been knitting...a pair of long green grovvulous gloves.