Ultimate Sacrifices
XoxoxoxoxoX
Author's Note: Hey all!
I hope you all had a great Halloween! Don't rot your teeth out with sweets or get a tummy ache. :D
In celebration of Halloween, I decided to write a one-shot story centered around the Chipmunks/Chipettes.
In this story, imagine the CGI versions as anthros. Makes more sense and flows better that way.
Sorry it's after Halloween, internet had gone out!
Enjoy!
His blue eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he scribbled down his findings on a piece of faded parchment. He would only pause to push the lenses back onto the bridge of his nose—that was it. The darn things kept slipping from the sweat that was accumulating on his brow, from his intense concentration and the lack of air conditioning in the large basement. They were all working in his basement, which he had had enlarged months ago. It was partly due to his engagement and partly done to house his prized invention.
Didn't I tell that idiot to fix it? If I didn't need him for this so much, I would have killed him a long time ago.
He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts out of his head. It was best not to get angry, he knew. He'd have plenty of time to focus that anger elsewhere. For now, this required his total attention.
"S-Simon?"
Speak of the devil.
Simon rolled his icy blue eyes, ignoring his brother. He willed him to shut up, but to no avail. He continued to call out his name repeatedly.
"Shut up, Alvin, and get to work!" Simon roared, spinning around to glare at the chipmunk. His hand instinctively flew to his gun holster, where the gun rested, unused.
Alvin's held up his hands defensively, his hazel eyes widening in alarm. "A-all right! I was just asking which one of these you need…" he stuttered, holding up an array of tools.
"What, do I have to do everything myself? Are you that stupid?" Simon sneered, standing up and tossing the hammer at Alvin, who was barely able to catch it in time.
Sighing deeply, he returned to his work. His eyes caught the faint, blue-green glow of the container beside him. He peered through the thick glass, for floating inside was his most precious possession.
"Jeanette…" he murmured, gently resting a hand on the glass. The warmth emanating from it reassured him that she was comfortable. His normally cold, hard eyes softened as he looked at his beloved.
Why did this have to happen to her? Of all the people in the world, why'd it have to be her?
Painful memories came flooding back to him all at once. Alvin, Ryan, and a number of other stupid jocks that he had long since forgotten the names of (or had not cared to learn the names of in the first place), had been in a race. What had possessed Alvin to think it would be fun or safe to race his friends on a busy interstate, he had no idea. Alvin always had stupid plans and did things without thinking, but never had Simon thought he'd be that stupid. Alvin had said he hadn't been paying attention when it happened...
No doubt gloating to his friends at the time. He was always an arrogant ass...
Alvin had not seen Jeanette crossing the street at that exact moment. He had not seen her coming out of a small shop. He had not seen how she'd had the right of way, Simon knew. She had always been very timid and cautious; he had no reason to think she wouldn't take care to look before crossing, even though Alvin lied and said she hadn't.
She hadn't had any time to react. Frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. Alvin turned but couldn't save her in time.
Simon's fists balled up in anger and grief. He bared his teeth, trying his best to calm down.
Alvin escaped with a mere broken arm, but Jeanette… Those damn doctors said she wouldn't make it. It was only a matter of time before she slipped away, they said…
No. Simon refused to let it go. He wouldn't, couldn't. How could anyone expect him not to fight for her life? This wasn't something unpreventable, like sickness or old age. It was all because of his older brother. None of this would have happened if he'd only been looking. Everything would have turned out for the best if it weren't for his carelessness. It was always Alvin who caused him so much pain…
When he'd received a phone call from Theodore, sobbing heavily, he couldn't understand what was wrong. Theodore wasn't the shy, sensitive little boy anymore. He was level-headed, mature, but still with a refreshing air of innocence. Simon had assumed it wasn't anything serious, but when Theodore had sputtered out the words "car crash" and "Jeanette", his heart had plummeted into an unreachable abyss. He immediately hung up and drove to the hospital, raring to be by her side. But the doctors hadn't let him in. They'd told him to sit with Brittany, Theodore and Eleanor.
