.comAlvin and the Chipmunks
The Threequel
~Alvin and the Chipmunks 3~
Livin' Life on the Wild Side
Summary:
Two years have come and gone since their last encounter with the devil himself, Ian Hawke, and things have never been better for the six pocket-sized rockstars. They were only days away from their flight to the always perfect, always cleanly Beverly Hills for the next huge hit tour, and are just leaping out their skins after they overheard Dave arranging for them to leave without a parent or guardian. He reminded them that they were old enough to travel alone.
But when the groups come across a disaster which has their old enemy easily fitting the picture, their flight takes an abrupt crash-landing, leaving the six stranded in the middle of a woodland forest, absolutely crawling with wild chipmunks!
Join the Chipmunks and the Chipettes in their journey back to civilization, with jagged edges they need to smooth over among brothers, sisters, friends...lovers, perhaps?
Author's note:
I severely apologise for the delay, guys. I have recently been in the middle of moving houses and schools and I had to get all that new junk out of the way before I could continue.
I have a good way to end this story, oh yes I do. I will make sure that I make this chapter long and fulfilling, okay? Yes? Good, I shall do that.
Lol, hey, have any of you guys noticed how sexually explicit and disturbing my version of "Alvin and the Chipmunks 3" is compared to the original? Man, I have a cruel mind! But hey, who hasn't imagined kid movie character's hunching over and spluttering blood or bearing a child? If Bagdasarian Productions created a "G" rated "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4" and a "M-MA" rated one, I'd have lived by now. Oh yeah, baby, "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4" with lots of action, punch-ons and living in life-or-death circumstances. That's my cup of tea. (I'm not being cruel; I just love to be at the edge of my seat during an animated film.)
Anyways, here's that last chapter I owe you guys. Enjoy!
XXXX
Alvin and the Chipmunks 3
Livin' Life on the Wild Side
Chapter 33
XXXX
-On the Plane home-
Alvin watches intently as Brittany cradles their two newborns. He couldn't see her face under her mat of auburn hair, but he could feel her smile. The smallest had her chocolate brown eyes locked onto him, and his onto hers. It seemed as though she knew who saved her life.
Alvin reached over to her, using his knuckles to gently stroke the little chipette's cheek. She, in return, wrapped her tiny paws around his finger and pulled it into her mouth. Alvin laughed, as Brittany turned to him. The pink-clad chipette opened her mouth to speak, but then Vinny called to her from across the room. She was dabbing soaked cotton buds onto Soron's forehead. He was now awake, but rendered extremely weak from the blow to his head.
"You look like you've rolled around in something horrid, dear," she told her, gently, and Brittany looked up at her. "How about you go wash up?"
"Oh!" Brittany, finally realizing that she was covered in filth and blood and god knows whatever else, turned to Alvin. "Do you mind?" She asked, holding out the twins to him. "I'll only be a minute."
Alvin nodded and he took them into his arms, and Brittany leapt from her seat and headed toward the restroom. He chuckled, leaning toward Vinny as she left the room, "five that she won't come out until an hour later?"
Vinny cocked her head to the side, confused.
Simon, whom was sitting with Jeanette in the two seats in front of Alvin, rolled his eyes to his elder brother's remark.
Dave frowned over at Alvin. Claire smiled up at him, sighing happily. "Everyone's almost back to normal, now." She said, eyeing Dave to see his reaction. Dave looked down at her, "well Alvin and Brittany won't have time to act like themselves now with… with…"
Alvin knitted his brows together.
Claire sat up, placing a finger to Dave's lips. "No, don't worry about this now." She ordered. "I know things will have to change for Alvin and Brittany, but we all know they won't be alone the whole time, right?"
Alvin looked up at Claire as Dave nodded slowly. "Alright, then." He said finally, "I'll try to keep my cool."
Claire then turned to Alvin, who was smiling at her, and she smiled back at him, before going back to resting against Dave's side.
Alvin then turned to his father, "how are you then, um… Soron?" He asked him. Soron rocked himself upright, wincing a little as Alvin finished. The red-clad chipmunk was bouncing the twins on his knees now. "You were out for yonks."
Soron groaned, "Just peachy, son, just peachy."
