Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Klaus Baudelaire was younger, he'd always loved to play hide and seek with his family. He'd search all through the Baudelaire household, looking for Violet, his mother and his father. Violet usually hid in the kitchen. The pantry in particular. She was the easiest for Klaus to find when he was the seeker. Bertrand, Klaus' father always hid in the library, tucked in one corner, behind a seat that Klaus and Bertrand always used to love to sit in and read together, or the seat that he and his mother, Beatrice, would sit in and recite poetry to each other.

Beatrice was always the hardest for Klaus to find because she hid in different spots. One day she'd hide in her closet. One day she'd hide behind the curtains in a room. Sometimes Klaus would find that Beatrice was moving around through the game, making it harder for Klaus to find her.

This reminded Klaus of those games that he'd played when he was younger, before Sunny had been born. He was searching for, desperately looking for the Quagmire triplets as he tried to figure out Mattias plan and evade his capture at the hands of Mattias, who was after his and his sister's fortune. Klaus was very aware that if he were caught too, his sisters would be in danger. Mattias only needed one Baudelaire to get the fortune, and if he were the one being used, then Sunny and Violet would have even more of a target on their backs; a deadly one at that.

The same thing would happen if Violet was captured, or if Sunny were captured. Mattias, or Olaf would go after Klaus and either Sunny or Violet's blood. Maybe Klaus was being selfish, but he'd rather not have Olaf target him, or his sisters to get the Baudelaire Fortune.

Remembering what he and his sisters were here for, Klaus called for the Quagmire triplets once again. "Isadora? Duncan?" His voice echoed around the tunnel, and Klaus could feel a shiver run down his spine as he strained his eyes, trying to make out things in the darkness.

He fell quiet again after his voice stopped ringing around, feeling a sudden lurch in his chest when he heard Duncan calling for him and his sisters. "Klaus! Violet! Sunny!" Klaus didn't believe that he was really hearing Duncan until he felt Violet's hand close around his wrist, pulling him forwards as Violet stumbled towards the sound of Duncan's voice. When Klaus got closer, he felt a jolt of hope in his chest, hearing Isadora call this time.

The Quagmire triplets! They were here!

When the cage came into view, Klaus almost tripped over himself, stumbling forwards, using the bars of the cage to hold him up. He could feel his eyes pricking with tears of relief, and he could see Duncan and Isadora look relieved to see him and his sisters.

"Klaus! Violet! Sunny, we're so happy to see you." Duncan smiled, and Klaus slipped his arm through the bars, brushing away a few tears that had gathered on Duncan's cheeks.

"We've missed you Baudelaires." Isadora agreed, leaning against the cage bars. Klaus retracted to the outside of the cage, giving Duncan and Isadora a smile. Beside him, he could see Violet smile slightly, looking between both of the Quagmire triplets.

"And we've missed you too, Quagmires." Violet said, placing Sunny down on the floor. Klaus could see his baby sister hold onto one of the cage bars, stretching her arms up towards Duncan and Isadora.

“Are you both unharmed?” Klaus asked, glancing between his two friends. He could see Isadora nod, and in the corner of his eye, Klaus could see Violet tying up her hair to find a way to get the Quagmire triplets out of their cage.

“I can bend the bars of the cage apart if they’re hot enough, so I’m going to need to make something to wield the bars open with, up at the penthouse.” Violet said. “Do you Quagmires think you’ll be fine with us gone?” She asked, and Klaus felt something wrong with the idea of leaving the Quagmires behind. They’d been gone for so long, and Klaus felt that leaving them behind wasn’t right, even if Violet and Klaus intended to return to the Quagmire triplets

Turning to Violet, Klaus leaned against the cage bars. “I’ll stay behind and protect the Quagmires if Mattias returns before you get back.”

“No. I need to keep you safe, Klaus.” Violet immediately said, placing a hand on Klaus’ arm. Klaus shook her off however, staring into her eyes.

“Violet, let me do this. You protect Sunny, and I’ll protect the Quagmires until you can get back.” When Violet gave Klaus a doubtful look, he continued to speak. “Let me do this for our friends.”

Klaus could see Violet hesitate, though she thankfully gave Klaus a nod.

“Keep our friends, and yourself safe. We’ll be back soon, I promise.” Violet said, before picking up Sunny and retreating into the darkness of the elevator shaft. Turning back to Isadora and Duncan, Klaus offered them a smile.

