Chapter 20- Day of the Deciding Factor

Thursday

July 19th, 1990, 7:02am

DJ awaken from his most peaceful nap in days. The nights before he had trouble sleeping, mostly because he feared he wasn't going to wake up. But this time, he slept quite soundly. He wondered why for a moment until he shifted his vision to the red bed beside him. There laid not only his dad, but mom as well. He wasn't sure why, but Brittany suddenly decided to sleepover last night, and she insisted that Alvin to sleep next to her.

He stood up and looked down upon his slumbering parents. They looked so peaceful. Brittany had her head on Alvin's chest, as he wrapped an arm around her torso. Their love started to radiate onto DJ, who was beginning to feel a bit teary eye. All this time, DJ thought was trying to save himself, but he now realized he was also saving his parents. For better or for worse, they were made for each other. Even though their future didn't turn out great, their relationship kept them going. It's a magical thing when enemies turn to friends, family, and so much more. The maroon chipmunk even felt proud that he was a product of such love. He took out his photo from the future, him and his family were nearly back to normal. "Alright DJ," he began to say to himself, "today's the day. No more messing around. You have one goal, get your parents together". He was so close, and he didn't care about anything else. He only had 2 more days until lightning strikes the clocktower and use it to return to the year 2020. If he doesn't succeed, he won't have a future to return to. He watched his parents sleep for a little bit until a surprise occurred.

"Assistant Theodore reporting for duty, Captain Thanos!" his shorter uncle saluted loudly. DJ let out a yelp as he tripped over his own feet, falling to the floor with a loud thud.

All this noise caused Alvin and Brittany to shoot up awake shrieking. This caused Theodore to start shrieking too, both because of the other two chipmunk's shrieking and Brittney's sudden appearance startling him. Simon shot awake as well, he grabbed his glasses so he could see what the commotion was. He started to shriek too once he saw Alvin and Brittany cling to each other in the same bed. At the current moment, the bespectacled chipmunk was interpreting the sight in the worst ways.

Dave then came bursting in as he flicked the light switch on. "What the hell is going on here!..." he paused for a moment when he saw Alvin and Brittany lying in the same bed, "AAAALVIIINNN!"

"DAVE!" Alvin cried as he let go of Brittany, "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Simon scream angrily, "WE WERE ALL SLEEPING BESIDE YOU!"

"NOT TO MENTION THAT YOUR BOTH 15!" Dave added.

"WE DIDN'T DO IT! WE SWEAR!" Brittany exclaimed.

"THE BOTH OF YOU ARE DISGUSTING!" Simon roared.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Theodore whaled as he began to cry, still having an innocent mind.

"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!" Dave scolded.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" DJ yelled with all his might. The screamfest finally stopped as everyone immediately went quiet. "Thank you" DJ sighed frustratedly, "I was awake when Brittany came in, all they did was lie together."

Alvin and Brittany then let out a sigh of relief, glad to have their names cleared.

"Then what are you doing here, Brittany?" Dave asked.

All the pink chipette did was pout before she took her pillow covered her face.

Dave was going to ask again when the phone started to ring. He let out another sigh as he walked over to pick it up, "Hello?"

"David!" a southern voice cried, it was Ms. Miller, "Have you seen Brittany, she's not here!"

"Don't worry, Ms. Miller" Dave answered, "Brittany's here, she was sleeping with Alvin."

"She WHAT?!" the old woman shouted.

Alvin then ran over and snatched the phone out of Dave's hand, "We didn't do anything!"

Dave then snatched the phone back, feeling quite annoyed, "Alvin's telling the truth, we have DJ as witness."

"Oh thank heaven" Ms. Miller said, feeling very relieved, "May I speak to Brittany, I need to talk to her."

"Brittney, Ms. Miller wants to talk to you," Dave announced to everyone else.

"I'm not talking to her!" Brittany spat, crossing her arms. This caused everyone to gasp.

"Brittany" Dave pestered, "You have to talk with Ms. Miller!"

"Tell her to get lost!" Brittany snapped as she stood up and stomped out of the room. Alvin quickly followed after. Everybody was left in shock.

"David" Ms. Miller spoke again,"What happened?"

Dave somberly talked into the phone, "Sorry, Brittany doesn't want to talk to you. Did something happen after you saw you last night?"

