New chapter and now we're onto the End!

As you probably already know this isn't technically the end of my fic so i'm going to give it a different name. But I'm super excited that i've gotten so far with this story!

Thanks to ALL my wonderful readers/reviewers for your encouragement! :)

ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own ASOUE or any of the characters besides my OCs.

The Insidious Island

Chapter One: Shipwrecked

I stood gloomily at the back of the boat, using my spatula to row while staring out across the open waters. If I had been on this boat for recreational purposes, I might have enjoyed the sun against the cloudless blue sky and watched it glimmer on the water, making it sparkle like a thousand diamonds. I would have stuck my hand in the water and let it drift over the soft, lapping waves. And I would have loved the humidity that filled the air as the warmth of the sun caressed my skin. Maybe I would have written a song about the sea's beauty. But these circumstances made it difficult to enjoy our surroundings, particularly since these surroundings were all I've seen for a number of days. The majestic surroundings were now dull. The sun's heat was now oppressive and too bright—I could feel my skin was burnt in several spots. The endless horizon was never changing and frightened me almost as much as the time I had been locked in that cage at the bottom of the elevator shaft at 667 Dark Avenue. All I could do was watch as the boat drifted farther and farther out to sea, and gaze out at the endless horizon.

"I've triumphed!" Count Olaf repeated for the umpteenth time. He stood proudly at the front of the boat, leaning against a carving of an octopus attacking a man in a diving suit that served as the boat's figurehead, which of course contained the Medusoid Mycellium. "You orphans thought you could escape me, but at last you're in my clutches!"

"Yes, Olaf," Violet agreed wearily.

"I've burned down the Hotel Denouement," Olaf cried, gesturing dramatically, "and destroyed V.F.D. once and for all!"

"So you keep telling us," Klaus muttered, without looking up from his commonplace book.

"And the Baudelaire and Murray fortunes are finally mine!" Olaf cackled. "Finally, I am a very wealthy man, which means everybody must do what I say!"

"Beans," Sunny said by "beans" she meant something like, "Count Olaf is spouting pure nonsense."

Speaking of beans, we have been surviving on a jar of edible white beans we found underneath one of the boat's benches. I was grateful for the jar, because there was nothing else to eat but it only contained white beans which didn't taste too good and weren't very filling.

"I think the first thing I'll buy for myself is a shiny new car!" Count Olaf said. "Something with a powerful engine, so I can drive faster than the legal limit, and an extra-thick bumper, so I can ram into people without getting all scratched up! I'll name the car Count Olaf, after myself, and whenever people hear the squeal of brakes they'll say, 'Here comes Count Olaf!' Orphans, head for the nearest luxury car dealership!"

"That doesn't sound very pleasant," I muttered. "It's a waste of money if you ask me."

"I don't care what you think, orphan," Olaf growled. "I get to decide what to do with the money."

I wanted to mention that our money wasn't on the boat so he technically couldn't spend anything, but I knew it wouldn't be wise to anger him when we were in the same boat.

"Besides," I said, "how are we supposed to find a car dealership out here?"

"Jane's right. We can't head for a car dealership," Violet said. "We can't head anywhere. The wind has died out, and Klaus, Jane, and I are exhausted from rowing."

"Laziness is no excuse," Olaf growled. "I'm exhausted from all my schemes, but you don't see me complaining."

"Furthermore," Klaus said, "we have no idea where we are, and so we have no idea which direction to go in."

"I know where we are," Olaf sneered. "We're in the middle of the ocean."

"Beans," Sunny said.

"I've had enough of your tasteless mush!" Olaf snarled. "It's worse than that salad your parents used to make! All in all, you orphans are the worst henchmen I've ever acquired!"

"We're not your henchmen!" I cried. "I may have been before but I'm tired of it!"

"I think you're forgetting who the captain is around here," Count Olaf said, and knocked one dirty knuckle against the boat's figurehead. With his other hand, he twirled his harpoon gun, which only had one harpoon left. "If you don't do what I say, I'll break open this helmet and you'll be doomed. So you still are my henchwoman Jamie, whether you like it or not. The Baudebrats can just be my slaves."

"For the umpteenth time," I said, "I already told you I don't want to be a villain anymore."