Vinny gently pushed him back against his pillow, then looked over at Alvin. "Let's not exhaust him, Alvin," she told him. "He's been through enough today." Dabbing Soron's forehead again, her eyes then travelled towards everybody in the room. "In fact, we've all been through a lot today, so let us just relax."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Turning back to her mate, Vinny spoke calming, quiet foreign words to him.
Theodore, who was sitting in the far front with Eleanor, looked down at his counterpart with worried eyes. Eleanor sensed his eyes present on her and gazed up at him. "What's wrong, Teddy?" She asked him, squeezing his paw.
Theodore shook his head slowly. He was silent for a moment, hanging his head, before he looked back up at her. "Ellie, do you think there's a heaven?"
Eleanor nodded, staring into his green, bloodshot eyes. "Yes, of course." Her eyes then drifted to his wounds, his bruises, and the raw red paw marks around his neck. His fur was scarce and refused to grow there. Whoever strangled him must've had the strongest grip. Saddened, Eleanor reached up to stroke the sore on his head. The green-clad chipmunk winced as she did that, causing her paw to jerk away.
"Um…" Eleanor suddenly lost her place. "… Yes, there is a heaven. Why wouldn't you think so?"
Ignoring her question, Theodore asked, "Do you think Captain Harvey made the plane crash?" This startled Eleanor, because he looked and sounded so serious. Theodore asked again, "do you think he just… let go?"
Eleanor blinked, "no!" She replied, stuttering. "Why-why would you even think that, Theodore? I mean, of course he wouldn't-"
"There was evidence in the wreckage that proved it was not an accident." Sergeant Marvell spoke up suddenly, causing everyone to turn to him.
"What do you mean?" Dave asked, leaning forward.
Sergeant Marvell looked over at him, his face emotionless. "It was an attempt of murder. Who we suspect caused it was your ex-manager, Ian Hawke." Jeanette and Eleanor gasped as he continued.
"Well, the attempt of murder was a surprise," Alvin began, smirking a little. "But Ian trying to pull it off surely wasn't."
Theodore sat back into his seat, hanging his head. "I never knew Ian would stoop so low."
"I can." Brittany suddenly appeared heading up the walkway. Her fur was clean now, but her clothes were still tattered. Eleanor and Jeanette remained quiet as she turned to Alvin. He was looking back at her as well. The pink-clad chipette looked solemn. "Do you remember that night, the state-wide Battle of the Bands competition?"
Jeanette and Eleanor hung their heads and Brittany continued. "Yeah… we were offered an opening with Brittney Spears on that same night, but we refused." She then let out a slow, sad sigh. "So then, as angry as he was, he threatened to kill us right there," she had tears in her eyes now, "in his stupid model apartment he won us over with…"
Brittany placed the back of her paw against her damp eyes, trying not to cry. Alvin's ears flopped to the sides of his head as he watched her helplessly. He wished he could go and comfort her, but the twins were asleep in his arms.
Jeanette, saddened by her sister's cry, slipped off the edge of her seat and wrapped her arms around her. Eleanor was not far behind. Brittany held them both as close as she could, sobbing as she did so.
"Everything will be okay, Britt, just you wait." Jeanette stroked her sister's back.
"He will not get anywhere near us, or anyone, not ever." Eleanor added.
"Don't you worry about Ian anymore, girls." Claire told them gently. "He's going away for a very long time, isn't he?" She then turned to Sergeant Marvell, who nodded his head.
"Yeah, that's true." He assured.
Alvin, trying to distract himself from Brittany's tears, spoke up. "Finally!" He exclaimed. "I was wondering when he'd be put behind bars, the stubborn mule."
"Alvin, don't." Simon scolded, cutting Dave off.
Alvin exhaled, leaning back in his chair, cradling the twins. They were surprisingly quiet the entire trip so far. The red-clad chipmunk then turned to his counterpart, who was still being embraced by her sisters. He then leaned towards them, whispering, "Hey, save some hugs for me, will you?"
Brittany playfully rolled her eyes, laughing through her tears as she pulled away. The pink-clad chipette smiled at her sisters, "heheh… I better go to him now." Jeanette and Eleanor smiled back at her, nodding, before going back to their own counterparts.
Brittany wiped the tears from her eyes as she climbed to her seat next to Alvin, and he gave her a weak smile. He then shifted one of the twins to his left knee and used his right paw to caress Brittany's paw. The pink-clad chipette looked down at the entwined fingers, before returning her gaze up towards her counterpart. "You do realize that our lives are going to change, a lot, now that we have these two?"
