A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back nn….I somewhat happy, I updated so soon, I can't believe it. I promise, I'll try to update as soon as I can; among school, drama classes, my obsessive-compulsive I have for a dad (he thinks all I should live for and have time for is school –eyeroll-), and my friends…I hope I still have time, but considering I got most of the story planned. I expect chapters won't delay more than two weeks, hopefully.
Okay in another note, thanks to: angelwoman, Dizzy Izzy, coolmarauders, and KarlaBob who reviewed. I really appreciate it guys. And for the record, I would really appreciate if everyone reviewed. Reviews make feel special and inspirited, so if you guys review I would finish faster, all for you people.
Now with the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Egocentric theorem doesn't owns anything related to ASOUE, it belongs to Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket; I wish I did though. However, I do own the plot and any random character there might appear.
Summary: Even though Olaf is long to be gone, and the Quagmires and Baudelaires are far from little children, life has not been easy for them. Slowly struggling through everyday and learning to live; secrets, tragedies and lies surround this pair of siblings. Could things be any different? Slightly AU R&R
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VERACITY FOR ALL DEEDS
Deed: 1) something that is carried out; an act or action. 2) A usually praiseworthy act; a feat or exploit. 3) Action or performance in general. 4) A document sealed as an instrument of bond, contact, or conveyance, especially relating to property.
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Chapter 2
Then out of nowhere a voice interrupted, "Here you are!"
Duncan and Eileen froze in their tracks. They were trapped. They had to think fast. Eileen made a fast grab for Duncan's arm, and intended to go for the run, but was suddenly interrupted when she felt someone else's hand on her shoulder, grabbing her strongly, and it wasn't Duncan's. She gulped with dread.
"Oy, I see you're a lovely couple!" the person said and shrieked at the sight of Eileen grabbing Duncan's arm, they recognized the voice as female… an incredibly loud female. Duncan looked at her surprised and strangled; Eileen in the other hand looked as red as a beet and avoided his eyes.
The woman was short, with short dark hair and very red cheeks, but that wasn't what surprised them the most; but her outfit. She was wearing what looked like a crown, a plastic crown, and fantasy jewelry. Unfortunately, that was just half of it; she was wearing a very long dark dress, too long for her, which cords hung from her shoulders loosely. The platform shoes were way too big for her short frame, and her make up was scandalous. She had bright blue eye shadow, perkily pink lips gloss, excessive eyeliner and her cheeks were even redder because of all the blush she wore on. In all, she looked as she was a little girl, dressed up in her mother's clothes, and had no idea how to wear make up.
"Come here dears, follow me out of this dark corner, it's time for your 'Very Fancy Dinner'," she said sweetly dragging them out of their hiding place, a hand in each one of their shoulders. Eileen released Duncan's arm somewhat reluctant and let herself be dragged by the ditzy woman, both equally bewildered.
The woman hummed softly to herself while she dragged the young volunteers through the hotel hallways, some they knew, others they had no idea existed. This is strange, what's going on, we don't have time for this. What about Mr. Snicket! We have to save him. Duncan's thoughts rumbled in his head frankly.
"Excuse me miss, where are you taking us?" Duncan asked trying to sound polite and passive; he wanted to get away from her right away or at least find out where they were been taken to. The woman that led them now through the hallways was probably an innocent bystander and had mistaken them by a young couple, as absurd as the thought appeared to him.
"No...no, it's surprise remember, you made your reservations for your 'Very Fancy Dinner' yesterday," she replied happily stopping outside a rather big stylish entrance, not taking into account that it was probably around 5 o'clock in the morning, not dinner time.
"Excuse me miss, but we never-
Duncan was interrupted in mid-sentence by Eileen, who gave a rather painful nudge in the ribs.
"What my husband meant," She began, blushing lightly at the mention, "is that we never been to a 'Very Fancy Dinner' ourselves" she finished, smiling sweetly at him, taking his arm nervously. And it finally downed to Duncan. VFD.