Ms. Miller was silent for a moment, "David, I'm coming over."

"Okay, Ms. Miller" Dave responded. The old woman then hung up. The man then covered his face and groaned, "God, why does this have to happen today?"

"What's happening today?" Simon asked.

"Remember the new song I've written yesterday" Dave explained, "Well today we're supposed to go over to Jett Records and record it for Ian."

DJ was getting quite confused, as what Dave was saying didn't align with the timeline. "Wait a minute," DJ interjected, "You finished the song?"

Dave looked at the maroon chipmunk strangely, "Well not technically. The lyrics and composition are done, but it still needs to be performed. Why you ask?"

DJ sweated a bit, "Oh just wondering."

"Okay?" Dave responded, "Alright boys, get ready for the day. I'll deal with Brittany."

"Yes, Dave" the three boys answered.

After Dave left the room, Theodore began to speak. "Thanos, did I mess up the timeline?" he asked, feeling worried. He felt responsible as he was the one who initially started the commotion.

Simon looked up quite shocked for a moment, thinking for a moment that Theodore knew the truth. DJ saw this and quickly responded, "Oh don't worry um… little chipmunk, you haven't done anything. My species can sense the timeline, and it feels pretty stable." DJ gave a wink to Simon, and luckily the tall teen understood what was going on.

"Ah Thanos, I see Theodore now knows the truth," Simon played along.

"Ellie knows about it, too!" Theodore enthusiastically exclaimed.

Simon wasn't pleased to hear that the small chipmunks were now involved with the situation, but he guessed as long as they believed DJ was an alien, everything should be fine. "Wonderful" the blue chipmunk lied, "At least now it has become a bit easier to fix the timeline."

"So Mr. Thanos," Theodore began to ask, "What should we do now?"

"Uhh…" DJ thought for a moment, "Theodore, go…. Make breakfast. Even an alien like me needs morning nutrition."

"Aye, aye sir" Theodore saluted before making his leave.

DJ then let out a sigh, "Jeez, I'm glad this will all be over in a couple of days." He looked over to his taller uncle, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Simon?" DJ waved in confusion, "Simon?"

Simon quickly came back into focus, "Wha… what?"

"Is everything alright?" DJ asked, feeling concerned.

"Oh um… yeah" Simon stammered, "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to work on the time machine. It needs to be ready for Saturday night to send you to the…. Future." He let out a sigh as he left the room as well.

"What's gotten into him?" DJ wondered. He then remembered what happened last night, "Oh right…. The future…" His uncle had started to suspect that he was going to die in 30 years. DJ was conflicted, as Simon refused to learn what will happen. "I'll to stop his death, one way or another," DJ concluded. For now, he kept his mind on his parents.

Meanwhile, Alvin was frantically running around the house to find the pink chipette. "Brittany!" he called out, "Brittany!" He decided to look in the backyard. He looked around, but the auburn haired girl was nowhere insight. His eyes then fell upon the tree house. He noticed that the rope ladder has been pulled up. Only one person could have possibly done that. He approached the tree, "Brittany, I know you're up there!" There was no response. Alvin couldn't head up there without Brittany allowing for the ladder to be dropped. He let out a sigh, "I promise I won't tell anyone you're here. It will just be you and me."

"You promise?" peeped a voice from the treehouse.

"I promise" Alvin proclaimed. And just like that, the rope ladder dropped down. The red capped teen smiled softly as he climbed up to the treehouse. Once inside, he saw Brittany brooding in the corner. The place was a little dusty, nobody had really went up here in years. So it was surprising to Alvin that Brittany would be willing to sit in a dirty place just so no one could find her. He pulled the rope ladder back up and then sat himself down next to her, and not a word was spoken for a couple of minutes. All the while they didn't look at each other, just staring that the dirty corner. After the silence got a bit too awkward, Alvin decided to speak up, "So… why don't you want to talk to Ms. Miller?"

Brittany then let out a grunt, "It's because she doesn't care about me as much as my sisters."

Alvin cringed, she was really in a bad mood. Admittedly, he wasn't the best with talking about emotions. It was because he was he was scared to be vulnerable. That's why only recently he had talked his differences with Dave. Regardless, he cared for Brittany, so he tried his best. "What makes you think that?" he begrudgingly asked.

