Author's Note: Hello. 'Tis me. I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I want to write a story that actually has chapters. Disclaimer: I... do not.... own... ASOUE... which makes me sooooo sad. :( I do not own Isadora, nor Fernald, nor Duncan, nor Quigley, nor Violet, nor Fiona... nor Sunny, nor Beatrice. I do not own the concept of The Snicket Files. I think most real fans will be able to identify what's mine and what's not. Most of it belongs to the amazing Mr. Lemony Snicket. *bows to Lemony*

I watch as my dreams finally come true
I want to spend my future with you

The noise of the construction site was enough to drive Isadora Quagmire crazy, but she still managed to finish the poem. She stared down at it thoughtfully, thinking of ways she could improve it. It was an okay poem, but she had done better, and she turned a page in her notebook and tried to think of something else to write.

What had inspired her previous poem, however, was the construction taking place in front of her. The men and young boys of VFD rolled up their sleeves and worked to build a new headquarters for the organization, a building that was going to be beautiful. The columns in the front were going to be made of white marble, and the headquarters itself would be grand, holding many rooms for the organization's many activities. The windows were to be stained glass with beautiful designs that one of the members, Avery Williamson, an artist, had designed. Any other ideas for the headquarters, though, had not been told to Isadora. The women and girls watched, and helped occasionally.

Violet Baudelaire, a 16-year-old inventor, had designed many devices to help the gentlemen as they built the headquarters, but most didn't understand how to use them, so Violet felt obligated to demonstrate. Isadora giggled as Violet bossed around the guys, making sure everything was perfect. Quigley Quagmire, Violet's boyfriend and Isadora's triplet brother, rolled his eyes and smiled as Violet pointed and dictated.

The starting over of VFD would mean so much. Sure, the children to previous members had debts (money-wise or not) to pay, but it felt like a new start… sort of. Isadora thought that she would never see the Baudelaires again, but she and her brothers, along with Fiona and Fernald, had found them. And now, she was now with people she trusted. That was another thing: she thought she would never trust again; but there was no denying how she felt with these people.

Her dreams were coming true. Before her parents died, she, of course, imaged life differently, but after being in worst situations, this was more than she could ask for.

There was one man sitting out of the action. He was talking to his sister, who kept reading her book instead of responding. This made Isadora chuckle, for she knew the people very well. Fiona had her nose buried in a textbook, while Fernald rambled on and elbowed her when she wouldn't reply. Fernald rolled his eyes and looked at the people working hard, and leaned back with a smirk on his face, as though watching all the other men and boys suffer in the sun was hilarious to him. He couldn't do much when it came to building, you see: where his hands should have been were hooks.

His eyes shifted across the landscape and watched. It was evening, because working in daylight would attract attention. Sunny and Beatrice Baudelaire were playing in the fields beside the site, running around, laughing, and playing Tag. Beatrice reminded Isadora of Kit, making her turn away from the sight to look back. Then someone caught her eye. Fernald was looking her over, his eyes skeptical. He looked away slowly and hesitantly once he saw her look, but he knew he had been caught.

Isadora turned her head. She had been bored the whole time, but still, time seemed to have flown by. The sun was almost set in the west. She sighed as Klaus Baudelaire announced that it was time to leave. She picked up her backpack and walked over to where her brother, Duncan, was waiting for her.

*******

Duncan Quagmire sat at his desk in his room, his fingers flying on the typewriter keys. He was a journalist, you see, and had a new job at The Daily Punctilio. Hopefully, he would be able to bring some truth to the newspaper. (See, The Daily Punctilio was never accurate. In fact, it was the newspaper that blamed the Baudelaire's for Jacques Snicket's murder - although The Daily Punctilio had thought he was Olaf.) Duncan had gotten the job through another VFD member who had been a writer for The Daily Punctilio, and so therefore had been able to get a job easily. Not that he would've needed that, of course. Duncan was one of the best journalists that there ever was. He knew how to put the words in perfect order, to come up with the best titles for stories, how to get the most accurate facts, and, most importantly, how to make it interesting to read while still making sure that readers got the point of the article.

He stopped typing, and pulled the paper out of the typewriter. He re-read his article. Perfect.

He started to put his work into his folder, but felt a presence. He turned his head to see his sister standing in the doorway.

"Hey." she said quietly. Her voice sounded tired and slightly timid; but why would she feel timid? Duncan wondered. She was wearing a smile on her face, but something in her eyes looked worried. Her arms were crossed, and her head was slightly down.

"Hey, Izzy." he said, re-situating himself so he could see her better. She had changed into more comfortable clothing, and was now holding a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and her black commonplace book in the other.