"Very well, follow me please," the short woman said perkily opening the big entrance doors. Duncan's eyes widened even more. IMPOSSIBLE
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Klaus woke with a start, panting. It had been one of those dreams again. There were flames, there was smoke… it was a fire. Olaf was back, and he wanted them dead. Olaf lighted the house on fire, and he watched how everyone, every single person he ever cared about, perished in it. There was Violet, Sunny, Quigley, Duncan, and Isadora, all being consumed by the infernal flames. It was horrible.
Klaus's eyes warmed with tears, he closed them with force, trying to avoid any spilling. "It won't happen again Klaus, he is gone," he reassured himself. It might appear foolish to still think about Olaf, when he is long gone, dead. But Klaus couldn't help but to be troubled by him, by the man who ruined his life and kept taunting him, eve in his dreams.
Klaus looked at his alarm clock, 5:05 AM. Klaus rested his head once again on his soft pillow and looked at the ceiling. His tears drenched in his skin. He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but it was simply impossible. He tried to read a book, grabbing the one he had been reading yesterday. 'The Complete Encyclopedia of Knowledge', but not even that could calm his uneasiness. For some strange reason he just couldn't concentrate, and that was simply too far-fetched for him, Klaus Baudelaire.
Giving up, Klaus decided on drinking a glass of water, perhaps that way everything would turn out fine, and return to his room, change and get to do something more constructive.
Klaus got up and touched the cold floor, and putting his not so warm slippers on, departed. Trying to do the less noise possible, Klaus walked down the stairs, arriving to the warm living room, the fireplace filled with dark ash.
Their house even though not as big as the mansion the Baudelaires lived while children, which was huge, was enormous. And the living room even though not his favorite part of the house, being the library his favorite, was a cozy place, where, when he wasn't in the mood of being in the library, he spend his long evenings with Isadora, either talking or doing something else. He really appreciated her company.
Klaus turned and walked through a long hallway, until finally reaching the kitchen. Everything was clean and in order, so unlike the one he used to cook in with his sisters while living with Olaf. Such a thought made him shudder. Klaus reached for a glass in one of the cabinets, and filled it with clear, crystalline water.
Suddenly a loud knock echoed through the house, waking everyone in the house exalted. Klaus ran to the front door, to see what the commotion was, glass of water still in hand. Another loud knock echoed through the house. Klaus finally got to the front door and opened it, just to be gobsmacked afterwards.
"Klaus, it's really you!" a woman shouted and threw herself to the young man engaging him in a hug. Klaus's glass of water shattered in the marble floor, spilling all of its content in the floor along with flying debris of it's container, but Klaus was simply too shocked to care, and couldn't understand if he was either overjoyed or troubled.
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IMPOSSIBLE…IMPOSSIBLE…IT'S IMPOSSIBLE…Duncan repeated to himself incredulous. How can it be? HOW!
"Ma'am, if you excuse me, I don't—
"Welcome to your 'Very Fancy Dinner'!" the woman exclaimed loudly, not minding cutting Eileen in mid-sentence. And with a swift move of her hand, she grabbed both their arms and dragged them to a small table, sitting them rather vigorously.
Eileen had a berserk expression, and it wasn't pretty. The short woman was probably getting on her nerves; she didn't like to be interrupted, less being cut-off, especially if it was a person she considered dumb or did not had respect for, both being unfortunately the case.
"I'm sorry for not introducing myself before, my name is Tiffany and I'm your hostess today," she said joyfully ignoring Eileen's blatant short-temper. "Now, if you're hungry, I will take your order," she added, giving them full-sized smile. Eileen flinched. Her right eye closing considerably fast, she had a nervous tick or more like a temper tick.
"I'm tired of all this, would you just-
"Sausages, is that what you want, you too young man, ok here they come two 'Sausage Special', you're going to love it!" she exclaimed cheerfully before running through one of the doors, once again ignoring what Eileen was about to say, leaving her fuming and shaking dangerously.
"How dare she, that awful, annoying, ditzy….
But Duncan did not paid attention to what else she was about to say about that crazy woman, but quite confused about what just happened. The room they've just entered was enormous, bigger than the hotel's outside façade. Duncan had no idea the small hotel could held such an enormous place, but that was of the less surprising. The room was silent, except for Eileen's random ranting, considering there was no one to be seen, yet astounding would have been if there were indeed people in the room at this time of the morning. Even though most of the tables were small, they were finely decorated, with their respective white and purple tablecloth, silverware and elegantly folded napkins.
