Series of Unfortunate Events One-shots, What-ifs, and Drabbles

What If? Book the Tenth

"Are you... sure about this?" Klaus asked finally, staring at the hole that he, Quigley, and his sister had dug to capture Esme Squalor. Although Esme was Olaf's villainous girlfriend and had been a terrible guardian for the Baudelaire siblings, did she really deserve to be trapped in a pit and used as a hostage to get their sister back?

Violet looked back at him helplessly. "Yes." She turned away from the pit and stared up the mountain where Olaf had their sister- no longer a baby, as she had made painfully clear to Violet. "What choice do we have?" She said quietly, then turned to Quigley. "You have the masks?"

Quigley nodded grimly. "I'm sorry, Klaus. I'm sorry, Violet. I'm sorry that this is necessary." He handed a mask to both siblings, then donned his own. 

Klaus felt his heart clench in his chest as he turned the mask over in his hands. Were he, Violet, and Quigley really any better than Count Olaf and his theater troupe if they went through with this? 

Violet saw her own indecision mirrored in her brother's eyes and put her hand on his back. "Listen, Klaus, whether or not this makes us wicked, we have noble intentions, and that is more than Olaf can say. Our sister is up there, risking her life so we can learn more about Olaf's schemes. I feel that this is the least we can do, because even if-" Violet's voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Klaus, even if our sister isn't a baby anymore, she is still a child. And I want- Klaus, I want to protect her." A tear fell, then another. "She shouldn't be risking her life for us. Risking her safety." Violet slipped the mask on, covering her tears.

Klaus embraced his sister tightly. He stared into her masked face, certain that she understood what he was trying to say. Then he put on his mask, lit a Verdant Flammable Device, and threw it into the pit.

Then he, Violet, and Quigley stepped back to watch. To see whether their plan had worked.

A dark shape moved at the top of the mountain. Then got closer and closer and closer. And fell, fell, fell, fell into their pit, and their scheme had worked, at least the first part of it.

And they were no longer noble, were they?

"Help me out of here!" Demanded Esme Squalor. "You masked people must know better than to hold a lady who is so In with Count Olaf."

Violet glanced at Klaus, then cleared her throat. "Count Olaf is holding a young girl," Violet told Esme in a disguised voice. "We will give you back to him in exchange for the girl."

Esme flounced her hair. "Of course Olaf would agree to that. He loves me more than any fortune."

That was that, then. The terms of their hostage switch had been arranged. Quigley found a knife from the burned-out VFD kitchen. He held it to Esme's throat. Violet handed Klaus a pair of ice-climbing shoes, then threw some at Esme. "You'll need those," she said in her disguised voice. "Put them on." 

Esme complained and complained, but finally, they reached the top. 

Klaus took a deep breath, then, disguising his voice, said, "We have something you want. You can have her back if you give us Sunny Baudelaire."

"Olaf! These very Out masked people have taken me hostage," she pouted. "Give them the bratty, bucktoothed baby and you can have me back."

Olaf looked at the elder Baudelaire siblings and the lone Quagmire triplet, all three masked, Quigley holding a knife to his girlfriend's throat. Then he let out a wicked, wicked laugh. "I need that bucktoothed baby brat if I am to have the Baudelaire fortune."

Esme pouted again. "But, Olaf-" and the villain silenced her with a wave of his gun.

"I can find another girlfriend, Esme. She-" Olaf pointed, and Violet saw her sister, crouching behind the villain's car. Looking scared. "Is the only Baudelaire brat left."

Esme crossed her arms. "Olaf, you knew me before you wanted the brats' fortune. Arent' I more important to you than-"

Olaf shot her. The villain's former girlfriend tumbled down the slippery slope and fell motionless.

"NO!" Violet screamed, with Klaus echoing her. How could he do that?

"Now, you three... masked people." He aimed the gun at Quigley, who still held the knife. "Why do you want the baby brat? Are you VFD?" Violet had been edging over to where her sister sat, scared. Olaf whirled and shot.

Violet ducked and the bullet slammed into the villain's car. Violet screamed, dashed towards her sister, and held her tightly. "It's me, Sun," she said in her own voice. "We'll get you out of this.

And Klaus and Quigley were picking their way over to her, Quigley brandishing his knife. But Olaf was approaching with his gun, and his theater troupe came closer.

Klaus finally reached his sisters. The siblings, two masked, one with a mask of tears, embraced.

A gunshot rang out, then another. A body fell.