A/N: Dear reader, there are many things in this world that are not meant for young eyes, such as murder, arson, and adult swim. This, however, is not meant for any eyes other than my own, for it is my sole occupation to document what had happened to the Baudelaires and the Quagmires after The End. You still have the chance to click out of this word document and preserve your sanity. I, however, shall forever remain sleep-deprived and insane. It's not too late to read about what a fox says rather than death, darkness, and despair… With all due respect, Outlaw Volunteer.

Disclaimer: Me no own ASOUE. Just a proud, crazyass fangirl. ;) \m/

WARNING! RATED T+ FOR: DISTURBING & SEXUAL CONTENT, LANGUAGE, and VIOLENCE

(T+, a phrase which here means, "containing M fic content, but is rated as such to get my research out there for fellow volunteers to see". *shrug* This was (is) my first fanfic, so getting out there was really important since I started on here. If this causes any issues, I'll change it. So just a forewarning, volunteers. …But, I think you guys can handle it ;) You're tough ol' birds, yeah? Anyway, enjoy!)

Into the Fire

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Chapter 1
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"All I heard was one of the Quagmires calling Violet's name."

Violet stood at the back of the Beatrice with her arms folded, staring numbly out at the setting sun. Some of Kit's last words wouldn't leave her mind, no matter how many times she tried to evict them for squatting.

"Quigley," Sunny said, "or Duncan?"

"I don't know," Kit said.

She closed her eyes with a sigh, bowing her head. It was Quigley. Quigley had called her name. This wasn't even a question–––she knew the answer. She could just picture him scrambling around in the ocean along with the others, the self-sustaining hot air mobile home's baskets crashing down all around them, their homemade waves forcing them under, water barging by the gallon into their lungs. Deeper he sank…deeper…deeper…

Violet shook the thought out of her head, refusing to believe it. Quigley had to be alive–––er, they had to be alive. She tore her black satin ribbon out of her hair and jammed it in her black dress pocket with a growl. She couldn't invent like this. Inventing was a sanctuary for her from a troubled world, not a prison. How could she solve the world's problems if the world wouldn't leave her alone for a minute?

"Hey…you alright?" an extremely deep voice asked.

Violet looked over her shoulder to find Klaus staring at her. Boy, had he changed. Just three years ago he was this small, scrawny little thing with a geeky face and innocent dark eyes. Now he was a six-foot-five beast that had just stepped out of Playgirl magazine, brandishing a nice tuft on his chin. Ah, puberty…always full of surprises.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Violet said flatly, then looked back out at the sunset.

Klaus walked up and stared with her for a minute. "We did our best. You know that, right?"

"Klaus, I don't wanna talk about it," Violet growled at once, flashing back to the gruesome murder that had happened just last week. They'd fought with everything in them against the pirates, but these terrors of the sea were craftier than they looked. Now here they were, adrift in the ocean, without food, water, supplies, and Beatrice. "I failed her," she whispered after a moment, shaking her head, tears coming to her eyes.

Guilt pulled Klaus's gaze down to the deck. He felt the same way.

"Bemeeto," Sunny said soothingly, tugging on Violet's fishnet stocking, which probably meant something like, "There, there."

Violet looked down at her sadly. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if something happened to one of them.

Behind them, a quiet growl escaped the clouds' lips, but it wasn't until a couple raindrops plopped on their heads that the Baudelaires jumped out of their thoughts and looked at each other worriedly.

"There wasn't a red sky this morning was there?" Klaus asked.

"Not that I know of," Violet replied, then the three turned to face the bow. Up ahead were some of the most formidable storm clouds they'd ever seen, even worse than the ones they and Count Olaf saw before they reached the island. Oh great, she groaned inwardly, her heart sinking. There was nowhere to dock for miles, and although they could swim, she highly doubted they could swim that far for long without becoming shark bait. The Baudelaires looked at each other fearfully.

"There's nowhere to dock…" Klaus whispered hoarsely, the truth finally sinking in. This was it. This was where they were going to be buried for eternity.

Violet swallowed. "I know," she managed to choke. Immediately, she picked Sunny up and the three huddled together at the back of the Beatrice as she sailed fearlessly into the chaos.

The once gentle ocean had become a violent, unpredictable nightmare in a matter of minutes, throwing their ship all about, its unforgiving waves lashing out at the three, knocking them to the floor. Lightning cackled at their sail, which shivered wildly in the wind, haunted at what its opponent's next move would be. But the Beatrice wasn't fazed one bit. Just like their mother, the small ship pressed on, conquering the jagged waves and ignoring the deafening condemnation from above. Suddenly, in a horrifying blur, a big bolt of lightning raced down from the sky and butted heads with the mast. With an earsplitting CRACK!, the mast exploded and chunks of wood ricocheted everywhere, cutting them, their sail now tattered and aflame. The Baudelaires opened their eyes after a moment to find the bow drifting off ahead of them. Puzzled, they looked down to find their half of the boat sinking into the ocean's dark depths.

"Oh boy," Klaus uttered, his eyes wide.

Violet scrambled up off the deck and set Sunny on her shoulders. "Hang on, Sunny!"

"Selco!" Sunny shrieked, which probably meant something like, "Roger!"

Violet grabbed Klaus's hand and held on tight as their half submerged them into the icy March water. They paddled and kicked as hard as they could, fighting to stay afloat, but it was no use. The water was so raucous that its waves overpowered their paddling and shoved them under. Their eyes and skin burning from the harsh temperature and the salt, they hurried as fast as they could back to the surface. As they paddled, Violet looked to find a huge dark shadow approaching them quickly. Her eyes widening in panic, she paddled and kicked harder, harder than she ever had in her life. Almost there… she thought, her vision blurring more.

Suddenly, everything went black.