Disclaimer: I do not own Alvin and the Chipmunks.

A/N: The single most entrancing thing about the Chipmunks for me is that no other TV show comes as close to real life. I have never seen a TV show with as much reality poured into its heart and soul as The Chipmunks. The TV shows may date, the songs feel totally retro, but the family values will remain forever.

A/N: Fiction writing is effectively a single person playing a multiplayer game. If the concepts between the characters are so vibrant and alive as they are for The Chipmunks, once you create the situation, the characters carry off the rest of the story by themselves.

Chapter One: Dangerous Risks

At the Arcade...

Simon picked up the carton and carried it over to the video game machine.

"Alvin." Simon yawned and grizzled at the same time. He struggled to physically get his red clothed brother moving. "Time to get home!"
"Oh, yes!" Alvin on an extra carton of his own whooped as the computer game ended, "Simon, I just got the highest score that anybody has gotten on this machine."

Simon took a moment to consider this, reflecting on the long history the machine had to have. That was impressive, really. "That's great, Alvin. I assume, having performed this amazing feat, you may at last come home to your loving family who have been asleep for three hours already?"
Alvin laughed. "All except for you, Simon." Alvin jumped off the box and hugged him. "Okay!"
And Simon chased Alvin out of the arcade.

Without any warning, someone snatched them up from behind and shoved them into cat boxes.

"We're not strays ..." Simon tried to explain. The human ignored him and put him into the back of the van beside Alvin's box.
"This is an outrage!" Alvin acted out uselessly on his cage. "I am an international rock star!"
The van swerved around a corner and Simon lost his balance. "And they wonder why some cats hate these things so much ..."

It was a short ride and then the human carried them into a downtown building and into a lab.
"We're not guinea pigs ...!" Alvin gasped in horror. "Simon, quick ... do something!"
Simon pulled off his glasses and cleaned them, making sure he stayed calm. "Alvin, they've padlocked these cages, and I didn't bring my burglary equipment tonight." He replied with a trace of sarcasm.
Alvin gasped, "You have stuff like that?"
Simon sighed and turned about to see about reasoning with these people again.
"Surely, once they discover that we can make intelligent conversation with them, they won't ..." He looked up as the human approached his cage.

"There's only one way to find out." The human put the cat box down.
"You're mad." The other one said.
"Apparently my madness is catching or you wouldn't still be around here for so long."

"Uh excuse me." Simon interjected. The humans glanced at him in disinterest.
"We've only got one sample ... you're going to use it up on this creature?"
"I'm a chipmunk." Hopefully they'd figure out he was also a talking, sentient being. The humans ignored him.

"If it works, we'll have a whole lot more sample available. If not, well, we'll just have a dead chipmunk, and we'll know we were wrong anyway."
Simon's heart rate quickened. These were not very nice people, he decided. The instant they opened the cage, he had to get free.

Four hands, and he struggled helpless, held down against the table.
The ability to resequence genes is fascinating." One of the humans said, "But I've never seen it done to something other than a human."

Alvin rocked the cage, eventually tipping it up and toppling it off the table. The flimsy thing smashed against the floor. He recovered his shock and struggled out of the box wreck. "Now I know why Dave's always telling us to put seatbelts on." He grimaced, feeling very bruised and shaken, but he didn't have time to stop bleeding scratches.

He climbed up the leg of the table and gasped.
"Simon! Let go of my brother!" He leapt forwards and bit into the human's hand, who drew back, dropping the vial, yelping. He dodged the other's grab and kicked him, and then he dragged Simon to a stand. "Come on!" He said, spying the window across the room that was ajar. "Let's get out of here!"

Alvin grabbed Simon's hand and jumped off the table. Simon had trouble standing back up. "Come on!" He rallied his brother, and they darted around the humans' shoes. Alvin helped Simon to climb up on him to reach the window. He followed, jumping up and catching Simon's hands, they tumbled onto the pavement outside. They were free.

"Come on." Alvin coaxed Simon, who was struggling to get up. "Let's get home."

They were almost home, when Simon tripped and landed flat on the pavement. Alvin knelt down beside him. "This is my fault, I'm so sorry." His voice quivered emotionally in his feelings of regret.
Simon let out a weak moan. "I-I can't ..." And he was unconscious.

Alvin had two options, and he darted his gaze around the street in assessment. No, it wasn't safe to leave his brother's side, not even to get help. He pulled Simon into his arms, and dragged him the rest of the way to the Seville residence.

The instant they were safe out of the night, Alvin yelled. "Dave!" He left Simon on the floor in front of the door, slammed it shut and raced up the stairs to Dave's room.

Moral/Overview: There is no guarantee for safety when rules get broken.