Brittney put on a sour expression, "Last night she said I was being selfish for wanting the Chipettes to stay together. If anyone's being selfish, it's Jeanette and Eleanor. They get whatever they want at the expense of my own happiness."

Alvin was having a hard time thinking what to say next. "But Brittany," Alvin decided to argue, "Don't your sisters deserve to pursue any career they want?"

Brittany then became angrier, "They career that WE wanted to pursue was music! That's our thing, it's what defines our relationship. Why do they suddenly want to abandon it?!"

She started to tear up again. Alvin was completely tongue tied. He cursed himself for not being much help to one he deeply cares about. All he could do was pull Brittany into a hug. She wept some more while Alvin rubbed her back as comfort. The rubbing did manage to calm the chipette down a bit.

Just then, both of their families arrived at the backyard and stared up at the treehouse. All the teens looked worried while the adults seemed pretty stern. "Brittany" Ms. Miller called, "Are you up there?"

Alvin heard the old woman and turned to the pink chipette. "Brittany" he began to whisper, "We can't hide here forever."

Brittany simply moaned, digging herself deeper into Alvin.

The red teen took it that she understood but didn't like it. "Yes, we're both up here" Alvin called back.

"Well can you please come down?" Dave asked, "We have to leave in an hour, so we should really wrap this drama up."

Alvin looked down at his companion, "Well Brittany." She didn't respond, staying completely still. He let out a sigh, "She's not budging."

Just then, Jeanette stepped up, "Brittany, Dave's right. We're not going to get if you just hide from us."

"Go away!" Brittany cried out. This put a frown on her taller sister's face. Eleanor went over to comfort her.

This was when Simon decided to speak up, "Um Dave… maybe we should just leave Brittany behind. Maybe Alvin could even look after her."

Dave shook his head, "First off, Ian won't even see us unless both Alvin and Brittany are there. Second, it's hard to explain but it's imperative that they both perform the song."

"Oh…" Simon sighed.

"Brittany" Theodore decided to have his go, "Dave worked really hard to make this new song. It would be really nice if you would come down and perform it."

At this point, Brittany was getting annoyed with everyone pestering her. "Fine!" she cried out fiercely, "Just stop bothering me!" She then kicked down the rope ladder and climbed down while still acting fowl. Alvin awkwardly followed behind.

Once the both of them were back down, the Millers stared at each other. Ms. Miller and the two other Chipettes looked at Brittany with a worried expression. Brittany stuck up her nose at them and walked over to Alvin, grabbing onto his arm. "Come on, Alvin" she said sternly, "Let's get some breakfast." He cringed as he looked at the others. They all seemed concerned. He decided to comply, and he started to escort Brittany to the dining room.

The others followed behind. The only person that didn't feel completely bad was DJ. He saw how much his mom trusted his dad, and he knew he needed to use that to his advantage.

During Breakfast, Theodore brought in the meal which DJ ordered him to make. He made omelettes, and just enough for everyone (because he made himself some extra). No one said a thing, instead they all looked at Brittany as she clung onto Alvin. The red chipmunk would've been in cloud 9 if there wasn't any tension at the table. Jeanette was sitting next to Simon, and decided to talk to him about something. "Simon, do you think I'm a bad sister?" she asked somberly.

Simon nearly choked on his food when he heard this, "What? No! Brittany is just overreacting as usual."

"I don't know" Jeanette denied, "She isn't usually this silent. I think I really hurt her feelings."

"You, hurt anyone's feelings?" Simon chuckled as he shook his head, "You're the one of the kindest people I know. The only other person I can think of that's nicer than you is Theodore, and he's a little too nice for his own good."

This caused Jeanette to blush madly while smiling, "You're kinder than I'll ever be. I'm looking forward for tonight." She then placed her hand on his while looking at him warmly.

Simon started to blush as well, remembering that he had finally asked her out last night. "But what about the future?" he thought. How was he going to have a good first date if he's thinking about his own mortality the whole time? For now, he decided to just ignore it, as it was becoming too difficult to think about.