"And how do you expect me to believe that?" Olaf said, "You change your mind so many times I can't keep track. Besides, we had an agreement that if I took you with me, then you would forever be my henchwoman."

"The agreement was that I would join you and help you with your plans," I said, "and then I would be treated better or something. It was already implied that I was coming with you regardless of my decision."

"Enough with your nonsense, Blondie," Olaf growled. "Don't make me have to warn you again about my dangerous weapon, you wouldn't want your poor friends to suffer with you. Now as long as I have my weapons, you must be my henchwoman and do what ever I tell you."

I looked at the figurehead in despair. If it were just Olaf and I in the boat, I might not have cared about his threats as much. In fact, I would have enjoyed his annoyance at the fact that he could kill me whichever way he desired, but if I died, he wouldn't get my fortune. But I wasn't concerned so much for my safety. Unfortunately, exposure to the poison for me would mean exposure for the Baudelaires. Olaf, unfortunately, was well aware of that weakness. I sighed. At least we were in a boat and he couldn't make me do anything like shoot a crow or a man for that matter. It was I who had held the gun in the moments before it fired, killing Dewey Denouement. I still couldn't help my feelings of immense guilt whenever I looked at the harpoon gun.

"You wouldn't dare release the Medusoid Mycelium," Klaus said. "You'd be poisoned as quickly as we would."

"Equivalent flotilla," Sunny said sternly.

"Our sister's right," Violet said. "We're in the same boat, Olaf. The wind has died down, we have no idea which way to go, and we're running low on nourishment. In fact, without a destination, a way of navigating, and some freshwater, we're likely to perish in a matter of days. You might try to help us, instead of ordering us around."

Count Olaf glared at Violet, and then stormed over to the far end of the boat. "You four figure out a way to get us out of here," he said, "and I'll work on changing the nameplate of the boat. I don't want my yacht called Carmelita anymore. Oh, and Jamie sing us another song. I don't like you very much but you have a nice voice and I'm tired of listening to you brats whine."

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be meant as a compliment or not. I sighed and thought of yet another song to sing. Olaf usually made me sing whenever he wanted to take a break from bragging, which was rare. Fortunately, I found it entertaining when I sang too since I've been deprived of any other sort of music and I didn't mind it too much. So while the Baudelaires peered over the edge and then, grouped together to talk, I sang:

"Oh, my God, I think I'm lost at sea

These silent waves are my company

And, I lost the line between the sky and sea

I'm wondering will the wind ever come for me.

Yeah.

'Cause I don't know, I don't know where I am

Can you tell me, will I break or will I bend?

Will the wind ever come again?

I feel the sun coming up, rising from the east

I see the empire falling to her knees

I lost the line between her and me

My troubles are gone if the wind ever comes for me.

Yeah.

'Cause I don't know, I don't know where I am

Can you tell me, will I break or will I bend?

Will the wind ever come again?

I dreamed I found the shoreline

You're standing there

I dreamed I found you waiting.

You were waiting for me, waiting for me.

I try to kiss the emptiness,

I lost the line between the sky and sea

I feel the sun coming up, coming up, coming up, coming up

And I don't know, I don't know where I am

I will break or I will bend

Will the wind ever come again?

Yeah, yeah, yeah."

When I finished Count Olaf straightened up and gave us a triumphant grin. I noticed the Baudelaires looked uneasy and I wondered why. "I'm a genius!" he announced. "I've solved all of our problems! Look!"

The villain gestured behind him with his thumb, and I noticed the nameplate had been changed from CARMELITA to COUNT OLAF, attached with tape.

"Wow," I said sarcastically. The days spent on this boat have been very long and I was starting to grow irritated. "Great job, you know how to spell your own name. But I don't see how that solves our problems."

"Jane is right," Klaus said. "We still need a destination, a way of navigating, and some kind of nourishment."

"There's no wind to take us anywhere quickly," Violet added.

"Unless," Sunny said, but Count Olaf interrupted her, laughing cruelly.

"You four are really quite slow-witted," Olaf said. "Look at the horizon, you fools, and see what is approaching! We don't need a destination or a way of navigating, because we'll go wherever it takes us! And we're about to get more fresh water than we could drink in a lifetime! I suppose your little song worked, Blondie."