All three of them were sobbing quietly, paws trembling. None of them knew what to say. When he finally noticed that Alvin was not present, he demanded why. To his confusion, Brittany cried even harder, repeatedly apologizing. Simon asked her what was wrong, and that was when he found out.
At the time, he'd been in complete shock. He couldn't believe Alvin's recklessness had gone so far.
He didn't care that Alvin was in another room, being treated for his minor injuries. He felt Alvin should have taken Jeanette's place, and Jeanette his.
At this time, Simon still had hope that Jeanette would be alright, okay, alive. That modern medicine and care would fix her. But he'd been wrong: the doctors had confirmed there was little to no hope.
Idiots. In times like these, you can't rely on your fellow man. You have to do it yourself.
In the middle of the night, he had carefully taken Jeanette and stored her in his machine, his invention. It was a large, powerful metal container. It was able to read and produce the life signals of a large variety of creatures, animal or otherwise. It had a built-in alarm which notified him if the conditions needed to be adjusted or life signals were dipping below normal. It was warm, keeping a constant, comfortable temperature for anyone that was inside. He had planned to present it one day, as a good alternative to help the sick and injured until they found a cure. But all he wanted to use it for now was to save his fiance. Anything and everything else paled in comparison.
As soon as he had secured her, ensuring she would survive comfortably inside the machine, he had devoted all of his time finding a way to restore her. He had searched every book, every resource. He even delved into the occult and satanic, despite his devout Christianity. Some might say he was willing to give up his soul to be reunited.
Lord help me... All I want is to cure her.
He had finally found one. It was an ancient alchemy of sorts. He would need to mix and fuse a number of rare stones, animals, and flesh. He had planned on doing it all himself, until he realized just what kind of flesh the list required: a heart.
If it had been anything else, a foot perhaps, he wouldn't have thought twice about giving up his own. But then he remembered just who had caused this.
What would be more satisfying than the heart of the one who had driven him to such extremes? He would make sure Alvin felt the pain he suffered each and every day. Every last bit of it.
But, to ensure that Alvin would not dip out of helping him restore Jeanette, he threatened to hurt someone very dear to him: Brittany.
Not just Brittany, but the unborn child she was carrying as well. Alvin had told him it was going to be a boy.
Madness drives one to unforgivable extremes.
Simon kept a constant hold of Brittany, keeping her within his sight at all times. If Alvin refused to help him or decided to run off, well, Simon promised him that he would pay dearly for it.
He was trapped. He wasn't going anywhere.
"Simon… why won't you let me go? I'm sorry, okay?" Alvin pleaded. "What do I have to do to prove that to you? Let it go!"
He honestly has the nerve to cop an attitude with me? ME?
Simon effortlessly whipped out his gun, pointing it straight at Brittany's forehead. She whimpered in fear, dropping the book she had been flipping through. He stared straight into Alvin's eyes, daring him to say another word.
"I don't think I have to remind you again, do I?" Simon said softly.
Alvin's eyes widened in alarm, shaking his head. "No, no! I'm sorry, I'll shut up," he assured him.
With that, Alvin returned to his assigned task of dismembering a dead rabbit. Simon slowly returned the gun to its rightful place at his hip, hearing the light sobs of Brittany as she picked up the book once more, attempting to forget the entire scene.
Simon noted, with deep satisfaction, the tears that were beginning to well up in Alvin's eyes as he focused on his gruesome task. Simon purposely made Alvin do the animal sacrifices. Only he deserved that kind of nightmare.
The irony of the situation suddenly made Simon sneer.
How sweet. He jumps at the chance to save Brittany and their child, but he hadn't cried, mourned, or anything when it came the Jeanette. How do you like that?
Simon sometimes felt he should injure his brother's beloved Brittany. Prove to Alvin that this was no joke, to take everything he said seriously without complaint or snide remarks. But unfortunately, he could never honestly bring himself to hurt his sister-in-law. Brittany had felt the same amount of anguish he had when she learned about Jeanette. She had cried for days, only now, just recently beginning to perk up. And as for his unborn nephew… Simon could never hurt an innocent.
She had done all the apologizing for her worthless husband. She had known how crushed I was when it happened. Well... Sorry, Brittany. You'll thank me later when your sister is returned to you.