She walked into his bedroom. Normally, having a girl in his room would make him slightly embarrassed, but Isadora was his sister, so he felt perfectly comfortable. She sat down on his bed, situating her feet so they were Indian-style. "So..." she started akwardly. "Tired from working earlier?"

He smiled. "Not really. I didn't do much work today. Neither did Quigley. Speaking of which, where is he?" It just occurred to him that he hadn't seen the third Quagmire triplet that night.

She sighed. "Who knows? Honestly, he's probably with Violet."

Duncan rolled his eyes and chuckled. "He's smitten with that girl."

"Yeah," Isadora replied with a small smile, "but I think they both really are in love with each other." This made her look down again.

Duncan studied her. She had lost weight; that didn't worry him too much, but if it continued, then it would eventually evolve into a problem. Her hair, which was usually in low pigtails, was a mess this night. She looked stressed; the usual bubbly life that filled her had been gone the last few days. Was it days? It might had been the last two weeks or so. He hadn't been paying much attention (he had been focusing much on getting over the fact that Violet loved Quigley). But now, in the last few days, it had become apparent. The last few hours she had looked okay, but now she looked absolutely depressed.

He let a few more moments of silence pass by.

Finally, he spoke. "Isadora?"

She looked up, a drowsy look in her face. "Yes?" she asked.

"Is something wrong?"

Silence. Duncan hated silence. It allowed people's thoughts and emotions to creep up on them, when they were trying to forget them. It was nothing but a void of emptiness waiting to be filled.

"I'm worried."

Ah; that didn't tell him much, but at least it was something. It was true, he felt that he should protect his sister... he and Quigley were both very protective brothers. Not over-protective, but they would die before they let anything happen to Isadora.

"About what?"

She sighed. She looked to the side. Her green eyes looked hurt. "I'm just scared."

Worried and scared? This can't be good. Duncan thought.

He sat up from his chair, and walked to the end of the bed. He sat down beside her. He put his arm around her, and leaned his head on hers. The end of his bed was in front of his mirror, and they both looked into the mirror. The two triplets looked almost identical, the same black hair and light olive skin, the same wide dark green eyes. He looked into the reflection, and could see that his sister was close to tears. He turned his head to her, his eyes almost closed. "What's wrong?" he inquired, whispering in her ear.

She met eyes with him, then looked down. "Well..."

"Yes?"

"You already know that VFD is re-assembling. We're rebuilding our organization." She swallowed.

"Yes... Isadora."

"Well, what if this 'new' VFD... causes us problems that we cannot handle?"

Duncan let that sink in. Of course, all the members had taken this into consideration, but not enough to let it bring them down. And yet, he looked at Isadora, and she looked so scared; maybe not as scared as before, when her life was in danger, but scared of what the future held.

"What I mean, Duncan..." she started to say.

"Yes, Izzy? You can tell me anything." He meant it.

He could have sworn that he had seen her smile slightly, but it was gone before it had even seemed to appeared. "Duncan, there is no denying that we are both rather intelligent people. But.... the last few years, we haven't had much of an education. I mean, we're not... ignorant, but... how will we face the world? It's been so long since we've had our parents, a place to call home. And... our parents were part of the first VFD, and they were killed, as well as the Baudelaires' parents, and almost everyone elses' parents. What if that happens to us? What if we meet up with our enemies? What if we're murdered? Worse, what if someone we care about is hurt? ...You know that I would rather be dead than to have you dead..." her sentence trailed off.

She let a tear fall.

It didn't meet the floor, though, because Duncan's finger caught it.

Isadora.... Duncan pleaded in his mind.

"Duncan..."

"...Yes?"

"I just don't want to feel alone.. and cornered.. anymore. I want to feel like my life is worth something. I don't want to be scared."

Duncan held her close, her head on his shoulder. His face in her hair, he whispered:

"You won't be scared." Duncan promised. "I'll make sure you're safe. We all will. We love you, Isadora. And I know you love us, too."

A smile spread across Isadora's face; a smile of appreciation and contentment. She glanced up at Duncan, who's face had a smile too.

Another tear fell.

But this time, it was a tear of joy.

***

This is the story of love, as victims fall under each others spell and watch their hearts break; a story of Isadora Quagmire and VFD, and the war for justice between them and their enemies.

You're probably wondering how they all met up again and stuff.
Yeah, that's gonna be explained.
Yesh, this story centers around Isadora, although there will be other people in it. (Of course.)
Sooooooo.......? Opinions. Tips. Please. Thanks.
With all due respect,
Jewel