Disclaimer: I do not own Alvin and The Chipmunks, nor do I make any money whatsoever from writing and posting this fanfiction.

Chapter 1 – The Last Normal Day

Deep in the mist, a single figure struggled to move. His legs felt stiff and his arms heavy. It hurt to breath and every step he took seemed to become more difficult and painful than the last. But he knew he had to keep moving. Though he could not see where he was going he knew it was important to not stop walking.

Not that he knew why. He didn't really know anything. He didn't know where he was, what he was doing here, where he was going, who he was or anything. All he knew was that to stop walking would be the most foolish thing he could do.

He had to keep moving...

Alvin stood on top of his small red suitcase and stared down the escalator. He couldn't believe they had left Dave behind in that hospital. Beside him and a stair down, Simon was standing on his own small blue suitcase. Simon was thinking about what they were going to do with Aunt Jacky staying at the house. They would be unable to use their crystals and he and Alvin would be unable to act how they wanted without her finding out about them.

Dave had told them that, being together with his own brother was illegal, they shouldn't tell anyone. But he had also told them that technically the law applied only to humans and as such didn't matter to them because they were chipmunks. But even so, people would still look down on them because they thought it was wrong. Simon really didn't care what people thought, he loved Alvin and to him that was all that mattered.

He still wasn't sure what to do about Aunt Jacky though. What would they do if a Tainted attacked? How would they protect her without revealing their powers? Sighing, Simon pushed his glasses up and looked over at Alvin. Alvin smiled and shrugged his shoulders in reply to Simon's silent question. He had no idea what to do either.

Theodore meanwhile was standing on his small green suitcase and wondering how he was going to ward the house without anyone noticing. With Aunt Jacky staying with them he would need to protect the house. But he wasn't sure he could set up barriers without his brothers noticing the constant lunarium output they gave out.

"So how are we going to find Aunt Jacky?" questioned Simon.

Theodore smiled to himself and lifted his nose into the air. Taking a few deep breaths he smelled for the signature scent of the popcorn she always sent them. Sure enough he found it just a few feet away from them to the left of the escalator they were on.

"I found her, follow me" said Theodore.

Grabbing their suitcases they scurried off the escalator and weaved their way through the walking crowds of people towards the smell of popcorn coming from Aunt Jacky.

"Aunt Jacky!" shouted Alvin, Simon and Theodore at the same time before letting go of their suitcases and jumping onto the big tin of popcorn in her lap.

"We found you," said Alvin.

"Cool wheelchair," said Simon examining it carefully.

They had never met Aunt Jacky in person before and were surprised to find her sitting in a wheelchair. She had light blond hair, glasses, and was wearing a bright pink cap. Her bright blue suit was a contrast to her hat and the black wheelchair she was sitting in, but somehow it worked for her.

"Boys, it's good to finally see you," said Aunt Jacky with a smile down at them.

Theodore bent down over the edge of the tin and started trying to pull it open. He was far less naive than his brothers thought but he couldn't help himself. He just loved to eat. Simon had an amused look on his face as he watched Theodore and Alvin looked a little annoyed. He loved Aunt Jacky's popcorn and could probably eat the entire tin himself. It annoyed him that Theodore was just going to eat it without asking if anyone else wanted some first.

"Theodore, where's my hug?" questioned Aunt Jacky.

Theodore's eyes widened and he looked horrified that he had forgotten something so important. So he quickly jumped onto Aunt Jacky's shoulder and hugged it tightly. Alvin quickly followed but Simon looked a bit unsure. He wasn't really comfortable hugging anyone aside from his brothers and even that he didn't do often. Except for Alvin, he loved to hug Alvin.

"I'm not much of a hugger," said Simon as he patted Aunt Jacky's hand.

"Boys I'd like to you to meet someone," said Aunt Jacky as she motioned to the young man standing beside her, "This is my grandson, Toby."

Everyone immediately turned to look at Toby. He had gone unnoticed until Aunt Jacky said something. He had short messy black hair and was wearing a pair of loose fitting dark brown jeans and a bright blue t-shirt. He was also wearing a dark gray hoodie jacket that was unzipped in the middle. He was holding a DS Gaming System in his hand and slowly tapping away with his fingers. He even had headphones in his ears to block out the noise from the airport.