She stroked the larger twin's tummy with her other paw as Alvin nodded. "Yeah, I do." he replied, watching her. "It'll be better though, won't it?"
As if she hadn't heard his question, Brittany looked back up at him, "you know I can't do this on my own, right?" She told him, her expression suddenly grave. "I mean, you can't always go out and act like an idiot like you do anymore."
The red-clad chipmunk was startled for a moment there. Of course he knew his responsibilities, but going around acting like an 'idiot', so she called it, is kind of… sort of… maybe a lot… in his nature. However, that's the most ridiculous excuse anyone could ever come up with. Brittany needs me more than ever now, and he does not plan to leave her in a state like this, no matter how boring or how annoying it could be.
"I know that," Alvin replied, his face weak. "I know that. I won't anymore."
Brittany frowned a little, unconvinced.
He felt a little offended, "I'm not going to act like an idiot. Really, I'm not." He insisted. "I'm not going to leave you alone in this, Brittany. How many times do you want me to say it?"
Brittany smirked, "well, maybe the reason as to why you're so hard to believe, Seville, is because quite really, you are so hard to believe."
Alvin playfully rolled his eyes at her, before turning towards the window side. The small, oval-shaped window was at least two to three chipmunks higher than him. The red-clad chipmunk knitted his eyebrows together. He wanted to see how far they had left to travel before they arrived in Los Angeles. Alvin's brown eyes then widened. He'd suddenly realized that he and his group had missed the Beverly Hills tour.
"Shit!"
"Alvin!" Dave's head snapped in Alvin's direction. "Language, if you please." Everyone had turned to the red-clad chipmunk by then.
Theodore poked his head through the gap between his and Eleanor's seats. "What's wrong, Alvin?" He asked, the puppy-dog, worried look plastered on his face.
Soron looked over at Vinny, "what does 'shit' mean?"
Vinny shrugged.
Alvin then turned to Brittany, "we missed the tour!" He exclaimed, panicked.
Brittany looked startled, "what?"
Theodore looked clueless, "ohhhh, we did too!" He said as he sat back with Eleanor.
Brittany was distraught, "Oh my god, I can't believe we missed Beverly Hills!" She cried. The pink-clad chipette acted as if a hole had been punched through her chest. "The shops, the sun, the beaches, the fans… they're all… gone…"
Simon rolled his eyes at the melodramatic chipette, as Jeanette turned to Dave. "Would we have to hand out refunds then, Dave?" She asked him.
Claire smiled at her, "when Dave found out that your plane went down, we'd immediately cancelled all concerts, so there's no money to give back. Everyone was very understanding."
"Oh."
Alvin, whom was still cradling the twins in each arm, tried to inch away from his counterpart. This action caused the two to wake and start to grizzle. The red-clad chipmunk then began to bounce them on his knees again, "shhhh, it's alright. Please go back to sleep." He sounded desperate. He knew he was going to get punished for this.
Brittany frowned over at Alvin, watching his failed attempts to calm the twins. "For that, you'll be putting them to bed tonight." Alvin glared at her, but before he could open his mouth and give her what for, Eleanor interrupted him.
"We're here!" She and Theodore were hanging off their window, with huge smiles on their faces. "We're home."
Vinny lifted Soron's head off of her lap and laid it gently against the back of the seat, before reaching for her window side. The look in her eyes as they travelled from one hulking skyscraper to the other was a mixture of anxiety and wonder. "Wow…" Was almost all she could make out. "It's um… it's big…"
Dave nodded to her, "it is." He agreed, as she turned to him. "It luckily we live in the quieter suburban part of the city."
"Oh," Vinny spoke quietly. "Well, that's… that's a relief, then."
"Don't worry, mom," Simon reassured his mother. "You'll fit right in in the civilized world."
Vinny looked over at the bespectacled chipmunk. "We were civil," she sounded offended, the way the inner end of her brows slanted upward as she spoke. Simon pursed his lips, looking away slightly as she continued. "We just didn't have all this… this… concrete… and machines as big as the trees we lived in."
