Broken - Isadora Quagmire

Chapter Fifty One - Sacrifice

"I thought I'd never see you again"

"Are you working for Count Olaf?"

"Never mind that. You joined up with the Baudelaires?"

"Well, they joined up with me."

"So Step-Pop's really gone?"

"Aye. He told me you died in a manatee accident.

"What? No, I left. I told him I never wanted to see his face again, but I'm sorry I left you alone"

"He's your brother?" asked Klaus.

"He found me when he was searching the sub, but we didn't have time to talk"

"He's a terrible villain! He's helped Count Olaf perform countless treacherous deeds!"

"He also saved your sister"

"Wait. Where is the baby? Is she okay?"

"She's resting, and she's fine. We found the antidote to the poison, and now we're headed to meet the rest of the volunteers at the Hotel Denouement, the Last Safe Place. And you could come with us"

"We're not going anywhere with him!"

"Fiona, your brother has helped do many things that you couldn't even imagine"

"I'm not abandoning my brother! He's the only family I have left!"

"He's dangerous!" Klaus said

"He's a villain!" said Valerie

"He burned down Anwhistle Aquatics! I read about it in a Volunteer Factual Dispatch. It said Fernald betrayed V.F.D. He committed arson and joined the wrong side of the schism" said Violet.

"You still don't get it. There is no wrong side of the schism.

"Of course there is" said Valerie. "One side puts out fires, and the other side starts them."

"You should have seen the fire. I was an apprentice at Anwhistle Aquatics when I learned what Gregor Anwhistle was cultivating in his grotto: a fungus so powerful it could destroy V.F.D.'s enemies once and for all. He was playing with fire.I warned him it was volatile. If the fungus got out, it could destroy everyone.But he didn't listen.So I decided to fight fire with fire.I'll never forget the sight of it, like the sea was burning.It was the worst day of my life. But what choice did I have? I did a terrible thing for a noble reason, and I paid for it. I lost my hands in the fire, and I got kicked out of V.F.D. My step-dad was so furious."

"He never told me why you did it.He just said there were secrets too terrible for young people to know"

"He used to say that to me, too"

"He was a fool"

"He is not a fool. He is a noble man"

"And V.F.D. is a noble organisation" said Valerie

"They'd never cultivate something that would harm people" said Violet.

"Tell that to your little sister"

"Well, what about Count Olaf? He's a wicked person, and you help him time and time again" said Duncan.

"Count Olaf took me in when no one else would have me. Sure, I ended up doing more murder, arson, and assorted violence than I would have preferred, but people aren't either wicked or noble.They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped up and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.I mean, look at you, Baudelaires.You helped burn down Caligari Carnival.You've played with fire, too.