After Breakfast, Brittany continued to ignore everyone. Except for Alvin, whom she continued to latch onto, as if she let go, she would fall. It was pretty awkward for everyone. Dave brought out the van from the garage and got onto the road. While the Garage entrance was open, Jeanette looked onward to the mysterious machine that Simon's been working on for nearly a week. She still wish to know what it was, but she stopped trying to bother Simon about it. Other than her, no one else was suspicious of the contraption anymore as Theodore and Eleanor believed it was a spaceship, the adults felt like it was none of their business, and Alvin and Brittany couldn't care less.

Everyone except Ms. Miller entered the car as she had errands to do. "Bye y'all" she waved. She looked at Brittany, who just so happened to be positioned by the window. "Goodbye Brittany" she sighed. Brittany just turned away, making the old woman sadder.

Dave drove off into the city, and of course, the silence prevailed. Even though Brittany was the only one that didn't want to talk, her negativity completely infested the car. Eventually, Alvin couldn't take it anymore and decided to talk to DJ, who was sitting right next to him. "Dude, what should I do?" he whispered, "She only listens to me, and I don't know what to say?"

DJ looked over to his mother, who was still clinging onto Alvin's arm. To be honest, he didn't have a problem with the situation, as he was mainly focused on how much Brittany stuck to Alvin like glue. "Look man, she'll eventually let go," he explained, "So instead of focusing on fixing things, just cheer her up. I'm telling you, if you can prove to be a shoulder to cry on, she'll be all over you."

"Hey" Alvin began to light up, "You're right!" He then paused, "But are you sure I shouldn't try to talk to her seriously?"

"Alvin, sometimes you just need someone to clear your mind" DJ explained, "And that's what you're going to do for Brittany."

"Okay, if you say so," Alvin shrugged.

Moments later they all finally reached Jett Records. But there was a curious sight: there was a large crowd of people surrounding two stands which were placed by the building. "What the heck?" Dave said under his breath as everyone exited the vehicle. He decided to get a good look at what the stands were selling. To his surprise, they were selling merchandise of his bands. But of the each of the band's merchandise seemed to have targeted the other. There were t-shirts that read the likes of 'Chipmunks are just the inferior Chipettes' or 'Alvin Rules, Brittany Drools'. There were also posters depicting one band as holy and the other as sinful or tashy. They were even selling red caps that looked identical to Alvin's. One fan even shoved a cap onto Theodore's head. Dave was quite red in the face. "What is this!" he cried.

The teens were so happy either. They thought their fans stopped fueding after Crystal Clear, but it seemed that it was still happening.

Suddenly, one of the fans spotted them. His face lit up, "They're here!" They then completely surrounded the group. It was quite frightening, as none of the people knew any personal space. They were jabbering about at the same time and none of it was intelligible.

Brittany tried to keep her hold of Alvin, but suddenly the red chipmunk was picked up by a buff man. "ALVIN IS A GOD AMONGST MEN!" he shouted. All of the Chipmunks fans cheered, while the Chipette fans booed harshly. Poor Alvin was completely dazed.

But it got even worse when a rather tall woman picked up the pink chipette. "BRITTANY IS THE QUEEN B!" she shouted (remember this was before Beyonce). The Chipettes fans jumped around. The Chipmunk fans got even angrier.

"THE CHIPMUNKS ARE BETTER!" a fully grown woman shouted.

"CHIPMUNKS, MORE LIKE CHIPCHUMPS!" yelled another adult man.

"LET ME GO!" cried Brittany, who desperately wanted to be put down from the crazy crowd. She wiggled herself out of their grasp and rushed over to the others.

Alvin saw this and tried to copy, but the buff man had a strong hold on him. See how he couldn't physically escape, he decided to use his mischievous brain. "Hey big guy" Alvin began to talk to his captor, "If you put me down, I'll give you an autograph."

"ALRIGHT!" the buff man cheered. He placed his idol onto the ground ripped off his shirt, revealing a big tattoo of Alvin on his chest. "Sign here, my savior!" he then pointed at his ribs. Alvin cringed as he took out his sharpie and signed his name right on his fan's skin in big bold letters. "YEAH!" the man howled. Alvin didn't dare to stick around, so he ran to catch up with the others.

The group managed to escape the crowd by entering the building, but they were still overwhelmed. "I appreciate our fans dedication but they nearly killed us!" Simon remarked, glasses a little crooked.

"Those Chipmunk fans pulled my pigtails" Eleanor added as she felt her head.