Soron could sense that his mate was growing angry, and he placed his paw on hers to try and calm her. "Vinny, it's okay-" But she jerked her paw back, as she glared at all the city-slickers in this plane.
She then began to stare Dave and Claire down. Sergeant Marvell scooted away from the two.
"I blame you for all this." She hissed glaring at Dave.
Dave looked startled, "what? Why me?"
"Mom, Dave did nothing-" Alvin tried to say.
The wild chipmunk then jabbed a finger into Dave's stomach. "You are the one who brainwashed my boys, and forced them to become… the selfish humans you are!"
"Mom, don't-"
"Me?" Dave pushed Vinny's paw away from him. Claire flinched away from his shoulder as he continued. "What about you? You were the one who left them for your little commune thing when they needed you most!"
"Dave-"
Vinny scoffed. Now she was really offended. "How dare you!" The two were in each other's face now. But before the argument could turn ugly, Alvin shouted out at the top of his lungs.
"HEY!"
Dave and Vinny whipped their heads towards the red-clad chipmunk, as did the others. Alvin was glaring at the two. "How can you tell me to stop being so immature when you're acting immature yourselves?" He was looking straight at Dave. "I mean my god! The only two people who have the right to argue right now are Brittany and I. You're supposed to be strong for us, not this. Not this. Now when we get off this plane we'll have much more to worry about than whose the better parent or not, so stop acting like a great big bunch of two year olds!"
The red-clad chipmunk then took a deep breath and let it out. By that time everyone was silent, and Dave and Vinny had sat back in their seats.
Alvin nodded, "now that we've got that cleared up… thank you."
"Meow," Brittany was disturbed but impressed. "Want some egg with that ham?" Alvin smiled over at her and she laughed. "Where'd that come from?"
Alvin chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "You don't want to know."
"Attention, passengers." Began the voice-over, "We'll be landing in the Los Angeles terminal in less than five minutes, so buckle up and prepare for landing."
Vinny gripped her seat, "oh god, it was worse enough taking off in this thing. I can't imagine how bad it would be landing in it."
"You'll get used to it, mom." Theodore attempted to reassure her, only to get a nudge in the ribs by Eleanor.
Vinny swallowed her tongue. Soron reached over and caressed her paw, smiling over at her. Vinny looked up at him, gazing into his eyes. She nodded, before turning to face the seat ahead of her.
XXXX
The lights of the Staples Centre were misty as the night sky began to spit. The soft rain pitter-pattered on the glittery stage and then descended to the pavement in streaks. The stands were packed with some thousands, standing quietly for tonight's entertainment to appear.
Then, movement was discovered just behind stage, and Brittany stepped out from behind the darkness, clad in a flowing, ankle-length pink mullet-dress, and her auburn hair let down and dancing in the breeze. She was singing a soft tune as she moved slowly toward centre-stage:
I came to win, to fight,
to conquer, to thrive.
-The scene changes to the chipmunks and the chipettes moving quickly from the plane, with Alvin and Brittany frantically covering the twins as four bouncers rushed to clear away the paparazzi.-
-The scene changes back to Brittany standing centre-stage, singing again.-
I came to win, to survive,
to prosper, to rise.
The cheers began to slip from the audience as Jeanette and Eleanor appeared from behind, clad in the same outfit, to support their sister in the chorus:
To fly…
The sections of stage underneath them began to rise slowly as they continued. The rain begins to strengthen as it courses through their fur.
To fly…
-The scene changes back to Dave and Claire on either end of the chipmunks and the chipettes, urging them to hurry on. Reporters and camera-men were reaching desperately for them, shouting such things such as, "How did you manage to find them?" and "Where were they hidden?" and "Will you think Ian Hawke will be pleaded guilty for attempt of murder?"-
-The scene changes back to the first ever concert since the terrifying, yet life-changing ordeal-
Suddenly Alvin appears from underneath the stage in a cloud of mist, clutching the brim of his cap. The red-clad chipmunk then began to rap his measure of the song:
I wish today it could rain all day,
maybe that will kinda make the pain go away,
trying to forgive you for abandoning me,
Praying but I think I'm still an angel away
-The scene was in slow-motion now as Alvin and Brittany huddled close together, their eyes fretful, continuing to conceal the twins from the flashing lights and deafening shouts and screams. They begin to enter the terminal.-
Angel away, yeah strange in a way,
Maybe that is why I chase strangers away,
They got their guns out aiming at me,
But I become Neo when they're aiming at me,
Simon and Theodore are beck-stage with Vinny and Soron as Alvin continues his verse. The couple were earlier asked to join the chipmunks and the chipettes in their performance, but were apprehensive.
