Great reviews! I really do appreciate them. It makes me want to try harder to make this story finish on a great note. And don't worry, we're almost to the end, but not just yet. I have more in store for Alvin, and the biggest blows are still coming his way. Hold on to your caps! Or something like that. Heh heh

He checked his phone for the time for the millionth time, only to rediscover that it no longer worked anymore. The fall into the water fountain had fried it, along with making him wet, cold, and shivering. Yet he did learn something important from that whole thing that Simon made him do at the park, and that lesson was that he was still able to run, even while choking on water. Alvin was just that awesome, pure and simple.

Once the terror had passed and Alvin had actually caught up with Theodore, the boys were pretty much unbelievably lost in the park in the dark. And a cold wind was starting to blow. Both boys were tired and cold, but they were just really lost now, and that was what had them worried. But like many other times throughout the day, it just didn't make sense!

The boys had been playing in that park since they were young. They knew every nook and cranny, every crook and nanny, and any other way that they wanted to say that phrase. Plain and simple, the boys just knew that park inside and out, and even knew where the best hiding places were for hide and seek, even after years that they stopped playing the game. It was just that they didn't ever really go to the park during the night. And things looked really different at night. Especially when there was no light besides those light posts.

Granted, it did take them a little while to actually find those lamps again, after they had finally stopped their fleeing. And when they did, they didn't know where in the park they actually were. But at least it was brighter and they could stop tripping.

"Where's your cap?"

"What d'ya say?" Alvin turned his sharp blue eyes behind him at a lagging Theodore. He had to frown. The little guy was really tired. He was probably getting hungry and Alvin was pretty sure that Theodore hadn't actually run that much ever. Sheer terror can do amazing things. Strange, he never thought that he would never experience sheer terror from pretty women.

"Where's your cap? It's not on your head." Alvin reached his hand up really quickly to feel for his most prized possession. It wasn't there. Alvin stopped and looked around him at his feet and then down the path. He turned out his pockets, checked his hoodie, and then dropped his hands, his eyes getting as wide as saucers and looking straight ahead, his mouth wide open. It must have fell off during some point during the chase.

"Where is my cap?" he whispered to himself. The shock seemed to be too much for him. Theodore moved a little closer to his sopping wet brother, a little unsure of what to do to help him. That cap was always with Alvin and was what made Alvin so distinct in the crowd. Well, that cap and his signature color. And his confidence. And loud mouth. Okay, so the cap didn't make Alvin stand out all that much. But it was something extremely important to Alvin.

Theodore reached out his hand and placed it on his brother's shoulder. He quietly called out Alvin's name. Everything that Theodore was nervous about, from the dark and windy night to Simon's problem just seemed to vanish in light of the look on Alvin's face. That shock look, one that made it seem like Alvin was just completely and utterly lost, really frightened Theodore a lot. The cold and wet shoulder that Theodore could feel just made Theodore shudder violently.

In an instant, Alvin was on the ground. He felt so cold, so numb. His breathing was heavy, since he probably forgot to actually do that during his little moment. His head was thumping so hard, a little headache that was forming behind his eyes from the moment he first rested his eyes was increasing rapidly. He felt his power draining from him. The one thing that made him Alvin was that cap! That cap was what he felt most comfortable in, just as Simon felt the most comfortable in his lab and Theodore in the kitchen. His 'safe place' was that cap. And it was gone.

He crawled up a bit, feeling Theodore pulling on him a little, trying to get him up from the ground. Beyond the ringing and muffled sounds, he could make out Theodore crying out for Alvin and asking him if he was okay. Of course he wasn't! This day was just…there was nothing redeeming about this day, at all.

First, he and Simon had a fight.

Second, Simon turned himself or was turned into a stupid bunny rabbit.

He found out that Theodore didn't really trust him, just like Simon.

Then, he had to chase that bucked tooth rodent everywhere!

Next Simon had to make Alvin make Brittany really mad with that fake pick-up line.