I looked out at the sea and saw the immense black clouds filling the sky, announcing the approaching storm, which promised to be fiercer than any storm I've experienced. Rain had already begun to fall a distance away and lightning flashed against the clouds.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Count Olaf asked, his scraggly hair already fluttering from the strong winds. Over his nefarious chuckle I could hear thunder approaching with the storm. "A storm like this is the answer to all your whining. I'm such a genius!"

"Oh yeah," I muttered. "Thanks for inventing the weather!"

Olaf glared at me.

"It might destroy the boat," Violet said, looking nervously up at the tattered sails. "A boat of this size is not designed to withstand a heavy storm."

"We have no idea where it will take us," Klaus said. "We could end up even further from civilization."

"All overboard," Sunny said.

"We might not be able to endure such a fierce storm on this tiny boat," I said. "And…I don't really know how to swim. I could drown!"

"I don't think I'd mind that," Olaf said, obviously still irritated that I insulted him. Then he gazed at the horizon with a smile as if he were welcoming the storm. "Yes, those things might happen," he said with a wicked smile. "But what are you going to do about it, orphans?"

I looked from Olaf to the storm, finding it hard to believe that only moments before, the sky had been clear—now a mass of dark clouds loomed in the distance, staining the sky like ink. The worst part, was that there was nothing we could do about it. The only thing we could do was try to survive it and it seemed as if those chances were very slim.

There were no words to describe the horror of this storm as we tried to survive on our large, wooden boat. The rain fell in enormous buckets on our heads and we were drenched in minutes from head to toe as if we had stepped into a cool shower. The wind howled and the force tore the sails and sent the boat rocking, nearly hurling us over board numerous times. In fact, the majority of the boats contents were sent into the sea such as the jar of white beans, the spatulas, and lastly the sheets Violet had used to make a drag chute. Streaks of lightning flashed again and again from the dark, swirling clouds above our heads. Sometimes the lightning would strike the mast of the boat and it fell away into the fierce waters, churning like a whirlpool and sending the boat spinning like crazy.

The waves grew in size as the storm progressed and rose out of the water like mountains, crashing down on the boat with an unnatural roar. At first, I had clung to the bench. Count Olaf clung to the harpoon and the wooden figurehead as if they were the most important things in the world. The Baudelaires were huddled together on the opposite side of the boat. One jolt of the boat nearly sent me over the edge but a hand grabbed my arm, holding me steady. I knew it had been Klaus before I even glanced behind me. He pulled me over to them since there was no chance of me making my way over there without falling out.

Despite the horrible storm, it was comforting to know that the Baudelaires were with me. Even though I was still kind of mad at him for not believing me, I could see Klaus was really trying to make amends. Maybe I should too.

So I huddled with the Baudelaires during the storm, feeling frightened but content with where I was. Count Olaf's cries grew more frantic, and the wooden boat dwindled down to a raft, and then bits and pieces of wood, yet there was a sense of safety, knowing that I wasn't entirely alone. So if this were the way I was meant to die, perhaps it would be better than dying alone—with nothing.

The sun shone overhead. It was morning. The sky was back to the usual clear, blue and all the evidence of the storm had disappeared as though we had merely conjured it. There was, however, the evidence of the boat's remains scattered all around us. We stood up from the small piece of wood and looked around. My limbs were sore from clinging to life all night long. I still couldn't believe we had survived.

As I gazed at our surroundings, I was surprised to find that we were standing on a flat and wet landscape that stretch out all around us. The water wasn't very deep, like an enormous puddle. That wasn't the strangest part—the water was littered with all kinds of items unusual to find in the middle of the ocean.

I saw long ropes tangled into complex knots, large pieces of wood jutting out of the water, seaweed was all over the place, and thousands of fish. Seabirds circled above us in the empty sky. There were objects that looked like pieces of other boats or carog that had crashed from anchors to masts and to smashed barrels. A typewriter leaned against a large, impressive birdcage, guppies swam around its keys. A huge, brass cannon had a large crab trying to crawl out of the barrel. A torn net was caught in the blades of a propeller. It seemed as though the storm had swept all of the sea's contents on the ocean floor.

"What is this place?" Violet said, in a hushed whisper. "What happened?"

Klaus took his glasses out of his pocket. "I think we're on a coastal shelf," he said. "There are places in the sea where the water is suddenly very shallow, usually near land. The storm must have thrown our boat onto the shelf, along with all this other wreckage."