Vinny fidgets with her bracelet as Simon tries to reassure her and her mate, "it's just like the concerts back in the forest, but just more expensive."
Theodore nodded in agreement, "When I get scared during a performance, I try and imagine everyone being even scareder than me, or I just stick out my tongue. But whatever works best with you."
Vinny glanced over at Soron, whom was already looking back at her. His eyes were fearful. Vinny turned and scanned the atmosphere around her; nothing here looked organic, or even familiar to her. It made her uncomfortable.
The wild chipmunk sided away from a black cord lying on the floorboard, and she held her breath. She didn't look at her sons, "I'm not sure if I can do it," she choked. Soron wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, guys," Dave, who was busy making sure Alvin didn't try and steal the spotlight, turned to them. "It's about time you jumped in. You know what to do."
Simon nodded to him, before turning back to Vinny and Soron. He put a paw on his mother's other shoulder. "Everything will be fine, mom." He told her gently, before hurrying into the shadows between the light of the stage and the dimness of backstage. Theodore gave Vinny and Soron a hug before following his brother, leaving the wild chipmunks to contemplate.
Back on stage, Alvin had made an effort to share the stage, even as the column elevating the chipettes lowered and the trio were dancing beside him. The red-clad chipmunk began to finish his verse.
They start coming and I start rising
Must be surprising, I'm just amazing
I win, thrive, soar, higher, higher, higher
More fire!
Jeanette and Eleanor ducked back into the darkness, Brittany and Alvin alone centre stage to begin the chorus again, together:
I came to win, to fight,
to conquer, to thrive
Alvin turned to his counterpart, whose fur was elegantly streaked with water droplets, and she turned back to him. The couple smiled at each other as they continued:
I came to win, to survive,
to prosper, to rise
Simon and Theodore grasped their counterpart's paws as they hurried back onto stage behind Alvin and Brittany. The three couples then lined up perfectly centre stage and sung, together:
To fly…
To fly…
The audience were screaming in excitement as the soft beat evolved to a strong bass, and the chipettes broke away and scattered to either sides of the stage.
The chipmunks concealed their faces from the audience with their caps, as a voice strung with techno echoed through the stadium:
Work it, make it, do it,
Makes us Harder, better, faster, stronger
Make it harder, make it better,
Do it faster, makes us stronger
More than ever ever after our work is
Work it, make it, do it,
Makes us Harder, better, faster, stronger
The beat stopped for a moment, as Alvin broke into a pose, before slowly raising his head and the brim of his cap. He then began to sing angrily:
N-n-now that that don't kill me,
Can only make me stronger,
I need you to hurry up now,
'Cos I can't wait much longer
Simon and Theodore then followed their brother, joining him in the next verse:
I know I got to be right now
'Cos I can't get much wronger
Man I've been waitin' all night now
That's how long I've been on ya
The heated beat returned, and the chipmunkstossed their caps into the crowd and began to dance. The audience were jumping up and down now, screaming at the top of their lungs.
Make it harder, make it better,
Do it faster, makes us stronger
More than ever ever after our work is
-The scene changes back to the chipmunks and chipettes rushing into a police car and turning away from the terminal, finally leaving the paparazzi in the dust-
Work it, make it, do it,
Makes us Harder, better, faster, stronger
The chipettes then reappeared, joining in once again:
Everybody wanna try to box me in
(work it harder, make it better)
Suffocating every time it locks me in
(do it faster, makes us stronger)
Painting their own pictures then they crop me in
(more than ever after our work is)
But I will remain where the top begins
(Work it, make it, do it,
Makes us Harder, better, faster, stronger)
The Chipettes:
'Cos I am not a word, I am not a line
(work it harder, make it better)
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
(do it faster, makes us stronger)
I am not fly, I am levitation
(more than ever after our work is)
I represent an entire generation
~Meanwhile, back-stage~
Soron peaks through the curtains to catch a glimpse of the screaming audience, and he is taken aback by the amount. The wild chipmunk flinches, letting go of the curtain and begins to pant. He then held his breath, and tries to calm himself down.