Everything was strange; from the weird woman who brought them here to the 'Very Fancy Dinner' held around 6 o'clock in the morning, but what certainly caught Duncan's attention were the napkins. And it wasn't because they were neatly folded or because they were as clean as it possibly could be but the insignia printed in them. There, in front of them was VFD insignia of an eye.
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"Klaus, it's really you!" a woman shouted and threw herself to the young man engaging him in a hug. Klaus's glass of water shattered in the marble floor, spilling all of its content in the floor along with flying debris of it's container, but Klaus was simply too shocked to care, and couldn't understand if he was either overjoyed or troubled.
"I'm so glad, I've finally found you, I've been looking for you for so long, there are so many things to be explained," she said while hanging from him for dear life, and Klaus didn't knew what to feel. It has been so long ago since he has last seen her, the last time being when she was definitely not hesitating and performing a less than honorable or noble deed under Olaf's orders.
"Fiona," was all Klaus was able to articulate. Fiona was almost exactly the same since he had last seen her. Even though she was a little bit older, she was still somewhat short, Klaus was now taller than her, but she still wore her so respective triangle-shaped glasses. Behind him, Klaus felt a rather sharp intake of breath; he could tell Isadora was right behind him.
"Klaus what are you doing—
Isadora never got to finish her sentence. Fiona looked up over Klaus's shoulder and Isadora's eyes narrowed menacingly, freezing in her spot.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Isadora yelled addressing Fiona, then looked at Klaus outraged, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she yelled once again, furious.
And before Klaus could muster any word, Fiona disentangled herself from him and said quite surprised, "Quagmire," and added, a frown forming in her brow, "What are you doing here?" she inquired.
"What do you think I'm doing? I LIVE HERE!" Isadora yelled livid, wanting to lunge herself to the intruder. She wasn't fond of that woman, especially after all the bad doing she did to her siblings, the Baudelaires, herself and VFD.
Fiona's joyful face changed abruptly to one of panic, "You live here," she repeated slowly, taking it all in. Klaus nodded. Fiona's eyes darted from one to another, putting one and one.
"What's the commotion, we heard all the yelling and we –
A voice yelled from not so far away, not finishing the sentence. Violet, Quigley and a sleepy Sunny arrived at the door, and were quite surprised to what awaited for them.
"Fiona," Violet found herself saying startled, Quigley's and Sunny's mouth hanging open. Fiona's face changed to one of relief and mild surprise.
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There in front of them was VFD insignia of an eye.
"Duncan, do you reckon she is a volunteer?" Eileen asked with a sneer, after her long rant. Duncan blinked, waking up from his reverie.
"Duncan?" Eileen addressed him again, frowning once more, realizing he did not hear a thing about what she had just said.
"I don't know," Duncan replied after a slight pause, still eyeing the fine napkin, "She might just be a simple hostess," he finished, looking Eileen's way.
"Simple? Yeah right, you gotta say rude and weird, definitely not my type of person," Eileen commented with a tone of bitterness. Duncan gave her a slight smile and said,
"Do you think this is a VFD headquarters or a safe place?"
Eileen looked at him bewildered and before she could reply, he handed her his finely folded napkin, signaling her to look at it. She frowned again and taking the napkin; began to examine it.
"VFD insignia," she said quickly, Duncan nodded. "What about a trap, it might as well be, for all we know, they might have taken Mr. Snicket the same way," she added shortly after, looking at him worried. Duncan sighed, he had not thought about that.
Suddenly the illumination wore off, leaving everything in an eerie pitch of black. Eileen's hand rapidly reached Duncan's; he paid no mind, but looked frankly around for the sight of any moving figure. Something was wrong, Eileen was right it was a trap. And before Duncan could say something about it tall figure arrived.
And out of the blue, a beautiful palace ballroom candelabrum was placed in their table; it was finely decorated and was made out of gold, with 3 white lighted candles.
"I'm soggy fog this, monsieur and mademoiselle, but thege wege complications with the lights," said a men's voice, with a clear French accent. Followed by this, two dishes were placed in front of them, filling their nostrils with their lovely aroma.