“I’m not going to let my friends suffer, or get taken away again if I can do something to help.” He explained. Klaus could see Isadora offer him a smile, as did Duncan.

“That’s a very noble thing to do, Klaus.” Isadora said. Klaus could see her lean against the bars of her cage, before sitting down, her back still leaning against the back of the cage. Duncan followed suit, and Klaus too sat down with his own back against the wall. He smiled slightly at Isadora’s words, letting himself relax momentarily. “And I appreciate you staying with us. Do you know how tiring it can be with just Duncan here?" Isadora rolled her eyes, making Klaus laugh. He could see Duncan wear a mock expression of offense, that made Klaus laugh harder.

"It's not a problem, Isadora." Klaus finally managed to say, trying to keep himself from laughing again.

This was very nice. The nicest since Klaus and Violet and Sunny had met Duncan and Isadora at Prufrock Prep. Before Prufrock, Klaus wasn't sure as to what his last nice moment was. It certainly wasn't at the lumbermill, and even being at Aunt Josephine's hadn't offered him many comforts. In fact, Klaus reconned that the only nice things he'd had since his parents had perished were the times he'd spent in Justice Strauss' library, the week leading up to Stephano's arrival when he and his siblings were at Monty's place, and of course, his meeting the Quagmire triplets.

The middle Baudelaire was broken from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice, a chill running down his spine. He looked up to see Count Olaf, the older man having dropped the fake accent. He still bore the Mattias disguise however. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here." Olaf said, his beady eyes shining at Klaus as the Baudelaire scrambled to his feet, on edge.

"Two lonely twins, and a lonely little Baudelaire, here to make my job easier. The Quagmire sapphires and the Baudelaire Fortune will be mine, as soon as I take care of Violet and Sunny." Olaf took a few steps forwards, wrapping his boney fingers around Klaus' arm. The middle Baudelaire tried to struggle and yank himself from Olaf's grip, though it was difficult and Olaf was a lot stronger than Klaus.

"What was the word Georgina used?" Olaf seemed stumped for a second, before a wide grin crossed Olaf's face. Klaus felt a pit sink into his stomach, knowing exactly where this was going. The bad thing? He didn't remember the word to snap him out of the trance Olaf obviously wanted to put him in. Not that it would have been any use, since Klaus didn't have a mind of his own when he was in a trance.

"Now, it's time to get to work, lucky boy."

With that, everything went dark for Klaus.

Chapter Text

Isadora Quagmire was never exactly the most frightened of her siblings. In fact, she had to be the most adventurous of the Quagmire triplets.

She was always the one to start fights, playful and serious. She was always the quickest to turn to violence if someone were to try and hurt her or her siblings or friends. She was always the one who played pranks, and she was always the one to mess with her siblings. If Isadora really had to think about it, she'd pick Duncan as the quieter, more frightened and nervous triplet, while Quigley had always just been somewhere in the middle.

Isadora missed Quigley, and she often wondered what he would have done if he was here, in this situation over her or Duncan.

In this situation, Isadora thought that Quigley probably would have fared better than Duncan did. Duncan had immediately started to tear up, flinching away when Olaf entered their general proximity. Isadora knew that Quigley wouldn't have been as scared as Duncan was, Quigley being more impulsive and 'do first, ask later' in most situations. Isadora genuinely didn't know how Quigley would have fared in this situation, however, she felt that he would have done better than Duncan.

If Isadora were completely honest, she'd rather have Quigley here with her over Duncan, and she felt awful about it.

Focusing on the current situation however, Duncan was the one here with Isadora, and Klaus had a blank stare on his face now. A blank stare that was not going to be normal, considering Klaus had been frightened and had struggled when Olaf had been holding onto Klaus. The blank stare and Olaf now being faced away from Klaus, unlocking the front of the cage set off a lot of red flags.

"Klaus?" She called for her friend, earning no response from the middle Baudelaire. Olaf just snickered, turning back to Klaus.

"Would you like to hold the cage closed while I fetch Hooky and the herring?" He asked, and Isadora felt slightly sick when Klaus responded, his voice void of all emotions and resistance.

"Yes, sir." Klaus took a few steps forwards and held the cage doors shut, Isadora slamming her body against the door to try and get out. She'd been stuck here for long enough, and she wanted out. Her friend was surprisingly strong, however, and Isadora was finding it difficult to get out. Turning to her friend, she scanned his face, trying to find any hint of emotion. She found none though, Klaus looking as though he were in a trance which Isadora really didn't like.