He swiveled around to find the source of the small thud that made him snap out of his thought. To his relief, it was only Eleanor, who had dropped a cup onto the floor. She blushed, immediately reaching down to clean up the mess, mumbling apologies.
Simon smiled, or smirked, rather, and helped her. "I told you, both you and Theodore can head home. I have all the help I need right here." He gestured to Alvin.
Eleanor shook her head stubbornly. "No, Simon. I want to see the day when Jeanette gets out of that machine. I want to see Brittany leave safely. I want my sisters back, no matter what it takes."
Simon hid a smirk. No matter what it takes, huh? If only she knew just how much it costs to bring someone back from the brink. Ah well... it's not like she was ever that fond of Alvin anyway.
...Maybe you're being too hard on him.
Where had that come from? Simon was sure he had pushed out any feelings of sympathy for Alvin long ago. After all, the rat didn't deserve it.
Simon grunted, sitting back in his chair and looking over his writings. His mind drifted to when times were simpler, before he'd delved into the dark research. How many times had Alvin done him wrong? Done everyone wrong? He had always been a huge bully to Theodore, pushing him around just because he could. He had left them at a scheduled concert, deserted them for a few fake friends. He had treated the girls wrongly quite a few times, what with his sexist comments and disrespectful nature.
Yet Simon had always, somehow, found a way to forgive him. Why? Likely because he was family. Before Dave, before the Chipettes, he and Theodore were all he'd had in the world. They'd depended on each other, always had. He was sure that, though they fought, the three of them would always have each other's backs.
Each time: he could put this behind him, move on, and forgive, right?
No. Not this time. This time, he has to pay. It's always one of us who has to pay for Alvin's mistakes. It's his time to repent.
If Alvin had shown more remorse, true sincerity, then things might have gone differently.
Simon's thoughts, again, turned to Jeanette. How would Jeanette react if she could see and understand what was happening? Would she be mad at him? Hurt? Frightened to see his crazed mental state? The way he threatened Brittany? Would she even approve of taking revenge on his own brother?
No. She wouldn't. Even after all he's done, all he did to her, she would still try her best to see the good in this situation. She'd probably tell me to just let her go. She'd go to a much better place. Heaven, she always said. She'd say she'd wait for me. But that's too painful. I don't want that. I thought we'd grow old together, and then be together eternally in the afterlife. I never wanted to be parted this way. It didn't have to end this way.
He stroked the glowing container. "I'm sorry, Jeanette," he whispered. "But... it's just too hard to do the right thing sometimes. Call me selfish. But I want you back with me more than anything. If I had to pick between you and... and him, there would be no contest."
"Give me the rabbit parts," Simon ordered, stretching out his hand.
When Alvin hesitated, Simon bellowed at him to hurry up. Alvin quickly rushed to him, placing the bag that contained the body parts of the rabbit inside.
Simon didn't look at the bloody mess as he dumped it into the solution near the base of the machine, quickly closing it before the noxious fumes from the mixture could be released into the vent-less room. He had installed the brewing component when he had started to research into this obscure process.
Simon soon turned back to his books. He would only need two more animal sacrifices until...
"Simon?"
Simon's ears flicked at the timid voice of his baby brother. If there was anyone he felt he could relax around, it was him. He turned, adjusting his glasses. "Yes, Theo?"
"Don't you think… you should let this go?" Theodore whispered, placing a warm cup of coffee on Simon's desk. "You're wearing yourself out."
Simon frowned at him. "Theodore, you know I won't turn back now. Why all this all of a sudden?"
"Well, I'm worried about you," he admitted apprehensively. "Obsession… It's a terrible thing. It wears on your mind, your heart, your soul," Theodore said with genuine concern.
"I don't want to be preached too, Theodore," Simon said curtly, folding his arms. Theodore, in his spare time, had become a youth preacher. Theodore had guessed at what kind of things Simon was planning, and quite naturally, it did not sit well with him. "I know all about the boundaries of my religion, thank you. I taught you most of what you know today, remember?"