"Land?" Sunny asked, holding her tiny hand over her eyes so she could see farther. "Don't see."

Klaus stepped out of the boat. The dark water didn't come up past his knees, and he around the boat in careful strides. "Coastal shelves are usually much smaller than this," he said, "but there must be an island somewhere close by. Let's look for it."

I climbed out of the boat and Violet followed, carrying Sunny since she was still too short.

"Which direction do you think we should go?" I asked. "We don't want to get lost."

Sunny gave us a small smile. "Already lost," she pointed out.

"Sunny's right," Klaus said. "Even if we had a compass, we don't know where we are or where we are going. We might as well head in any direction at all."

"Then I vote we head west," Violet said, pointing in the opposite direction of the rising sun. "If we're going to be walking for a while, we don't want the sun in our eyes."

"Unless we find our concierge sunglasses," Klaus said. "The storm blew them away, but they might have landed on the same shelf."

"We could find anything here," Violet said. She spoke the truth because we had only taken a few steps when we saw Count Olaf. I was hoping the storm would have washed him away from us. He was stretched out flat on his back with his harpoon gun laid on one of his shoulders. His eyes were closed and he was very still. It was odd to see him look so calm.

"I guess we didn't need to throw him over-board," Violet said. "The storm did it for us."

Klaus leaned down to look closer, but he didn't move an inch. "It must have been terrible," he said, "to try and ride out the storm with no kind of shelter whatsoever."

"Kikbucit?" Sunny asked, meaning, "Is he dead?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Maybe we shouldn't stick around to find out."

But before we could begin to move, the count's eyes opened. He frowned and looked around.

"Where am I?" he muttered, spitting a piece of seaweed out of his mouth. "Where's my figurehead?"
"We're at a coastal shelf," I said, "and as for your precious weapon, it's probably scattered among this junk."

Count Olaf blinked and sat up. He glowered up at us and shook water out of his ears. "Get me some coffee, orphans!" he ordered. "I had a very unpleasant evening, and I'd like a nice, hearty breakfast before deciding what to do with you."

"There's no coffee here," Violet said. "We're walking west, in the hopes of finding an island."

"You'll walk where I tell you to walk," Olaf growled. "Are you forgetting that I'm the captain of this boat?"

"What boat?" I said.

"The boat is stuck in the sand," Klaus said. "It's quite damaged."

"Well, you're still my henchpeople," Count Olaf said, "and my orders are that we walk west, in the hopes of finding an island. I've heard about islands in the distant parts of the sea. The primitive inhabitants have never seen civilized people, so they will probably revere me as a god."

I sighed. It was ridiculous for Count Olaf to think that just because people had a different society meant they would automatically praise him. They probably had their own cultures and beliefs—something that they probably wouldn't give up for a stranger. Then again, people always seemed to find a reason to respect or praise Olaf for being villainous and some people couldn't even see how evil he was even when it dangled in front of their faces. Suddenly, I wished we had managed to leave Olaf behind.

We traveled together, heading west across the debris filled coastal shelf without another word, wondering what lay ahead of us. Count Olaf traveled in front with his harpoon gun balanced on one shoulder. Every so often he would demand we make him coffee and other breakfast items that were nowhere to be found.

Violet and Klaus walked behind Olaf. Violet held a broken banister and was using it as a walking stick, poking at certain mechanical scraps she found. Klaus was jotting notes in his commonplace book. Sunny was perched on Violet's shoulders, serving as a lookout.

I walked behind them, frowning when I saw a guitar had been damaged from the storm. Occasionally, I wrote in my own notebook. I don't know why I did it. I knew by now that it would probably never be useful. But maybe if someone were to find it and read it, at least someone would know of our story. Besides, it somehow made me feel better to write everything down. I had written the events from when I arrived at the Hotel Denouement to when I had gone shopping with Esmé by the time Sunny announced that we arrived.

"Land ho!" she cried triumphantly. She pointed into the mist, and I could see the faint shape of an island rising out of the shelf. The island looked narrow and long, like an enormous ruler. I could see sheets of white cloth billowing in the wind.

"I've discovered an island!" Count Olaf cackled. "I'm going to name it Olaf-Land!"