Everyone was pretty upset, but no one was angrier than Dave. "Oh I'm going to have a word with our producer" he grunted. He marched over to the front desk.

"Oh welcome back, Mr. Seville" the desk woman greeted.

"Where's Ian?" Dave demanded.

The woman was taken aback by Dave's tone. "Y...you mean Mr. Hawke?" she stammered, "He's in his office."

She was going to say more, when Dave cried out, "Come on kids, we're going to see your uncle!" The teens were wary, but listened anyway.

Dave and the children were about to enter the elevator when the woman said, "Um Mr. Seville, Mr. Hawke is on his break." But her words were in vain, as the elevator closed with the group inside.

The elevator went all the way up to the top floor. Dave was quick to exit as the chipmunks tried to keep up. He walked right up to Ian's secretary, who was a man in his mid twenties. His hair and suit was a mess and he had his feet kicked up on his desk. He was currently mashing away on his gameboy. Dave slammed his fist on the desk. "I demand that I see Ian right now!" he proclaimed.

Surprisingly, the secretary was unfazed, as he was still distracted by his gameboy. "Sorry man, I don't know any Ians" he mumbled.

Dave was baffled, "Aren't you his secretary!"

"Nah" the 20 something answered, "I'm Mr. Hawke's secretary."

The manager simply faced palm. He looked down at the incompetent young man and assumed he wouldn't stop. So without knocking, he stormed right into the office. Ian was currently doing some aerobics, mimicking the people displayed on a large screen. He was even wearing a yellow aerobics get up. When Dave came bursting in, he was quite startled. "Jesus, Dave" Ian stammered.

"Ian, you promised to stop trying to pin my kids against each other!" Dave exclaimed. He got right into the producers face.

"Whoa" Ian acted natural, "What are you talking about, I didn't break any promises."

"Then explain the stands outside!" Dave demanded. The teen looked onward by the corner. Once again, Dave was mad at Ian, which made some of them upset.

"What stands?" Ian asked. Dave then pulled Ian's arm and took him to the window. He then pointed down to the large crowd outside. "Oh Dave" Ian shook his head, "I had nothing to do with those stands."

"Oh, who else could possibly set them up?!" Dave argued.

"It wasn't me Dave" Ian remarked, "I swear. Maybe someone outside the company had illegally put them there."

The teens were now looking out the window. They glanced down to the people selling the merch, and it was a familiar hostess and her goons. "Hey" Theodore pointed, "Isn't that Crystal Cameron?"

"Of course" Ian shook his head, "Seems like she desperate to get the ratings she got last Sunday."

Dave started to feel guilty, it seemed to him that Ian was innocent all along. "I'm sorry Ian" Dave apologized, "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Water under the bridge" Ian smirked, "I never hold a grudge." He then gave DJ another menacing glare.

"Well Thank you" Dave sighed with relief, "Let's forget the awkward greeting and get right to work! I brought the instrumental and lyrics." The manager then pulled out six copies of paper and a shiny silver cassette tape.

"Ooo" Alvin gocked, "That's one fancy looking tape."

"I know" Dave chuckled, "I thought the song was special enough to be recorded on it."

Ian started to laugh nervously. He didn't want to record a brand new song, but he didn't know how to say no without losing Dave's trust. "Oh I'm sure it's special" Ian lied. "Oh man!" he pretended to act disappointed, "Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but the sound guy is still sick. And I don't know when he'll be back."

"Oh, no worries" Dave shrugged, "DJ can just use the sound board again."

Ian shot daggers at the maroon chipmunk, who, for once gave him a cheeky grin. "Oh right" Ian grumbled, "Well, let's go listen to it." Dave seemed quite excited, while Ian was just annoyed. "But let me get changed first" he said, as he was still in his aerobics clothes.

"Sure thing" Dave nodded, "Come on kids, let's wait outside." Dave and the chipmunks left the room while Ian changed. They stood in awkward silence some more, with the only sound coming from the secretary's gameboy.

"Hey you" Alvin began to talk to the secretary, "what game are you playing?"

"Gremlins 2" the secretary said in a smooth tone.

"Aw no way!" Alvin lit up, "I just saw that movie yesterday."

"Me too, little dude" the 20 something nodded, "those gremlin boobies were sick."

The two of them then high fived and chanted, "Best movie of the year!"