"Hi! I'm Theodore," said Theodore waving his hand at Toby.

Aunt Jacky looked up annoyed when Toby didn't answer and sighed to herself.

"Toby, say hello," said Aunt Jacky as she reached up and pulled the headphones out of his ears.

"Wa..wo..who?" questioned Toby in confusion as he looked up from his game.

"Toby, the boys," said Aunt Jacky annoyed.

"Hi, I'm Toby nice to meet you," said Toby politely.

Aunt Jacky proceeded to explain exactly why Toby was with her. He was staying with her until he decided what to do with his life. But it seemed Toby had no plans and spent his days playing games instead of actually doing anything. Toby also seemed to know this but defended himself by saying playing all day was keeping him in first place, which was important.

Sighing, Aunt Jacky asked Toby to get the bags. He nodded after a few seconds and moved forward to pick them up. On his way forward though he bumped into Aunt Jacky's wheelchair and sent her slowly rolling backwards. Alvin, Simon and Theodore immediately started to try and find a way to stop her but could do nothing as she started bouncing down the stairs.

"T...T...OO...B...B...Y...YYY!" shouted Aunt Jacky in alarm as she bounced down the stairs.

Toby looked up in confusion and his eyes widened in shock and horror. Dropping the chipmunks suitcases in shock, he moved to help his Aunt. But was too slow. However she landed safely on the bottom of the stairs. Breathing a sigh of relief he bent down and picked up the boys suitcases again and stood up.

Just in time to see a large driven cart smash into his Aunt...

Toby stood with an incredibly worried look on his face as he asked the paramedics question after question while they carried his Aunt away. He couldn't believe he had been so careless. He found himself apologizing and saying it had been an accident over and over as they lifted his Aunt into the ambulance. Of all the stupid things that could have happened, why had it been this?

"Don't worry, I'll be home in no time," said Aunt Jacky as the driver closed the ambulance door.

"She's going to be okay right?"questioned Toby

The driver sighed and wrote something down on the clipboard in his hands.

"She should be fine eventually, but I wouldn't count on her being home anytime soon," said the driver before getting into the ambulance.

Toby watched as the ambulance drove off and the crowd dispersed. Looking down at Alvin, Simon and Theodore he motioned for them to follow him. He dragged his Aunt's wheelchair behind him as he made the way towards the car. He had been driving anyways so he already had the keys. As they made their way through the parking lot Theodore voiced what his brothers were obviously thinking.

"I guess you're taking care of us now, right?" questioned Theodore

'I'll take frighting thoughts for five hundred,' thought Alvin with a frown.

Toby stopped and looked around for a few seconds before nodding absently and making his way over to an old beat up pale colored car. "Not a problem!" exclaimed Toby as he lifted Aunt Jacky's broken wheelchair onto the holder hanging from the back of the small car.

"I took care of my cat..." trailed off Toby before continuing more silently, "before it ran away."

Opening the car door Toby let Alvin, Simon and Theodore jump in and move to the passenger seat. Then he climbed in while muttering about how 'ran away' was such a strong term. He personally thought his cat just wanted her space. Unaware of the incredulous looks he was receiving, Toby continued talking, "I still see her sometimes. She snarls and hiss... I think it's her way of saying we're still tight."

Nodding to himself Toby tossed the three small suitcases into the back of the car. Pulling on his seat-belt he adjusted it and started the car. Turning towards the chipmunks he looked down at them and smiled.

"You guys have nothing to worry about, seriously. Cause I'm not going to be like Dave, Dave's gone," said Toby.

Theodore, Simon and Alvin's eyes widened. What in the world did Toby know that they didn't? Dave had been fine when they left him and they hadn't heard anything. Before any of them could say anything though, Theodore summed up all their thoughts.

"GONE!" Theodore gasped loudly and his eyes teared a little.