"Klaus?" She whispered his name, earning no response. Klaus just continued to hold the cage door shut, his eyes blank and glazed over. Looking over at Duncan, Isadora decided to abandon her fighting, wanting to comfort her triplet. Quigley may not be here, but Duncan was, and right now he needed her comfort. Especially since Klaus was acting off. Kneeling down, Isadora offered Duncan a hug, which her triplet accepted gratefully.

"We'll get through this, Duncan." She whispered to him. "I promise."

She could see her triplet smile slightly, using his sleeve to dry his eyes. He went to say something, however, Olaf returned, the Hook-Handed man struggling to hold onto this large, red herring statue. Clutching onto the younger triplet tighter, Isadora couldn't help but death stare Count Olaf. How dare he hold her and her triplet captive! How dare he turn their friend against them somehow!

"Now, which one do I want to keep? I only need one to get those sapphires. The other can starve in the cage." Count Olaf muttered to the Hook-Handed man, and Isadora again clutched onto Duncan tighter. She wasn't about to let Olaf separate her and Duncan; not like they'd been separated from Quigley and their parents.

"What did you do to Klaus? Why do you want the Quagmire Sapphires so much?" Isadora burst out, demanding answers from Olaf. Her eyes blazed with fury as she glared at him, and she was sure even Klaus, somewhere in his dazed state could tell that she was furious. Olaf just laughed, pushing Klaus to the side. Olaf took a few steps forwards, before placing a hand under Isadora's chin. Lifting it so she could stare at him in the eyes, Isadora refused to back down, staring right back at him.

"Because I set myself a goal, pretty girl, and I'm not going to stop until I accomplish that goal," Olaf said, his eyes shining. Isadora yanked her head away from his hand, not one leaving Olaf's eyes.

"Rot in hell!" She said, spitting at him. Olaf just smirked, before backing out of the cage. Turning to The HookHanded man and Klaus, Olaf stood up tall.

"We'll take the crybaby. The poet's feisty, and I don't want to deal with that." Olaf shrugged. Isadora watched as Olaf looked at Klaus. "Now, would my lucky boy like to hold the poet still while Hooky here shoves the crybaby into the statue?"

When Klaus started to enter the cage, Isadora realized what was happening. Olaf had certainly done something to Klaus, and it wasn't a good thing in the slightest. Whatever it was, it made Klaus listen to Olaf's commands and hurt Isadora and Duncan. Not helping them escape when Klaus was in just as much danger was hurting Isadora and Duncan, and even himself.

Unfortunately, Isadora wasn't able to overpower Klaus, the middle Baudelaire taking hold of Isadora and dragging her away from Duncan. She struggled against him, kicking and scratching as much as she could, though he was too strong for her to get away from. Isadora could only watch as the Hook-Handed man dragged Duncan to the red herring statue, Klaus holding her back.

"Good, good. Now, Klaus, would you like to step into the red herring statue?" Letting Isadora go, she could only watch as Klaus stood next to Duncan in the red herring statue, the statue then being shut, hiding her triplet and friend from view. Count Olaf then took a firm hold of the door to Isadora's cage, before slamming it shut, the bars of the door and the rest of the cage getting wedged together. The door appeared to be stuck somehow, which made Olaf laugh.

He left Isadora no departing words as he took a few steps away, muttering to the Hook-Handed man. "Now, we've got an inordinate amount of work to do if we want to kill Violet and Sunny. "

Then Count Olaf was gone, as was her remaining triplet and the middle Baudelaire.

And Isadora had never been more frightened in her life.

.
.
.
.
.

Isadora woke to the sounds of clanging, startling her from her fitful rest. After Duncan and Klaus had been taken, she'd sat down and closed her eyes for only a moment...

Looking around, her eyes bleary with sleep, she couldn't make out who had arrived at the bottom of the elevator shaft. All the directions surrounding the cage were blackened and dark, making Isadora curl in on herself. She should be used to the dark. She'd been trapped in it for what seemed like forever. The issue was that she'd always had Duncan with her, by her side to comfort her, as she would comfort him.

Now she was alone, save for whatever the thing that had dropped down into the elevator shaft was.

Thankfully for Isadora, her guest was a familiar and welcomed face; Violet and Sunny Baudelaire. The eldest was holding onto a few fire brings, glowing white-hot with heat. Violet had a relieved look on her face, Sunny looking around. Isadora was just happy that she was no longer alone here in the suffocating darkness.

