Begin!

~Normal POV

"Everyone, wake up," Klaus demanded, as he watched the trail through the spyglass, "Someone's coming!"

The sun was just peaking over the mountains, as Klaus had taken the last look out of the night. Violet rose quickly from her spot where she had slept in Duncan's arms, and grabbed the spyglass from her brother's hand. Sure enough, coming up the mountain trail was a motorcycle that appeared to be in a hurry. The driver was wearing a helmet so they couldn't see their face. The others got up, grabbed their bags, and they huddled together to figure out a plan.

"We left our masks at the bottom of the mountain," Isadora said, worriedly.

"Damn it," Violet cursed, "I knew we might forget something."

"Relax guys, we'll hide our faces with our coats and I'll ask them the code phrases," Quigley said.

"And if they don't respond correctly," Klaus asked.

"Bite," Sunny suggested, most likely meaning she would bite the trespasser if necessary.

"Sure let's go with that," Violet said, "Unless anybody else has a better suggestion."

Nobody said anything, and the six of them waited with their coats covering their faces. Sunny hid behind her siblings' legs as the motorcycle reached them. Quigley pulled out his spyglass and pointed it at their visitor. The driver, who appeared to be female, got off the vehicle and pointed a spyglass at them as well.

"I'm sorry for the delay," The woman said through her helmet, "I haven't had a Very Fun Day."

Quigley lowered his spyglass, "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion."

She took off her helmet before responding, "It is a sad occasion indeed, children."

"Jacqueline," The children removed their coats and she walked up to them.

"It's good to see you made it here in one piece," Jacqueline said, "I've been driving all night trying to find you. When I saw the Headquarters in ruins I panicked. But when I saw the masks down there I knew you were close. I saw you up here with my spyglass."

"You're the one Kit sent to meet us," Violet asked.

"I am, and you have 2 days left," Jacqueline looked down solemnly, "But I have some bad news. I met Olivia at Caligari Carnival before I left on my way up here. She wanted me to tell you that she is happy that the Baudelaires and the Quagmires are together again... and she was honored to have been able to protect you."

The children felt their hearts drop into their stomachs.

"What happened," Duncan asked; his voice cracking.

Jacqueline took a deep breath, "Olaf took a rather strong liking to Madame Lulu. Esmé got jealous, very jealous... Olivia was murdered yesterday... There was nothing I could do. Esmé pushed her into a pit of starving lions."

"You mean the Volunteer Feline Detectives," Quigley asked, his eyes widening with shock.

The secretary/volunteer nodded without responding. Though Quigley had not met Olivia Caliban he could tell by the deeply saddened looks on the others' faces that she had been someone worth caring for.

"She was the only adult at Prufrock who was nice to us," Isadora said, blinking back tears as Klaus pulled her into a comforting hug.

The group took a moment of silence as they mourned their loss. Duncan hugged Violet as they both wiped away a few tears that escaped their eyes. Klaus and Isadora picked up Sunny in a tight hug as she wept softly. The Baudelaires remembered how Esmé had shoved them down the ersatz elevator shaft outside her penthouse apartment to openly reveal her cruel nature. Perhaps Esmé had done a similar false loyalty tactic to her most recent victim.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do something, children. She was truly a brave and noble person," Jacqueline said, "And she will be missed, but at least she and Jacques are together again. Olivia was proud to fight for our cause, and even more proud to fight for you. She was a true volunteer."

"What do we do now," Klaus asked as he held Sunny close to him.

"Continue with the plan. Olaf found the messages from Olivia to Kit and he knows where you're intending to go. He burned down the carnival and he's on his way to the Headquarters to burn it down too; thinking that's where you are now. I don't know who really destroyed it, but he's going to be disappointed when he finds out he missed his chance. You have to leave ahead of schedule. Is the boat ready like we planned?"

Violet led her over to the boat, "It's ready, but with the river frozen we can't leave until False Spring and that's in 2 days."

Jacqueline held up her spyglass, "I can help with that. Everyone help me get the boat on the water and then get in."

They did as commanded, securing their supplies with them. Klaus tucked Sunny safely in his lap as he got in beside Isadora and the couple held each other tightly. Duncan and Quigley sat beside each other in front of their sister and behind Violet as she took the steering mechanism to "drive." Violet handed Quigley their map and instructed him to help navigate their way down the river. Jacqueline then opened her spyglass, after setting it to the fire function, and pointed it down at the stream source. The ice beneath them started to melt.

Jacqueline looked at them as her tool did its work, "The fire function is for emergencies. In case you didn't know."

"We know," Isadora said, "And thank you for helping us."

"You're welcome. Think of it as my way of apologizing for everything Mr. Poe put you through. If he hadn't listened to that consultant, none of this would have happened."