"Hege age youg Vegy Fancy Dishes, 'Sausages Special', the house spécialité," the distinct male figure said deeply. Now with light, they could see the man was wearing a black tuxedo; his face however was obscured by the shadows, considering the place was now only lighted by the candles placed on their table swiftly by the tall man.
"Thank you," Duncan succeeded to say, after being so bluntly amazed.
"I geccomend you eat slowly," the tall man said and added before leaving, "they age coming, you betteg finish quick," and with that he left, making no sound after him. Duncan blinked at such a display and turned to Eileen, who was equally surprised.
"Who do you think he means by 'they'?" Eileen was the first to ask, recovering quickly from her slight astonishment.
"I don't have idea," Duncan said, trying to find a coherent answer, "Do you think he is talking about the schism, I mean we know they're outside, maybe they want to get us," he added suddenly when the alarming idea popped in his head.
Eileen's expression turned to one of distress, biting her lip, "Like they captured Mr. Snicket," she said to herself more than anyone else.
"We're not sure, if Mr. Snicket was indeed captured," Duncan was quick to reply, "and either way we should follow his last orders, and take my article about him to the Daily Punctillio, we can't fail him, not more than we already have," he added grimly, fearing the thought of Mr. Snicket's actual kidnap. Eileen nodded solemnly; she knew Mr. Snicket's disappearance was something VFD could not cope with, Mr. Snicket being one of oldest alive VFD members, and by default the one who knew most of the organization secrets.
Eileen proceeded to cut one of her sausages when a thought crossed Duncan's mind. 'I geccomend you eat slowly'. Duncan's eyes widened, realization dawning into him. He turned to Eileen and yelled, "DON'T!"
Eileen dropped her fork in fright, the sausage left untouched. Duncan made a fast grab for the piece of sausage and placed it where it had just been, Eileen's eyes were popping out of their sockets. Duncan smiled.
"Look at your plate," he ordered with the Quagmire's trademark loop-sided smirk. Eileen looked at him bewildered, and following his order, looked at her plate. Realization dawned into her. Duncan moved his chair so he could be right beside Eileen, and placed his plate beside hers. There, positioned with sausages were the initials: LS.
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"Fiona," Violet found herself saying startled, Quigley's and Sunny's mouth hanging open. Fiona's face changed to one of relief and mild surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Quigley asked, with such a venom Violet could not think possibleoin him. Fiona's relieved expression changed to one of fear, and quickly composing herself said, "I'm here to redeem myself," she said, a look of determination on her face.
Klaus face softened at this sight, Isadora looked at him with incredulity and turned to Fiona angered, "DO YOU REALLY THINK WE'RE GOING TO FORGIVE YOU AFTER ALL THE DAMAGE YOU HAVE DONE!"
Fiona gave a step back from Klaus and gulped, "I said I'm sorry, I don't want to be on the schism anymore," Fiona said in a very little voice almost audible. Isadora sneered, Klaus looked at her severely, Isadora darted him a dirty look in response. Klaus heaved an exasperated sigh.
"And you expect us to forgive you?'" Quigley asked slowly with an angry edge in his voice, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Well I –
"YOU DON'T DESERVE –
"Stop it Isadora, calm down," Quigley said cutting her off, his anger still evident but controlled. Isadora grimaced and stormed to a corner of the door frame, arms crossed.
"I can't calm down when we're treating with someone as low as Olaf," Isadora said coldly, while closing her eyes, her face neutral.
"You didn't mean that," Klaus spoke for the first time since the discussion started, looking at Isadora and then back to Fiona. Isadora looked away angrily, Quigley grimaced, Violet looked doubtful, and Sunny confused.
"Can't we give her a chance, everyone deserves an opportunity to change," Klaus said almost pleadingly, Fiona looked at him grateful. Isadora shook her head in disapproval, looking at the floor, closing her hands in a fist.
"She is bad Klaus," Sunny said, looking at her brother worried. Fiona had broken his heart long ago, and she had committed different not so noble deeds; she wasn't sure she deserved a second change.