"No..not gone gone, he's fine, he's very much alive, he's completely fine, I just meant gone as in not here. I'm just gonna be sleeping in his bed and keeping his room warm, you're not even going to know I'm there!" exclaimed Toby speaking quickly without pausing for a breath.

Alvin and Theodore breathed a sigh of relief but Simon's eyes widened again and he tilted his head to the side.

"Umm, but we're supposed to know you're there...that's the whole point," said Simon, exasperated.

Toby seemed lost for a few seconds before nodding and assuring them he knew what he was doing. Reaching across the passenger seat he grabbed the seat-belt and pulled it across Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Buckling them in he turned back to the wheel and put the car in reverse. Putting his foot on the gas he nodded and said a quick, "Lets go."

Alvin, Simon and Theodore looked down at the crushed popcorn tin in front of them and gulped. This was not going to be a enjoyable car ride...

Theodore and Simon stood on the coffee table working on a small get-well card for Dave. Theodore was using all types of glitter to make writing and the card looked very cute. Simon was still slightly panicked from the drive home. He didn't know it was legal to drive so fast on such small roads. Or that people could drive on the opposite side of the road when they thought someone was going too slow. Hell, for several minutes of the ride Simon had wondered if he really had to worry about a Tainted killing him at all.

Toby had almost done the job for them...

"Don't worry Theo, everything's going to be fine," said Simon pleasantly. "The important thing is we're still alive."

Theodore rubbed his paws together and looked up at Simon worriedly. No matter how much he really knew and how powerful he was, he was still the youngest. Sometimes he needed his older brothers to reassure him that things would be all right.

"I hope my get-well card helps Dave get better faster," said Theodore smiling.

Alvin jumped up onto the table and looked down at the card. Desperate to make Theodore try and forget about the horror of the last few hours, Alvin picked up a vial of purple and silver glitter. "Needs more glitter," he said as he dumped the contents of the vial onto the card. Theodore giggled and Alvin smiled at his success.

"That's should do it. So, whose hungry?" questioned Alvin looking at his brothers.

Theodore raised his hand and bounced lightly on his feet. Alvin smiled and jumped off the table, quickly followed by Theodore and then Simon. Making their way into the kitchen they searched the cupboards for something to eat. But they had been gone for a while and had no time to restock anything. Toby hadn't brought anything with him either.

"Nothing. You see anything Simon?" questioned Theodore.

"Nope, it's like a food ghost town in here. What about you Alvin?" responded Simon.

…

"Alvin?" questioned Simon.

The door to the last cupboard slowly swung open and Alvin jumped down onto the counter. A few seconds later a large bag of cheese balls fell onto the counter beside him.

"Halla! The cheese balls are in my hizza," said Alvin with a smirk.

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,

I'm a cheese ball's man, no time to talk.

Grabbing the bag Alvin jumped onto the large counter in the middle of the kitchen. Pulling hard, he struggled to open it. Annoyed he jumped on top of it but still it seemed to not want to open.

Whether you're a brother

Or whether you're a mother,

You gotta love cheese ball's, gotta love cheese ball's.

Frowning Alvin slid a small amount of lunarium into his arm muscles and got off the bag before pulling again.

Ah, ha, ha, ha,

Stayin' alive.

Stayin' alive.

Ah, ha, ha, ha,

Stayin' alive.

This time the extra strength granted his request and the bag ripped open. Cheese balls rolled out onto the counter and Alvin motioned to them with his paw.

"Dinner, she is a served," said Alvin with a grin.

Picking up a cheese ball Alvin took a bite out of it and chewed slowly. He couldn't help but think about everything they would need to do now. They would need to go shopping for more food. They would have to also call and order some custom school supplies for them to use now that Dave had enrolled them in school. Picking up another cheese ball and taking a bite out of it Alvin found himself frowning. They would also need a way to protect Toby while they were at school and he was alone in the house.

Finishing off another cheese ball, Alvin decided he would ask Simon later if he had any ideas. Simon had been reading the guidebook over and over and had also been reading Aaron's Journal. Hopefully he had found something useful in them. He personally didn't know what was in the journal but Simon was reading it all the time, so it must be interesting.