"You don't have to apologize," Violet noted, "It wasn't your fault that you got tied to that tree."

Jacqueline smiled and blinked in surprise as she finally noticed how many of them there were, "I thought there were only two Quagmires?"

The boat began to move slowly as the stream melted. The Quagmires smiled at her with pride as they responded in unison the words they had said so often to so many others.

"We're triplets."

"I was told only two survived."

"I escaped," Quigley said with a grin, "Jacques looked after me while I was in hiding."

Jacqueline smiled once again; the boat started moving further towards the waterfall's edge as she replied, "I'm glad to hear that, Olivia would have been happy to know you Quigley! The Queequeg should be in position by the time you reach the sea! Don't worry it'll find you! And watch out for Captain Widdershins; he's a good man, but he's a bit eccentric! Good luck, volunteers!"

They nodded to her as she turned off her spyglass and saluted them before they turned their attention back to the waterfall they were about to go over.

"Alright everyone," Violet shouted over the sound of the water now rushing rapidly, "Hang on tight!"

Jacqueline watched with a certain amount of pride as the boat disappeared over the waterfall. She got back onto her motorcycle and took a communicator out of her pocket.

She turned it on, "You watching this, Larry?"

"Yep the helicopter is in position," Larry replied over the communicator, "They were moving alarmingly fast, but they correctly took the left path. Now I'd feel a lot better about this if you would get off that mountain before Olaf gets there."

"Why Larry if I didn't know any better I'd say you cared," Jacqueline replied, sweetly.

There was a pause before she heard the waiter respond, "We've lost too many people already, Miss Scieszka. I'd be devastated if one of those people was you."

"We haven't lost everyone. Did you know that Jacques kept the third Quagmire triplet alive all this time?"

"What?! Quigley's alive? You mean they're... together again?"

"Yes they are; I just met him before they left. And I couldn't help noticing that the Baudelaire and Quagmire lines are looking like they'll finally merge in the future. Duncan and Violet are together, so are Klaus and Isadora."

"That's wonderful news," Larry replied, "I remember Karen and Beatrice were ecstatic about the idea of their children marrying someday."

"We all were, Larry. Their parents would be thrilled if they could be here to see it. Have to make sure they invite us to those weddings. Call me once they've boarded the submarine. Jacqueline out."

"Just keep going," Quigley shouted over the rushing water, "We're on the correct path so we'll make it there in no time!"

"This is insane," Duncan shouted.

"For once, I actually agree with you," Quigley replied with a smile.

"You alright there, Sunny," Isadora asked looking down at the small girl.

"Fine," Sunny shouted, clinging tightly to her brother as the boat raced down the stream.

"Izzie, if we don't make it out of this-" Klaus was interrupted by Isadora putting a hand to his mouth.

"Whatever you were about to say, you can tell me later, sweetheart," The poet smiled.

"Yeah you two save the flirting for when we're safe," Violet commented as she kept her focus on steering their boat.

"I'm considering never swimming again after this," Quigley joked, "Who's with me?"

Duncan and Isadora grinned, "Damn we missed your stupid jokes Quigley!"

They rode down the river getting further and further towards their goal. Though they were saddened to hear of Olivia's tragic fate, they felt her spirit in their hearts as they rushed down the raging waters. The Baudelaires and the Quagmire triplets were together and safe thanks to her. The kind librarian had not died in vain. She died while protecting her friends, and they would be forever grateful to her for that.

The boat finally reached the open waters of the sea as the sun reached its early morning peak in the sky. Violet slowed the boat as the Stricken Stream pushed them out further with a final splash. The weather was much warmer now, and they all did as Kit recommended and removed their now soaking wet over-sized coats, leaving them in a pile in the back of the boat. Quigley removed his light blue jacket to let it dry, revealing a black t-shirt underneath, and shoved his notebook in his backpack.

"We did it," Quigley said, "We just rode down a mountain waterfall into the ocean with nothing but a boat, and we survived!"

The six of them shared a tight group hug to celebrate. As they did a large object rose from out of the water below them, tossing the boat aside slightly. It was a submarine, the very same one they were meant to meet; on the hatch at the top was the word Queequeg in gold letters. It sat still in the water as it seemed to be waiting for them to board. From their position they could see the periscope had been pointed at the direction they had just come from, indicating it was expecting their arrival. The children carefully climbed onto the waiting vessel one by one until they were all situated safely on top. Violet opened the hatch and they all climbed inside to continue to the next phase of their mission.

~End of Chapter

Yes I know I should have let Olivia live, and I wanted to, but then I figured it made more sense from a narrative standpoint to get Olaf back on track to chasing them. I couldn't do that with Olivia being alive, and I apologize for that. She was a true volunteer, and we all miss her dearly! I'm glad the TV show cast her character in a more favorable light than the book did, and gave her a much larger role.