"You didn't discover the island," Violet said. "It appears that people already live on it."

"And I am their king!" Count Olaf pro-claimed. "Hurry up, orphans! My royal subjects are going to cook me a big breakfast, and if I'm in a good mood I might let you lick the plates!"

"You can't just demand to be king," I said, "Clearly you're not the first person they've encountered."

"Yes but I'm the most civilized," Olaf said. "They're only primitives."

I sighed and continued to head for the island. After walking around a grand piano that stuck out of the water as if it had fallen from the sky, something caught my eye and I looked to see a small white figure hurrying toward us.

"What?" Sunny asked. "Who?"

"It might be another survivor of the storm," Klaus said. "Our boat couldn't have been the only one in this area of the ocean."

"Do you think the storm reached Kit Snicket?" Violet asked.

"Or the Quagmires?" I said.

Count Olaf scowled, and put one muddy finger on the harpoon gun's trigger. "If that's Kit Snicket or some bratty orphan," he said, "I'll harpoon her right where she stands. No ridiculous volunteer is going to take my island away from me!"

"You don't want to waste your last harpoon," Violet said, thinking quickly. "Who knows where you'll find another one?"

"That's true," Olaf admitted. "Maybe you can be my henchwoman after all with Blondie. The rest will be my slaves."

"I told you," I said, "I'm not your henchwoman and neither is Violet. I only agreed because we were in the same boat, but now that boat is long gone."

"You already made a deal, Blondie," Olaf said. "This time you have no choice."

"Poppycock," Sunny growled, baring her teeth at Count Olaf.

"My sister's right," Klaus said. "It's ridiculous to argue about volunteers and henchpeople when we're standing on a coastal shelf in the middle of the ocean."

"No one on that island is going to want you around," I said, "you cause way too much chaos."

"Don't be so sure, orphan," Olaf replied. "No matter where we are, there's always room for someone like me." He leaned down close to us and gave us a sly smile, as if he were telling a joke. "Haven't you learned that by now?"

I got an unsettling feeling in my gut at his words, but before we could say anymore, the figure came closer. I could finally see that it was a child around six or seven years old.

She wasn't wearing any shoes and wore a bland, white robe. It was very clean and I could see she must not have been in the storm at all. A large, white seashell hung from her belt and she wore a pair of sunglasses similar to the pair the Baudelaires wore when they were concierges. She wore a wide grin but when she reached us, she grew very shy. I remained quiet too but I smiled to assure her that we were friendly—well except Olaf of course. Olaf didn't speak either; he was busy admiring his reflection in the water.

"Hello," I said cordially. She was a very cute kid and reminded me a bit like myself when I was that age. "What's your name?"

The girl was fiddling nervously with her seashell. At my question, she looked up and answered, "Friday."

"It's nice to meet you, Friday," I said, "My name is Jamie Murray, but you can call me Jane."

Friday's smile returned. "It's nice to meet you, Jane," she replied.

"Do you live on the island, Friday?" Violet asked.

"Yes," Friday said. "I got up early this morning to go storm scavenging."

"Storm scavawha?" Sunny asked.

"Every time there's a storm, everyone in the colony gathers everything that's collected on the coastal shelf," Friday said. "One never knows when one of these items will come in handy. Are you castaways?"

"I guess we are," Violet said. "We were traveling by boat when we got caught in the storm. I'm Violet Baudelaire, and this is my brother, Klaus, and my sister, Sunny." She turned unenthusiastically to Olaf. He was busy glaring at Friday in suspicion. "And this is—"

"I am your king!" Olaf announced in a grand voice. "Bow before me, Friday!"

"No, thank you," Friday said politely. "Our colony is not a monarchy. You must be exhausted from the storm. It looked so enormous from shore that we didn't think there'd be any castaways this time. Why don't you come with me, and you can have something to eat?"

"We'd be most grateful," Klaus said. "Do castaways arrive on this island very often?"

"From time to time," Friday said, with a tiny shrug. "It seems that everything eventually washes up on our shores."

"The shores of Olaf-Land, you mean," Count Olaf growled. "I discovered the island, so I get to name it."

Friday looked oddly at Olaf from behind her sunglasses. "You must be confused, sir, after your journey through the storm," she said. "People have lived on the island for many, many years."