Stretching out, Alvin noticed that Simon had finished eating and Theodore was happily munching on the last cheese ball he had taken. Pushing the last of the cheese balls back into the bag Alvin rolled it up and pushed it to the side of the counter. It was likely they would be eating cheese balls for breakfast tomorrow. Turning to face his brothers Alvin was about to ask Simon about protecting the house when -

!RING!

The phone rang. All of them immediately turned to face it and jumped off the central counter towards it. They hit the speaker-phone button just as Toby rushed into the room.

"Hello, Seville residence," said Simon.

"Boys it's me," said Dave's voice over the phone.

At hearing Dave's voice Toby's eyes widened and he pressed a button on the thick xbox headset he was wearing. Pushing the mic up he put the controller down on the counter and leaned forward to better listen to the conversation.

"Dave! How are you doing!" exclaimed Alvin, Simon and Theodore together.

"I'm doing fine, the doctor says I should be fit to leave in a few weeks," answered Dave over the phone.

"That's awesome news Dave," said Toby from across the room.

"Toby? What are you doing there? Where's Aunt Jacky?" questioned Dave his voice beginning to sound panicky.

"She's...in the hospital," answered Toby quietly.

"Then... who's taking care of the boys?" questioned Dave his voice sounding slightly scared for what the answer was going to be.

"I...I am," responded Toby.

Alvin, Simon and Theodore knew that Dave would panic from that response. Toby wasn't an adult yet and Dave would be worried about him watching them all alone. But they were determined to give Toby the benefit of the doubt. If Toby thought he could do it they would let him try. They only had to convince Dave to do the same.

"Don't worry about it Dave, Toby's doing a fine job," said Simon.

Dave breathed deeply over the phone, "Fine, just try and stay out of trouble boys, and Toby, call me if you have any problems," said Dave.

"Sure thing Dave, rest easy I can totally handle this," said Toby before hitting the end call button.

Toby turned to face the boys and nodded at them before turning around to leave the room. As he headed out of the room he moved to pull the mix back down and reconnect to his online friend. "Hey Tom, thanks for waiting I'll be right there," said Toby into his mix.

"Oh, can we play?" questioned Simon looking up at Toby

"One more sec Tom," said Toby as he pushed his mic back up.

"So can we?" questioned Alvin

"Oh..ye...you know...you know I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I also don't want anyone to get hurt, and there is going to be fists of fury a flying," answered Toby quickly.

"We can play monopoly. We play monopoly with Dave all the time," said Theodore grinning.

"Do you? That's nice, and maybe we can do that sometime. But right now I gotta get back to floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee," said Toby pushing his mic back down and practically running from the room.

Alvin and Simon both frowned. It seemed that Toby wasn't going to be the most responsible sitter they had ever had. Which would make it all the more difficult to protect him. Looking over at Theodore they saw that he looked incredibly disappointed. Both of them knew just how much that Theodore missed Dave. Theodore had obviously hoped a game would take his mind off it. Simon moved over and patted Theodore gently on the shoulder.

"Ah, who needs Toby?" said Simon.

"Yah, who needs Toby. We can have fun by ourselves," said Alvin looking over at the blender with a grin.

Alvin grinned at Simon and Theodore and motioned for them to follow him. They were going to have fun and enjoy themselves no matter what was going on. If they let the Tainted or Dave being in the hospital stop them, then there was no point fighting in the first place.

Alvin maneuvered the large wooden spoon he was holding so it was beside the on-off button. Grinning he looked at Simon and Theodore silently asking them if they were ready. Both of them gripped tightly onto the edges of the white mixing bowl and nodded. Breathing deeply Alvin pushed the wooden spoon against the switch and flipped it on. The food processor started spinning and Alvin immediately gripped onto the edges of the bowl.

Laughing loudly they struggled to hold onto the bowl as it seemed to spin faster and faster. With a glint in his eyes Alvin started to sing and was almost immediately joined by both his brothers.

You spin me right round, baby

right round like a record, baby

Right round round roouuuuuuu!