"We gave her a second change Klaus; remember back in the Queequeg," Violet said gently, trying to as impartial as she could, the discussion needed someone unbiased. Fiona looked at the floor opening and closing her mouth, as a fish out of water, wanting to say something in her defense. Klaus looked at Violet pleadingly, Violet shook her head. I'm not going to help you. She thought.
"I want to redeem myself; I can prove it to you!" Fiona exclaimed, her face forcing a smile, exasperation evident. Klaus smiled to himself. Isadora looked up suspiciously, her anger managed, still present. Quigley was quick to frown, resting a hand in Isadora's shoulder as if fearing she would run and lunge at her. Sunny gave Violet a worried glance. Violet nodded, it was time for her to answer.
"Go on, we listen," Violet said as calmly as she could. Fiona looked startled for a moment. Klaus looked at Violet grateful, Violet paid no mind. Isadora's eyes were bulging out of their sockets; Quigley seemed neutral, wanting to keep his calm temper. Sunny looked at Violet and nodded, she trusted her sister.
"Ok then," Fiona said, and sighed, "The other Quagmire works for VFD, right?" she asked, pacing around the porch they had in front of the big house.
"Yes he does, what does Duncan has to do with –
"I'm afraid he is in big trouble," Fiona finished grimly not letting Isadora finish her sentence. A moment of silence aroused. No. They all thought.
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There, positioned with sausages were the initials: LS. Duncan smiled at Eileen.
"Do you think he is here, for all we know he might be the man with the fancy tuxedo and the funny French accent," Eileen said rapidly, not managing her excitement, grabbing her fork and moving it around her plate. Duncan shrugged lightly, he couldn't be certain.
"We can't be certain," he finally replied, deep in thought. Eileen nodded and continued playing with her fork and food. Could he really be here? Was he the man wearing a tuxedo? What's the point of this? Lots of question passed through Duncan's head. He turned his gaze at Eileen who finally decided on eating the piece of sausage she cut a while ago, and it all made sense. Eat slowly...Eat slowly. There was a message to deliver, the sausages were not sent just to see LS initials; there was actually a message in the sausages.
"DON'T!" Duncan yelled again but it was too late, Eileen was already chewing some of the sausage. Duncan's expression looked distressed. Eileen looked at him fearful and bewildered.
"There was a message in the sausage," Duncan said grimly, Eileen's face paled and looked her plate a light blush crept down her cheeks.
"I didn't intended too, I—
"It doesn't matter, there's no time, something funny is going on, Mr. Snicket tried to contact us, we need to find the message as soon as possible, look inside the sausage, I'm afraid we don't have much time," he interrupted her, speaking quickly. If the schism was indeed after them, they were short in time.
Eileen nodded in understanding and began to cut her sausages slowly looking for anything that could be paper or something written in it. Duncan followed suit, and as soon as he sliced one of his sausages, a small roll could be seen buried inside it, held around a toothpick. Duncan smiled briefly.
"I got one," Eileen said beside him, putting the slice of paper in the table. Duncan nodded, searching more of his sausages.
"Check every single one of your sausages, the papers are too small to hold a message by themselves," Duncan replied automatically, taking out another small piece of paper from a sausage.
It wasn't long before they recollected eight small scraps of paper, which they managed to transform into a small message.
Volunteers:
If you're reading this, the message was delivered as expected. You might wonder where I am, I will not give out my coordinates, just in case this message reached the wrong hands. I'm alright for now. I can't be specific about my departure, but it had to be done. They are here.
Then the letter turned slurred, as if written in a hurry.
Get away from where you are as fast as you can, you are being watched. They are everywhere. Get to somewhere SAFE, DON'T LET THEM FOLLOW YOU. Don't run to headquarters, go somewhere safe, and finish the task.
With all due respect,
LS
PS: I will contact you as soon as possible
Duncan grabbed the small scraps of paper, deposited them in his coat and stood up. Eileen nodded. They needed to go.
"Take the candles, we better go," Duncan ordered, and scanned the room. You're being watched. Eileen grabbed the candelabrum. Duncan grabbed Eileen's hand strongly; they shouldn't be separated, at least not now.
He stumbled a little, but they had not time. Reaching the door handle, Duncan burst it open; they were in a deserted hallway. Duncan let go. They were panting; the room was larger than he had thought.