Found out that Simon can die if he's alone for too long.

Simon ruined Alvin's chances with Collina Yutes! Called a 'pervert' by her.

Alvin allegedly might have knocked over a whole bunch of shelves at the library.

He ended up having to get the girls to help, because of Simon's library mishap.

They discovered they had a ticking clock to help Simon out.

Alvin was probably hit over the head by Simon, causing him to rest his eyes.

He discovered that Simon and Jeanette were in on this. Or just Jeanette. That was Si's fault, too.

Four-eyes encouraged Alvin to make Brittany mad. Again.

Simon ran away from Theodore.

He had to run away from a bunch of girls that will now never date Alvin. Called a pervert. Again.

They got lost in a park they've known for years!

Now, Simon probably stole Alvin's cap.

Running over that brief list of grievances that developed over the last few hours, it was clear what was happening and whose fault it was. Someone was out for Alvin. Point blank. Someone just wanted to break Alvin down from everything that he ever was. It was divine justice that was raining all up in this joint and down like the rain that Alvin could now feel on his capless head. Wait, rain? Alvin turned his eyes to the sky. He could hear a rumble of thunder and feel the rain drops land heavily on him. "THIS IS ALL SIMON'S FAULT!" Alvin screeched to the sky, opening his arms up and allowing the rain to fall on him.

He splashed back down on the ground, again on his hands and knees. He growled. It was all his fault. Four-eyes. Nerd-o. Geek. Einstein. That…that…jerk! If it wasn't for Simon, then none of this would have happened. Simon wouldn't have gotten into that accident in the lab or made some weird girl turn him into a rabbit, whatever the explanation for the rodent was. And now Alvin was forced to do clean-up. No. He wasn't forced. They couldn't make him do anything he didn't want to do. He might have started to help because of guilt.

Why was he feeling guilty again? Over the vague idea that he might have been the beginning of all this with that fight? He said it to himself a couple of times already. They have had a lot worse than that. One example that easily topped them all was the fight that landed Simon in the hospital with a broken arm. But hey, that was a complete accident and Alvin was sorry for that and admitted that he might have been a little rough with the weakling. Those things happen! They were brothers. But the rabbit thing? Alvin had no. Responsibility. For. That. Period. He wasn't even there for the transformation.

"Alvin?" Theodore was looking really scared.

"I'm going home." Alvin muttered, getting up and brushing himself off.

"What? But Alvin, Simon…"

"Who cares!? I sure don't anymore. I'm done with this stupid thing. Who cares if he stays a rabbit? No one."

"Don't say that, Alvin! We both care. And we can find your cap. Don't worry about it."

"Did I say anything about the stupid cap!? No, I didn't! Don't you see? This is all just stupid. That cap is stupid. This park is stupid. This whole problem is stupid. Simon is stupid. I'm going home."

He turned to walk away. Alvin was just fuming. Things were not going his way and he just had to get home, take a long, hot shower, and go to bed. Things would work themselves out. They always managed to, anyway. What difference would it make if he put in all this effort to solve something that would solve itself anyway? It would just be wasted energy and he had other things to do. Like a book report that was due tomorrow.

Theodore just sunk to the ground, staring wide eyed at the walkway in front of him. He was stunned. Alvin, his older and mischievous brother, who he loved with all his little brother heart, had…he had given up? No, that's not Alvin. Alvin fights back, no matter how many obstacles are in his way. He was the leader for a reason. He knew what goals needed to be reached, and he was able to push them all to be able to get there. Yea, he could be a little mean in his pranks, but he only pranked those that he cared about most. He really cared about him and Simon, because…well, he always pranked them.

Was this the end of them all? One too many hits and the straw broke the camel's back? Did Theodore even use that expression right? Probably not. He needed Alvin and Simon there for him to help him sort these things out. Maybe not as much as when they were younger, but they were always there for him. Now, Simon, the steady rock that always brought them crashing back to earth, even when they were happier in outer space, was a rabbit. And Alvin, the wild child that cause mayhem gladly and stuck up for them all no matter what the fight was, had…given up.