Vinny was pacing frantically back and forth when Soron turned to her, and he approached her.
Vinny stopped abruptly in front of him, looking up. "I'm really not sure if I can do this, Soron." She was breathing heavily, her eyes filled with fear.
Soron looked worried, "the kid's performance?" He tried to ask, but then Vinny cut him off.
"No," She cried, going back to pacing again. "Living here with them… in the city, Soron, I can't do it." The wild chipmunk then turned to her mate. "The forest is where they belong. That's where our kind belongs. That's where I belong! Why can't they see that?"
Soron looks at Vinny, shaking his head. "But Vin, they've created a life here." Vinny scoffs unhappily, wiping a tear from her eye as Soron continues. "They're not little kids anymore; they're able to look after themselves. Plus, they have David."
The wild chipmunk then reached for Vinny's face and wiped another stray tear from her eye. "Hey… just think of it this way; they survived the wildest place on earth, and they've turned into the most talented, most independent chipmunks that can ever be."
Vinny looked up at her mate solemnly, "I feel like the most horrible mother in the world…"
Soron then pulls her into his arms, "they need us tonight, Vinny." He told her gently, "and the least we can do is answer to that need, okay?"
Vinny pulled away slowly, nodding to him.
~Back on-stage~
The chipettes were finishing their verse, when Alvin turned to Simon.
"Hey, where's Vinny and Soron?" The red-clad asked, but Simon just shook his head. Alvin let out a sigh.
But when you go hard your nay's become yay's
Yankee Stadium with Jay's and Kanye's
Just then, two other chipmunks appeared onto stage, causing the chipmunks and the chipettes to pause and turn to them. Their eyes were wide, as Vinny and Soron began singing together:
I came to win, to fight,
(work it harder, make it better)
to conquer, to thrive
(do it faster, makes us stronger)
The audience were cheering deafeningly; they were loving it. The two wild chipmunks were dancing fearlessly on stage, like nothing was wrong. Impressed, the others joined in:
I came to win, to survive,
(more than ever after our work is)
-The scene changes to the Seville residence, and everyone looked happy. They were crowded around the twins as Alvin and Brittany cradled them. It was the first time everybody had smiled-
to prosper, to rise
(Makes us Harder, better, faster, stronger)
The bass heightened and the vocals grew stronger. It was the finale.
N-n-now that that don't kill me
(work it harder, make it better)
Can only make me stronger
(do it faster, makes us stronger)
I need you to hurry up now
(more than ever after our work is)
'Cos I can't wait much longer
I know I got to be right now
(work it harder, make it better)
'Cos I can't get much wronger
(do it faster, makes us stronger)
Man I've been waitin' all night now
(more than ever after our work is)
That's how long I've been on ya!
A trap-door in the ceiling flung open, and a shower of glitter came raining down on them. The audience erupted into applause as the group began to cheer for themselves, before disappearing beck-stage. Simon and Theodore embraced their parents, as Alvin approached his counterpart and gave her a spin.
"Oh my god," Jeanette exclaimed excitedly. "That was so much fun!"
Eleanor nodded in agreement, trying to catch her breath. She gave her Jeanette a tight hug, before grabbing Brittany away from Alvin and pulling her in as well. The three sisters giggled in delight.
Alvin chuckled as he watched them, before turning to Simon and Theodore, who were busy chatting to Vinny and Soron. His smile faded a little, and then Dave and Claire appeared around the corner.
They had the dorkiest smiles on their face. "That was HUGE, guys." Dave cried happily. "HUGE! Great job, everybody." He then turned to Vinny and Soron, who turned to him. "And a wonderful job you two, as well."
Vinny and Soron couldn't help but smile.
XXXX
~That night, at the Seville residence~
It was just past one o'clock in the morning and the entire house was silent; all you could hear was the calm chirping of crickets outside. It had stopped raining, but the pavement was still damp, and that broken streetlight further down continued its tired flickering.
Vinny quietly nudged the chipmunk's bedroom door open and, like a cat's walk, stepped soundlessly inside. The hallway gave her enough light to be able to make out whose bunk was which, and she decided to start off with Theodore's.
Soron peered inside as Vinny leapt atop of the lowest bunk and disappeared into the shadows.