"We got no time, they are probably following us now, we got to separate," Duncan said, still breathing hard. Eileen shook her head.
"I won't let you—
"It's necessary," he replied with force, looking around frenetic. They weren't being followed, something was very wrong. Eileen bit her lip.
"Okay then, take the Very Fast Device," Eileen said, taking a key from the left pocket of her jacket placing it on Duncan's palm. Duncan was about to give them back, but Eileen closed his palm, the keys in them.
"Where are you going? How are you leaving?" he asked worried. She was giving up the only source of transportation. He placed the key safely in his coat's right pocket reluctant.
"I'll be fine, I'm probably going to help Kit, with her kid," she replied, her heart beating strongly against her heart, managing to smile a bit. "You go to your siblings," she added as an afterthought.
"Violet," Duncan whispered to himself, unaware that Eileen heard it more than clearly, she grimaced slightly.
"Tell Violet, she can look through it all she wants, but she won't figure out how it works," added Eileen as an afterthought smiling shortly. Duncan smiled back.
"Will," he replied. Eileen hesitated before embracing Duncan tightly, he was instantly surprised, he didn't expected it. Eileen wasn't of the kind who enjoyed hugging people all the time.
"Be careful," she said before releasing him, stopping any other words from slipping out. She feared, that if for some reason something went wrong, this might be the last time she would be able to see him, to say goodbye.
"You too," he said softly. She nodded. "I will send you a message when I arrive, and the task is finished" she added and ran to one side of the hallway. Duncan watched until she turned right and closed his eyes.
"She is going to be alright," he reassured himself, and ran through the same hallway turning left instead. He didn't know where the hallway might take him, but it didn't mattered. He needed to get out, fast.
Finally, he came into halt; he was back to the old and wasted furniture of the lobby. He sighed, and wondered. If this hallway led to the lobby, where did Eileen's took her? But he didn't have time to think about it; suddenly someone stumbled into him.
"WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE SIR? RUN, THERE'S FIRE, IN THE SECOND FLOOR, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" he yelled fretfully in Duncan's face and continued to alert the rest of the few people present in the lobby while yelling for his mother.
"WHERE ARE YOU MOM, WE ARE GONNA DIE, DO YOU WANT –
Duncan ran away from the lobby towards his room, not too far away, from where he was standing. He opened the door quickly and grabbed everything of his possession. From the old green commonplace notebook, to the old photograph to some clothes hanging in the closet, and threw them hastily inside his small suitcase. This is what Mr. Snicket was talking about, no wonder they didn't followed us; they set the place on fire. Fire brought really bad memories to Duncan, from his parents' death, to many other misfortunes that happened to the Baudelaires, his siblings and himself.
He ran to the lobby as quickly as he could, but it was too late, the flames were consuming the small hotel rapidly. Duncan coughed; smoke could be seen in the atmosphere, flames coming from the stairs consuming everything at their reach.
Duncan gulped again, "Eileen," he managed to say, before coughing again and deciding to crawl on the floor where the air was clearer. He was worried; he didn't know where Eileen was, or if she managed to escape. From a moment to another, Duncan could see the nearing flames consuming the administration counter, it was a blasting inferno.
Duncan crawled and crawled, he couldn't see were he was going, everything was getting darker and darker, the floor filling itself with ashes, distant yells, agonizing shouting. Some people were still sleeping when the fire began, it was dreadful.
Suddenly something hot got reach of Duncan's left arm, the wooden floor was falling apart; it was a piece of wood on fire.
He yelled in agony while he brushed away the fire with his other coated arm, releasing the now hot suitcase, the fire soon gave away, leaving Duncan's left arm exposed and burnt.
His breath was getting ragged, he was sweating profusely, the suitcase now seemed heavier taking into account his exhaustion, he wasn't sure were he was now; everywhere he looked there were flames, and more flames. It seemed like hell itself.
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"I'm afraid he is in big trouble," Fiona finished grimly not letting Isadora finish her sentence. A moment of silence aroused. No. They all thought.
"No….no, that can't...be," Quigley said lowly. It couldn't be.