"Baudelaires." She said, her voice but a whisper as she got onto her knees, rearing up to hold onto the bars of her cage with her hands. She leaned slightly into the bars, able to feel Violet's hand brushing over her own.

"Isadora." Violet and. "Do you know where Klaus and Duncan went?" Violet asked, and Isadora could feel her heart sink into her stomach. The eldest of the Quagmire triplets (at least, eldest since Quigley's death) could feel a lump build up in the back of her throat, and she found it difficult to say the words she needed to say. Maybe Isadora was just in denial over her triplet and friend's being taken, she didn't know. All she did know, however, was that she now had to explain that to Violet and Sunny, and tell them that their brother had been taken when they'd left him on the pretense that he'd protect himself and the Quagmires.

"I, they..." She trailed off. For one of the first times in her life, she didn't know what to say. Isadora really didn't know how to put it. Sure, she could straight away say that Klaus and Duncan were kidnapped while she was left here to die, but that wasn't tactful. Isadora generally wasn't a very tactful person in general, but it would be a good idea to break it to Violet and Sunny gently. It's not every day that your brother is kidnapped for his money, the kidnapper planning on murdering you and your younger sibling to keep them out of the way.

"Isadora?" Violet's voice was gentle and questioning, the eldest of the Baudelaire orphans having bent down to be at Isadora's eye level.

That was when she decided to put it as simply as she could. Taking a deep breath, Isadora tried to shake off her worries. "Olaf came back, and said something that put Klaus in a trance-like state. He went all glassy-eyed and stiff. Olaf then unlocked the cage and had Klaus hold it shut while Olaf went off and got the Hook-Handed Man to bring with him a red herring statue. Klaus was told to hold me back while the Hook-Handed Man put Duncan in the statue. Olaf then shut the door, making the bars contort and stick themselves together, before instructing Klaus to get into the statue. Olaf and the Hook-Handed Man then left, and left me here to die so I can't get in the way of Olaf claiming the Quagmire Sapphires."

Isadora could see that Violet was very troubled from the beginning, when she mentioned Klaus' trance-like state, a worried look coming to the Eldest Baudelaire's face. That worry morphed into fear and slight horror as Isadora continued to explain, covering everything that had happened save for Isadora's sleep.

"Hypnotism."

Isadora had to double-check she'd heard that correctly. Klaus and Duncan had just been kidnapped, and Violet's first reaction was to say 'hypnotism'?

Violet must have seen Isadora's confused look, for the eldest Baudelaire quickly elaborated on what she'd said. "Klaus was hypnotized. Remember when we told you about Lucky Smells Lumbermill?" Violet said. Isadora nodded, frowning slightly.

"While there, Georgina Orwell hypnotized Klaus and nearly had him murder Sunny and one of the mill owners, a man named Charles. I snapped him out of his trance just before, but it was a very close call and Klaus almost ended up as a murderer. Olaf must have remembered the word to put him in the trance, and used that against you two." She explained. Isadora listened carefully, soaking in that information.

She nodded slightly, biting down on her lower lip.

"That's not important right now. What's important, is getting you out of that cage and up to Esmé so we can catch Olaf and rescue our boys." Violet said, tying her hair up with her ribbon. Isadora watched as Violet assessed the cage, before feeling the bars. "Sturdy..." Violet muttered, before coming up with an idea. Isadora knew that Violet had come up with an idea because she could see Violet's eyes light up.

"You're going to need to push, while I pull. The door opens outwards, correct?" Violet said, and Isadora nodded. "Then on the count of three. One," Isadora held onto the bars, renewed determination flooding her senses.

"Two..." Isadora could see Violet adjust her stance, rocking back and forwards on her heels.

"Three!" Isadora rammed against the door the best she could, while Violet pulled at the cage bars. Isadora could even see Sunny attempt to help, the infant's hands wrapped around the cage bars.

That fortunately worked, the door opening with a screech and a loud band. Isadora fell to the floor, almost crushing Sunny. Thankfully, SUnny realised she had to move and slid out of the way in time, Violet helping a sheepish Isadora up.

"Now, we've got brothers to rescue." Violet smiled at Isadora, making her smile back at Violet. They were going to get through this, and they were going to rescue Duncan and Klaus. They just had to visit Esmé now.