Vinny leant down beside the tiny, sleeping body and, using her paw, reached down and stroked her youngest son's forehead. Theodore screwed up his nose as she did that, and the wild chipmunk jerked her paw back. She feared that he would wake up and question her, but he just murmured under his breath and fall back to sleep again.
She smiled weakly at him, before leaning over and kissing his soft cheek. "I love you, Teddy."
She then quickly made her way up to Simon's bunk as Soron watched.
Alvin's eyes flickered open, and he rubbed them tiredly. He turned to Brittany, whom was sound asleep beside him, cuddled up against his chest. He smiled down at her, and suddenly his ears twitched and he looked up. He could hear someone was awake.
Was it the twins?
Trying to not to wake his counterpart, Alvin began to sit up, gently moving Brittany's body off of his and laying her down. The pink-clad chipette mumbled as he did so, but did not wake up. Alvin then crawled to the edge of the bunk and peered into the make-shift hammock made of scarves attached to the chipettes bunk and his. At a time as late as this, he really hoped that is wasn't the twins.
But they were as silent as stars, cuddled up to each other. The red-clad chipmunk breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked down to find Soron standing at Theodore's bunk, and he ducked down out of sight.
He heard smooching noises, and Vinny's soft voice saying, "I love you."
What are they up to? He thought… but then he realised.
Knitting his brows together, Alvin peered over the edge of the bunk again. "Leaving again, are we?" Soron flinched, jerking his head up to find his eldest son frowning down at him.
"Alvin…"
Vinny's head appeared moments later, her expression fretful. "Honey, you're awake."
Alvin shrugged, emotionless. "I suppose."
"Please don't wake your brothers," Vinny told him gently, as she leapt to the ground again. "I don't want them to worry."
"Yeah," Alvin replied, his voice was sour. "'Cos waking up to find that your parents have abandoned you on not just one account, but on two, isn't going to be worrying enough."
"This is the way it has to be, Alvin." Soron said, trying to reason with him.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, son." Soron replied firmly.
"Hmph." Alvin just stared down at them, like they had grossly disappointed him. Vinny turned to her mate, her eyes were stinging with tears. They began to make their way out of the room. Alvin glared at them as they left, and as quickly and quietly as he could, leapt from the bunk and followed them out.
They were halfway down the hallway when he stepped out.
"So you're just going to leave Simon and Theodore like that, again?" He was angry now.
Soron and Vinny stopped in their tracks, and then turned to him. They didn't say anything, and everything was silent between them for a moment.
Alvin shook his head, disappointed. "This is not fair, and this is not right…"
Finally Vinny spoke up, "I know it isn't," she managed. "But this is how we can show you that we love you…"
"By leaving?" Alvin snapped.
"Yes!" Vinny choked. "We saw you out there on stage last night, we saw what you do… you and your brothers managed to do what we or any of our tribe would ever be able to do, and you did it on your own… you don't need us, holding you down with the burden of leading our tribe."
Vinny then approached her eldest son, reaching for him. Alvin shook her paw off his shoulder, looking away from her. She then reached for his face, gently pulling his head towards her. Alvin finally looked up at her.
"This is as hard for us as it is for you, Alvin." Vinny whispered to him, a tear running down her cheek. "But please remember, that we will always love you and your brothers."
Alvin looked down at her, his hard stare finally becoming weaker. Vinny pulled her son into a hug, "We always have an always will…" She was sobbing now, and to her surprise, Alvin hugged her back. They held each other for a minute, before finally pulling away.
Soron approached them, pulling Alvin into another hug. The wild chipmunk patted his son's back, "you keep your brothers safe for us, okay?" Alvin nodded. Tears were stinging his eyes now.
Vinny tried smiling for him as he and Soron pulled away. "And look after Brittany and the twins. We know you can."
Alvin stood back, wiping his eyes and nodding again.
Soron smiled to his son, "See you 'round."
The red clad chipmunk watched as the two headed to the window at the end of the hallway. They propped the window open, waved back to him, and just like that… they were gone, just two old coots slipping out of his life once again.
For a moment Alvin's smile faded, but then he realised that this was all for the best.
XXXX
And here we are, at the end of their journey… I rather enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you all liked reading it. I hope yous all come back to read all my other upcoming stories!
Thank you.
Hannah.