"Fiona if you're lying, please don't play with this kind of thing," Violet said with force, an uncomfortable knot forming in her throat. Duncan is okay. She wanted to reassure herself, but over all she wanted to believe it. He is okay, he is fine.
"I'm not lying," Fiona said shaking her head. Her eyes filled with sorrow. Isadora shot her an angry glare.
"WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE YOU!" Isadora demanded; she was to the verge of tears. The thought of her brother dying was so scandalous, she couldn't even dare to think about it.
"Because..." Fiona trailed off, looking at the ground. "I'm involved in it," she said slowly, looking to the verge of tears herself.
"What do you mean by that Fiona?" Klaus asked fearfully. He was sure Fiona had redeemed herself. What does she had to do with anything.
"I was following them along with the schism, I ran away, they will set the place on fire, if they haven't already, I felt like I needed to redeem myself, I needed to tell you Klaus," Fiona finished, still looking at the floor. Warm tears slowly emerging from her eyes. Klaus was shocked.
"YOU BITCH!" Isadora yelled and was about to lunge at her but was quickly stopped by Violet. Quigley remained staring into space too shocked to say or do something. Sunny just watched the scene with fear.
"LET ME HAVE HER VIOLET, HAVEN'T YOU HEARD WHAT SHE DID TO DUNCAN—
"I did Izzy, but she came to tell us, that got to count for something," Violet replied, cutting Isadora, still holding her strongly, not sure, if she believed such words herself.
"Where is he!" Quigley said hastily, waking up of his reverie. He needed to find him. He couldn't let something happen to his brother.
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His breath was getting ragged, he was sweating profusely, the suitcase now seemed heave taking into account his exhaustion, he wasn't sure were he was now; everywhere he looked there were flames, and more flames. It seemed like hell itself.
DUNCAN! DUNCAN! RUN AWAY FROM THERE! DUNCAN! DUNCAN! He could hear distantly. He wasn't sure if they were real or not, he only knew he was hearing it. Someone was yelling for him, a woman. The yells resembled so much to his mother's, the way she yelled for him, to run away from the house when it was burning, but he could tell it wasn't her, it wasn't her voice.
"I got to – get out of here," he said between coughs. He didn't know where he got the strength from, but he managed to continue crawling his head spinning, suitcase in hand. Hearing that someone yelling his name nearer and nearer. That voice was so familiar.
And somehow, he didn't know how he managed to get to an exit. He crawled away from the fire, as quickly as he could. He was weak; the gushing wind against his skin was refreshing. He was in heaven. Duncan turned himself over to face how the never ending flames consumed the building, burning it to ashes, the sound of the firefighters siren close.
He looked around, the place was breathtaking. The hotel was not big but it didn't mean it didn't have inhabitants. People were reuniting everywhere, some were crying with grief.
Others were yelling
"RUN EVERYONE RUN! COME HERE—
Others were praying.
"And forgive us our wrongs as we forgive our wrong-doers,"
Some wanting to go back, their beloved ones stuck inside the perishing building.
"LET ME GO BACK, MY SON IS IN THERE—
And few other people just stared at the infernal flames that ruined their lives and killed so many. In a far corner, three kids were alone hugging each other trying to find some comfort. The scene was so familiar, he looked away to see a black taxi drive away from the blazing hotel. He sighed. The sound of the siren suddenly stopped, the firefighters arrived.
Duncan dug inside his coat's right pocket and took the key out. Eileen I hope you're okay. Duncan thought, not wanting to think about it farther than that. He got up and flinched. The adrenaline rush was gone, making it painful to walk; his left leg was injured somehow and droplets of blood fell to the grass, his left arm was burning, but he could manage. He held the key with the left hand; for it was impossible to carry the suitcase. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He walked a few steps, his pants quickly drenching with blood. He just needed to walk a little bit more, Eileen hid the device in a deserted green area, hopefully not reached by the fire.
Duncan started to pant, in his condition, walking was exhausting. He finally arrived and moved some big tree leafs and its green camouflage cover. He dried his forehead with his right sleeve. He was dirty and sweaty, if everyone he knew saw him now; they wouldn't be able to recognize him.