"Primitive people," sneered the villain. "I don't even see any houses on the island."

"We live in tents," Friday said, gesturing to the billowing white cloths on the island. "We grew tired of building houses that would only get blown away during the stormy season, and the rest of the time the weather is so hot that we appreciate the ventilation that a tent provides."

"I still say you're primitive," Olaf insisted, "and I don't listen to primitive people."

"I won't force you," Friday said. "Come along with me and you can decide for yourself."

"I'm not going to come along with you," Count Olaf said, "and neither are my henchpeople! I'm Count Olaf, and I'm in charge around here, not some little idiot in a robe!"

"There's no reason to be insulting," Friday said. "The island is the only place you can go, Count Olaf, so it really doesn't matter who's in charge."

"And you don't have any henchpeople," I added.

Count Olaf scoffed at me and then gave Friday a terrible look. He aimed his harpoon gun straight at the young girl. "If you don't bow before me, Friday, I'll fire this harpoon gun at you!"

I gasped. "No you don't," I said, stepping in front of Friday. Ever since Dewey Denouement's death, I vowed that the next time a harpoon was being used to threaten another person, I would try to protect whoever it was the way the Baudelaires had.

But it seems as though Friday wasn't afraid because she only frowned at him. "In a few minutes," she said, "all the inhabitants of the island will be out storm scavenging. They'll see any act of violence you commit, and you won't be allowed on the island. Please point that weapon away from me and Jane."

Count Olaf opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but after a moment, he shut it and lowered the harpoon gun sheepishly.

"Baudelaires, Jane, please come with me," Friday said. She started to guide us towards the island.

"What about me?" Count Olaf asked in a small, squeaky voice. I realized they were similar to the voices the people who were frightened of Olaf had made. It was the same noise our guardians had made, the same noise Mr. Poe made when Count Olaf confronted him, the same noise made by various volunteers including Monty Kensicle when speaking of his treachery, and even from his henchmen when they complained. I had made that noise too when Count Olaf threatened us, when he forced me to go willingly into his clutches, when he beat me and locked me in a cage, when he forced me to watch Jacques Snicket die, when he kidnapped Violet and then Sunny, when he nearly killed Violet and Klaus, when he stole my notebook, when he persuaded me to become his henchwoman, when he tried to make me shoot Dewey, and when I was convinced that my only option was to join him. After all this time of him instilling fear onto other people, I never thought I would hear that same noise from Olaf himself.

"You wouldn't abandon me, would you, Blondie?" Olaf said, "You're my henchwoman."

I looked at him, remembering all those times he had hurt me, and shook my head. "I'm not your henchwoman," I said as I started to follow Friday along with the Baudelaires.

"What about me?" Olaf asked again.

"Go away," Friday said firmly.

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks and glanced behind me to where Olaf stood like another piece of debris from the storm.

"Are you coming, Jane?" Klaus asked, looking concerned. I knew he was afraid I really had chosen Olaf's side again.

"Don't worry," I said, softly, giving him a small smile. "I just need a minute."

Klaus smiled back. We were both silent for a moment. He was shifting his feet and I glanced toward the island, feeling a little awkward. But at least we weren't fighting again.

"I-I really am sorry, Jane," he said suddenly.

I sighed. "I know," I said, "I…I forgive you."

"Thanks," Klaus said. He looked at me as if he wanted to say or do something, but then he changed his mind.

"I've missed you, Jane," he said instead.

I nodded. "Me too," I said. "Um…how about a hug?"

Klaus nodded. "Um…yeah," he said, and I wrapped my arms around him, secretly enjoying being able to hug him again like before. I had to blink back my tears.

"Don't take too long," Klaus said as he hurried to catch up with Friday and his siblings.

I turned to face Olaf and found that he was grinning slyly. "I knew you'd stay with me, Blondie," Olaf said eagerly. "I knew you were just like your mother."

"You're right," I said, "I am like my mother…and now I'm going to do exactly what my mother did."

"You're going to leave me out here all by myself?" Olaf said, sounding a little desperate.

"A long time ago you promised me that I would have nothing," I said, "but it looks like you're the one who's all alone now." Then, I turned my back to the person who had caused us so much misery.

Review!

The song is called The Wind by the Fray. I thought it worked so well here! :)