Alvin decided to ask another question, "So what is it like being a secretary?"

"It totally awesome!" the shaggy man answered, "I get paid to sit around all day."

"What, really?!" Alvin cried.

"Yeah, Mr. Hawke just tells me to pick up the phone for calls and let in yuppies. It's pretty cool."

"Wow" the red capped teen marveled, "Maybe I should become a secretary!"

DJ was listening in and started to panic. Alvin becoming Ian's secretary was the last thing he wanted. He quickly ran over and pulled Alvin aside. "Whoa man" he responded, "Don't forget that you're a rockstar."

"But I might not be forever" Alvin exclaimed.

Little did the maroon chipmunk knew was that Ian standing by the door. He was going to tell off his awful secretary for not working, but when he heard where the conversation was heading, he felt like he needed to eavesdrop.

"But Dave said that he would manage a solo career" DJ argued.

"I know, but what if I'm not as successful?" Alvin questioned, "The fans love my brothers too, but when they're gone, how many will stick around?"

"Come on, Al" DJ remarked, "You'll have Dave to manage you. He got you famous once, he can do it again. And if I remember, some of the fans consider you to be a god amongst men"

"I guess you're right" Alvin finally agreed, "What was I thinking?"

While DJ was relieved that he was able to snap his father out of it, he should've been worrying about that fact that Ian had found out that the future of the Chipmunks were numbered. The bald man cursed under his breath, there was no way he was going to let Dave manage Alvin's solo career. He had been too much trouble to deal with over the years, being the only person to oppose him. Ian needed to manage Alvin in order to become the most powerful producer in the country. So it was obvious to him that there needed to be a change of plans. And if one things for sure, he wasn't going to listen to that damn tape!

Ian came out of his office, wearing his zoot suit again. "Oh I'm terribly sorry, but I just been called to a meeting" the producer announced, "Guess we'll have to record the new song tomorrow."

DJ narrowed his eyes, finding the sudden news suspicious.

"Really?" Dave sighed, "Alright, we understand."

"Great, now please go" Ian shooed, "You better leave before the crowd outside gets too big."

Dave was a little frustrated but felt like there wasn't much he could do. Plus Ian did promise to listen to it tomorrow. "See you tomorrow, Ian" Dave said, "And let me just say that I'm proud of how much you have changed."

"Thank you, Dave" Ian muttered. He pushed the group back into the elevator and pressed the button for them. Once they were gone, he glared at his secretary. "I swear, you have to be the worst secretary in the history of secretaries" he spat.

"Cool" the secretary muttered, not really paying attention. Ian nearly ripped out his non existent hair. He snatched the gameboy out of the young man's hands. "Come on, I was about to fight the googly eye gremlin" he whined.

"Listen here, you" Ian began, "The only reason I haven't fire you already is because I still haven't found a replacement."

"Dang" the secretary muttered "Can I have my game back?".

"How did you even get this job?" Ian pondered, "Whatever, I'm going to ask you to do your god forsaken job and call someone for me."

"You got it boss" the secretary smirked, "Who am I ringing?"

"Crystal Cameron" the producer said in a serious tone, "Tell her that there has been a sudden change of plans."

Not much happened on the early return home. So far the day has been awkward. Not good, or bad, just awkward, which didn't please our hero. "I need to find a way to turn this day around fast!" DJ thought to himself while looking out the car window. He glanced over to his parents. Brittany was no longer clinging onto Alvin, but she was still giving everyone else the cold shoulder. He sighed as he continued to look out at the passing view of late 20th century Los Angeles. "My mom told me and my sister the story about how she and dad fall in love all the time!" DJ noted, "Why is it so hard for me to reenacted?"

He decided to play the story in his head one more time. His mom would say, "when we were around your age, we both went to the old roller skating rink and were attacked by a gang. He saved me from those crooks and after that day I knew I had fallen in love with him. Eventually he grew the confidence to ask me out on a date to the Venice Beach boardwalk. Then as the sun set, he leaned in and we kissed lovingly. Though we fought a lot, I knew that day I was going to spend the rest of my life with him!"

"Wait a minute" DJ began to realize. And fate would have it, the car briefly stopped by the sign which depicted the epiphany. The sun was in perfect position behind it to make it look like it was glowing. It was a sign advertising the famous Venice Beach. "That's what was missing!" the maroon chipmunk shouted at himself.