Theodore looked down at his feet. "I know, Simon. And I miss Jeanette too. I understand. But this might bring more harm than good."
Simon didn't want to hear that. What could be worse than what had happened up until now?
"Not now, Theodore, not—" Simon's eyes widened in wonder as he looked back to the machine.
The readings on Jeanette's life signals were suddenly flaring up. Her fingers twitched slightly, something he hadn't seen since he had placed her inside.
Simon thought his heart would burst right out of his chest. It was finally happening! All of his hard work was finally paying off!
"Yes! Yes, she's coming to!"
But, just as the hopeful words came out of his mouth, the signals started dropping down drastically. In fact, they fell even lower than they'd been before.
Horror overtaking him, Simon rushed to check the mixture, not caring if he was exposed to the poisonous fumes. Alvin hadn't given him the rabbit parts. It was another ingredient altogether that sat there, and now the entire mixture was ruined.
Simon didn't check to see just what Alvin had handed him. He instead pressed a button to release Jeanette, catching her as the liquid drained out of the tube.
In his sorrow, he could barely hear the panicked screams of Alvin to the rest, telling them to head out of the basement before it collapsed. The world around him seemed muted. The machine was malfunctioning, cackles of electricity shooting in random directions and racking the dwelling hard. He didn't care.
Simon stared down at the barely breathing girl in his arms, completely frozen. He didn't know what to do. What was left for him to do? In a matter of minutes—no, seconds—Jeanette would be gone from this world.
Jeanette slowly opened her eyes, revealing those stunning violet eyes Simon had grown to love so much. She looked up at him, a wide and happy smile brightening her weakened face. Her lips moved, and Simon could barely make out the soft words spoken to him:
"S-Simon...? I'm... I'm so glad you're here..."
Those were the last words she spoke before she closed her eyes again. No more breathe came from her lips. There was no heartbeat. There was no pulse.
Not since her accident so many months ago had Simon cried so hard. He gritted his teeth with rage and sorrow, hugging her warm body to him. The ceiling was beginning to cave in, large chunks of brick and stone falling all around him. He watched the rest of his family retreat up the stairs before they too became completely trapped, Alvin trailing behind them and trying to help Brittany along.
Simon's eyes narrowed in rage. "You... YOU DID THIS TO ME!"
Without allowing any time for contemplation, he pulled out his gun, aimed, and shot Alvin in the back, right beside his heart. The bullet cut straight through him and hit Brittany in the leg, causing her to cry out in pain. Eleanor and Theodore were there to help her the rest of the way, though, out of the basement and out of harm's way. He smiled cruelly as he watched Alvin scream and tumble back down the stairs, landing with a painful flood at the base.
"Eleanor, Theodore, wait! Where's Alvin? ALVIN!"
He heard the anguished, hysterical cries of Brittany as she was pulled outside to safety. Alvin clutched at the fatal wound on his chest, trying his best to climb his way back up to the world outside. Simon knew there would be no escape for him.
Simon pressed his cheek against Jeanette's forehead, taking satisfaction out of the pained coughs coming from his brother as he lied bleeding on the ground.
"You took everything from me, Alvin. You took the love of my life. I take comfort that I'll be with Jeanette soon, and that you won't leave here. I'll be with her soon…" He smiled, stroking her moist hair. He glared down at his whimpering brother, who was pleading with him with his eyes. "But you, Alvin...
"You can go to hell."
I hope you all enjoyed this!
Now, I'm not one for sad/horror stories at all. But, some stories really do interest me if done right!
I much prefer doing funny, happy, fluffy stuff. C8
But this was a lot of fun! Quite a few of my favorite storylines I write have a darker atmosphere sometimes, so this was good practice!
Big inspiration was ColonelShaw! :D
She writes some good creepy stuff! /sotalented
Gah, this actually made me want to cry. I love Simon and Jeanette to bits, but I thought it was convincing. Don't worry, this is a one-shot, alternative. :3 They're all good! And besides, he's with her now.
Sorry Alvin fans! I don't hate him, but come on. It was only a matter of time before Simon got sick of his antics.
Big thanks to Contemperina, as always! /muchlove :D