"Finally," he said breathing heavily. The device was a masterpiece; the Very Fast Device was simply amazing. It seemed like a small helicopter, it had enough space for three people; it had perfect balance and even autopilot with VFD headquarters, bases and stuff, but that wasn't all, it couldn't be detected by radar, he couldn't be tracked or followed, at least not from a long distance.
Duncan entered the small vehicle, placing his suitcase on the passenger seat, sweat dripping from his face. Thank god, there's air conditioner. He turned the controls on, putting the autopilot to work. He needed all the rest he could.
Destination: Baudelaires and Quagmires mansion.
The Very Fast Device engine began to work, and without making any noise departed, leaving behind a wrecked place consumed by a fire and the desolated, broken families.
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"Where is he!" Quigley said hastily a little bit stronger than he intended to, waking up from his reverie. He needed to find him. He couldn't let something happen to his brother. Fiona stepped back and gulped.
"I…I…he is… in this…hotel…I," she fidgeted; everyone had their sight on her. She was getting nervous.
"Just say it," Violet ordered. There was not time to spare, they didn't know how Duncan was doing, and she would not forgive herself if something bad happened to him.
"Sunshine Hotel, he is there," Fiona finally managed to say hurriedly, looking at the worried faces of the Quagmires and the Baudelaires.
"Where is that Quigley?" Klaus asked the cartographer, expecting him to have the answer. Quigley closed his eyes in concentration, he had heard about the place before, but he couldn't remember where it was located.
"Quigley!" Isadora urged him, she was getting anxious. She couldn't afford losing her brother to VFD, to a fire. She couldn't. Quigley looked at her dismissively, and then turned to the floor ashamed.
"I…I don't know, I can't remember," he finally said, in a very low voice. He was supposed to be the map expert here, he should know where them damn place was located.
Sunny gasped, she didn't understand completely what all was about, but she was certain about something, Duncan was in danger or dead. She felt like crying. She knew those days when she used to cry a lot, when she was a baby, were long to be gone, but she couldn't help it now. Everyone was either discussing again about what to do, or lost in their thoughts trying to figure out what to do.
Violet looked around frenzied, her mind spinning a thousand km/h, she needed to think about something, remember. She heard about the place before, Duncan probably mentioned to her in one of his letters, it was his next destination, but he never wrote back. What if he didn't answer because he is already dead? Violet shook her head violently. It can't be true. She repeated herself. She turned her head again, something caught her sight. Their front bushes were shaking, something was there; she frowned. Her eyes caught the glimpse of an eye. She blinked. Someone was hiding in the bushes, they were being watched. Her insides panicked.
Suddenly a tall figure emerged from them rapidly, Violet couldn't tell who it was; it was too far away and the sun was hitting her in the eyes. Without thinking, she ran towards the figure, leaving everyone startled. I won't let something happen to my family. Everyone gasped; Violet lunged at the figure sending it to the ground startled, Violet falling on top of him just afterwards.
The man groaned in pain, Violet gasped, she recognized that person too well.
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A/N: Hope you forgive me for this cliff-hanger, if I can call it that. If you find this a little bit too rushed or find many grammar/spelling mistakes, you should forgive me considering I wrote half the chapter in a day (not complete), my sincere apologies. As for the chapter itself, I don't know if hating it or loving it…too many things going on. Originally this was supposed to be a lighter chapter, but I am not sure anymore. Judge yourselves.
Now, it's time for fun, or at least my fun. I decided on writing a small one question per chapter FAQ, so feel free to ask, the most interesting question, I will answer it. I won't answer anything plot related but anything else, feel free to ask.
FAQ:
What is with Eileen and VFD?
opens VFD members archive
Name: Eileen Pangbourn
Age: 20
Height: 5'6 ft.
Profession/Specialty: Aeromechanics department, VFD agent
Blood type: A+
Birthday: November 6
Family: three siblings (quadruplets), parents (deceased)
Fingley: Hydromechanics (VFD)
Gale: Chemistry engineering (VFD)
Deirdre: Biochemist (VFD)
closes first page VFD report and returns it to its respective place
That's all you'll have for now. Hope you enjoyed the reading.
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Sometimes living a lie is way much better than being stuck in reality.
Cheers,
Egocentric-theorem