There was nothing that Theodore could do. He didn't know what he could do. He never knew that Alvin could be like this. So, Theodore had to seek comfort in the one thing that always let him feel better, when he was alone. "And he's gonna be your hero. He's the best you've ever seen. Yea, he's gonna be your hero. There's a heart in that machine." He sang softly and slowly, thinking of his two brothers. The both were his heroes, just in their own different ways. And he lost them both in one day.

Alvin had stopped. He heard Theodore loud and clear. He glanced over his shoulder. The little butterball was really feeling down. Maybe things weren't all that bad. No, they really were. This was a wretched day. But was it really that different? "Everybody needs a hero, like a dream that's very real. Cause he's made to be a hero. He's the superman of steel." Alvin sang back quietly, following the same rhythm and tempo that Theodore had started with. Both brothers just looked at each other.

"Do you remember exactly what happened when Simon turned into a heartthrob? That was probably the first time we ever had to really go searching for the guy." Alvin commented.

Theodore nodded, remembering that they boys found Simon picking up girls at the ice cream shop. "Remember when we tried to be firefighters?" The green eyes were brightening up.

"Yea, you two really should stay out of burning buildings," Alvin lightly chuckled at him. "What about the time that we broke Dave's piano?"

"I couldn't believe that we didn't get into more trouble for that! Good thing that Dave saw through your lies!"

Alvin walked back over to Theodore, looking hurt. "My lies? What about when you had Simon and me theater hop to see Horrible Harold?"

Theodore laughed loudly. "That was you who made us do that. And then we thought that Dave was coming to get us!"

"At least it wasn't the babysitter!"

At this point, both boys were actually laughing. The strain was melting away from them and things just seemed to be getting better. "Man, how do we always get into those crazy situations?" Alvin had settled down next to Theodore, putting his arm around his brother's shoulder and chuckling still.

"You, Alvin. You get us into that stuff. Always have. Always will. But you always get us out of it, too, you know."

"Nah, not always. The girls really helped us out when we were racing around the world with them."

Both boys looked at each other. They really had done a lot with each other and with their own strengths, they managed to come through almost okay, most of the time. After a little while of reminiscing, the boys were just sitting in comfortable, but fairly chilly and wet, silence. It was still windy and rainy. After another while, Alvin spoke.

"What time is it?"

Theodore looked at his older brother and then dug out his phone. "Eleven. Why?"

"Call up the girls. We got to meet up with them and see what we can do about Simon."

Theodore just looked at Alvin confused. "I thought you gave up?"

"What do you take me for? A quitter!? No way. I got to have Simon back, even if it kills me. I have a book report due tomorrow, and now the only way I can get that done is if I make Simon do it for me. Oh, he's going to do it, even if I have to blackmail him for the rest of my life!"

"Oh, Alvin," the youngest just sighed. Theodore was dialing Eleanor's number and holding the phone up to his ear. "I'm sure he'll help you. He loves both of us."

"Has a funny way of showing it."

"If he's anything like me, he sees you as our hero."

Alvin just smirked at his little brother and then gave him a noogie while they waited for Eleanor to answer her phone. "What about your cap, Alvin?"

The boy was still hurting from the loss. But Theodore had managed to put things into perspective in his own little way. Alvin shrugged. "There's more to life than just…just a…a cap." Well, that was hard to say.

'Hello, Theodore! Where are you?' Eleanor's voice rang out through the receiver. It was time to get things moving again.

I know, I know. It wasn't all that funny and it was more brotherly love than anything. Also, I used a song. I don't really like doing that. And sorry for those who thought that I over did it with Alvin. Believe me, he's unbreakable, but everyone falters once they cross that line. Up next, more hilarity! Oh, by the way, I don't own that song. It's from "Robomunk" :)