Shortly after, they have returned home. While exiting the car, everyone cocked their heads at Brittany, wondering what she was going to do next. "B-Brittany?" Jeanette muttered. Both her and Eleanor were looking at her sister sadly.

All the pink teen did was stick up her nose. "I'm going to return to the treehouse" she announced, "And only Alvin is allowed to see me."

Alvin was already exhausted, he just wanted things back to normal. "I'll be right there" he called out to Brittany as she began to walk away. He then turned to DJ, "Are you sure all I need to do is cheer her up, because I don't feel like sitting in a treehouse for the next 3 hours."

"And you won't have to!" DJ exclaimed, "On the drive here, I saw a sign of the perfect place that'll cheer her up," He then started to whisper in his father's ear, "The beautiful boardwalk of Venice Beach."

"Venice Beach?!" Alvin gasped, "But that's on the other side of the city!"

"I'm telling you Alvin, that place has the solution to all our, I mean, your problems" DJ smirked.

"Okay, but how am I supposed to get there?" Alvin questioned.

"Just take the bus" DJ said, "I'll even pay."

Alvin thought about it for a moment, "Well I haven't actually been to the beach all summer… Alright, I'll do it!"

"Great!" the headphones wearing teen cheered.

"I'm going to ask Brittany!" Alvin proclaimed. The red teen than ran off to the backyard.

Dave then spoke up, from the car "I'm going to run some errands, I guess." He was still down that they didn't get to record the new song, "You kids stay out of trouble. I'll be back in an hour." He then drove off.

"Poor Dave" Jeanette remarked, "He seemed so excited."

"I should bake a cake to help him feel better" Theodore stated.

"That's sweet of you Theo" the purple Jeanette smiled. She then turned to Simon, "So um… where are we going for our… hang out?"

Simon choked a bit, both being caught off guard and feeling embarrassed. "Oh well um…" he stammered, all red in the face. He didn't realize that he hadn't chosen a place. He wanted to actually take Jeanette out, not just hang at home like they always do.

DJ could see his uncle struggling. He let out a chuckle at the blue chipmunk's demeanor. He rolled his eyes before he decided to throw the tall teen a bone, "Hey Simon, Alvin is going to take Brittany to the beach. Why don't you two go there as well?"

The two bespectacled chipmunks blushed. Going to the beach would be… too provocative. But Simon couldn't think of anywhere else to go, plus the beach would be quite beautiful today. "That actually sounds good, DJ" Simon agreed, "Jeanette?"

Jeanette acted shy for a bit before responding, "Yeah, the beach sounds nice."

Though DJ was mostly focusing on getting his parents together, he could nudge his uncle and aunt a bit as well. He smiled at his handiwork.

Just then, Eleanor and Theodore started to whisper in his ear. "Are Simon and Jeanette apart of the timeline as well" the blonde asked.

"Yeah, do they have to fall in love too?" the green chipmunk added.

DJ shook his head, "Alvin and Brittany are our main objected. But the other two might need a little help as well." The two small chipmunks then looked at each other excitedly. It seemed like the family they wanted was coming together.

At that moment, Brittany came skipping in. "Alvin, I'm going to change into my summer dress" ,she sang.

"Alright" answered Alvin, who came onto the scene as well, "I'll get ready myself." Everyone took it that the chipette said 'yes'.

Brittany dashed to her home, and the red chipmunk was about to head into his home when he was stopped by his taller brother. "Hey Alvin" Simon began to ask, "Is it alright if me and Jeanette come along."

Alvin then winced, "I don't know, she's still mad at Jeanette about last night."

"Oh" Jeanette peeped, staring at the ground. Simon wasn't too happy himself.

Alvin didn't like seeing them down, so he tried to think of a compromise, "I mean, you guys can still come to the beach, you just have to stay out of Brittany's vision"

"Okay, we can do that" Simon agreed.

"How about you guys get a head start" the red chipmunk remarked, "Knowing Brittany, she might take a while."

"Sure" Jeanette smiled, "We'll see you there." The two tall teens started to walk away and started to have a conversation about how Ian somehow ended up with his current secretary.

"So DJ" Theodore began to say, "How are we going to make sure Brittany and Alvin's date goes well if she doesn't want to see us."

Eleanor then slumped her head, still sad about how her sister's been acting.

DJ was able to tell, so he decided to cheer her up, "Don't worry, El. Once you help Brittany get together with Alvin, there's no way she'll still be mad at you."

The blonde then lit up, "Hey, you're right!" She then paused, "But Teddy's still got a point, how are we supposed to make sure."

"Well you two" DJ began to say, "I guess we'll have to be sneaky."

The blonde lit up some more, "Like spies!"

"That's right!" DJ exclaimed, "We'll wait in the kitchen until the two of them leave for their date, then we'll follow them. Got it?" The two small chipmunks saluted. The three of them then entered the house. Theodore and Eleanor decided to go make "spy lunches" in the kitchen, so DJ was left sitting alone in the living room. At some point, the phone started ringing. DJ decided to pick it up, as he had nothing better to do, "Hello?"

"Oh Alvin!" said a familiar sinister voice, "It's me, Ian! I want to talk to you in private if that's okay."

DJ froze, he assumed that Ian had mistaken him for his father as they do sound a bit similar. He wondered why Ian was calling, and wanted to speak to Alvin privately. What he decided to do next was something he thought he would never do, imitate his dad. "Sure Uncle Ian!" DJ responded (he cringed when he called him uncle), "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Well, I've been wondering" Ian explained, "The Chipmunks might not last forever, but I do know you will. You're the star, Alvin." DJ didn't like where this was going. "Now I won't lie, I overheard you talking about making plans to have Dave manage your solo career, but I think that would be a huge mistake. Dave is a decent manager, but he lacks the money, the influence, and mojo to really push you far. So I'm wondering if you would like it if I managed instead."

DJ entire world spun. Could this be it, the contract that ruined his father's life? "Y-you… manage me?" DJ stammered.

"Yeah" Ian answered, "I can hear that you're hesitant. How about I drive over and pick you up and we can talk about it at my house?"

The 21st century teen's heart was beating a thousand beats a second. It really felt like this was it. It lined up with the timeline, shortly after Alvin would start a solo career for a few years and then stop. His uncle told him to think before acting, but he wasn't having it. A plan popped in his head, a plan that would hopefully save his dad. "Sure Uncle Ian" DJ agreed, "Just come by in an hour."

"Sounds good" Ian answered, "Don't tell Dave, don't want him to get worried."

"Sure" DJ sweated.

"See you then", Ian then hung up.

Just then, Alvin came down. He was now wearing a red and white tropical shirt, red shorts, and a pair of glasses. "How do I look?" he asked DJ.

"Lookin' good" DJ tried to act natural.

"I'm going to check on Brittany" Alvin explained, "I want to make it to the beach before the sun goes down." DJ just nodded nervously. "See you later!" Alvin waved as he headed out the door.

The maroon chipmunk continued to stand there nervously until Theodore and Eleanor walked up to him. "Hey DJ, we're done making the spy food" Eleanor exclaimed. DJ looked down at them, and he noticed that Theodore was still wearing that red cap a fan shoved on his head. Eleanor noticed too, "Teddy, take that off. You don't know where that has been." She then grabbed the cap.

"Oh" Theodore muttered, "I forgot that was on my head."

DJ then started to interject, "Guys, change of plans, I have to stay."

"What?!" Theodore responded, "But how are we going to do it without you?"

"You guys can do it, I know you can!" DJ said, "But it's very important that I stay here. I must…" He stalled as he took the cap away from Eleanor, "Report to my leaders. On my planet, if you don't file a report on time, it could lead to harsh punishment."

"Oh dear" Eleanor gasped, "Alright, we'll try our best!"

"We won't let you down!" Theodore added as the two of them began to leave.

"Thanks a million!" DJ shouted. Once they were gone, he took a deep breath. He turned to a nearby mirror and put the cap on. It needed work but he knows he can do it. When Ian shows up, he's going to pretend to be Alvin.

That's where we'll end off. It looks like a lot of things are on the line this day. Will the plot be resolved and Alvin and Brittany get together? Will Brittany forgive her family? How will Simon and Jeanette's date go? How well will Theodore and Eleanor do the job? And how will DJ handle Ian Hawke? So many questions, which will all be answered in the next chapter. Here's a little spoiler, it's quite the significant one.