They all trailed off as they became too dizzy to sing and, after a few more seconds of laughing and spinning, they found themselves thrown out of the mixer and over to the island counter in the middle of the kitchen. Laughing heavily, Alvin struggled to his feet and walked over to Simon. Offering his hand he helped Simon to his feet and then together they helped Theodore to his feet as well.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed Theodore bouncing up and down.

"Yah, but it's about time for bed," said Simon seriously.

Alvin groaned but slowly followed Simon and Theodore as they jumped off the counter and made their way towards the bedroom they all shared. Brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed they decided to sleep in the living room chair tonight. Climbing into the chair they snuggled close together and pulled the small blanket over the three of themselves.

"Night Simon, Alvin," said Theodore.

"Night Theodore, Simon," said Alvin.

"Night Theodore, Alvin," said Simon.

Yawning loudly Theodore closed his eyes. A few seconds later Simon and Alvin both followed. They would talk about how to protect the house and when they were going to get Toby to take them shopping tomorrow.

A few hours later, after even Toby had fallen asleep, Theodore carefully separated himself from in between his brothers and climbed off the chair. He laughed quietly when Simon and Alvin immediately pulled each other closer without even waking. Jumping down to the floor Theodore pulled his crystal out from under his hoodie and tapped into it. Closing his eyes he delved deep into the power of his crystal before opening them again.

His eyes now glowing and once again seeing everything, Theodore made his way around the house. He was able to locate at least six points in the house that could be used to hold up a barrier. He had learned to create barriers from reading the guidebook and he was surprised Simon hadn't already started doing so. Extending his claws Theodore went to each point in the house and carved a small circle with a symbol in it.

This was one of the strongest barriers he knew how to create. Except that it normally needed twelve points of singularity instead of just six. But Theodore knew that with three crystals in the house the barrier would have enough power to draw from. Even when they weren't all in the house the amount of charge the barrier should contain would hold for at least three days.

Yawning, Theodore walked past Dave's bedroom as he made his way to his room, only to stop in shock as he heard Toby's voice gently call out his name.

"Theodore, what are you still doing up buddy?" questioned Toby quietly from inside Dave's room.

Cursing his lack of foresight, Theodore spun around and scurried into Dave's room. Climbing up on the bed he put his best 'oh my god, look how sad I am' face on and looked up at Toby.

"I had a nightmare," whispered Theodore his bottom lip trembling slightly.

"Oh the nightmares, I hat..hate the nightmares. What was it?" questioned Toby looking down at Theodore.

"I...I dreamt we didn't have a family anymore," said Theodore throwing out the first thing that came to his mind.

"Oh Theodore, that could never happen. You guys are tight. Nothing could break you apart," reassured Toby calmly.

Theodore let a smile break out over his face. At least Toby was trying to act responsible. But after Toby continued talking, Theodore felt the smile slipping off his face. A horrified expression taking it's place without him having to do anything.

"Eagle swoop down from the sky and's like 'CAW CAW' and," Toby made a few motions with his hands imitating an eagle ripping something to pieces.

Theodore's eyes started twitching and his eyes widened incredibly far.

"Ahh...ahh...AHHH!" screamed Theodore stumbling and falling backwards off the bed onto the floor.

Toby seemed to realize his mistake and hurriedly started back tracking. Theodore who had calmed down the second he hit the ground decided to let Toby sweat it out a bit and ran screaming from the room. Immediately coming to stop outside the room Theodore slowly made his way back to the chair. But not before Toby's parting words carried through the air to his ears.

"Sweet dreams..."

Theodore smirked and giggled in his head. Who the heck would have been able to sleep after hearing something like that?

In the dense, never-ending world of mist a single figure continued moving forward. His entire body felt weak, and yet full of energy at the same time. As he struggled onward he became aware of the increasingly vivid images flashing through his mind. In each image he felt the presence of two people where now he could only feel one. Constantly the two presences fought and argued against each other.

Sighing, the figure continued moving forward. Why was he seeing these images? Was it possible that he was one of these presences? But it made no sense. The two presences felt nothing like what he felt from himself. If he was one of these presences, would his presence not feel the same? Pushing forward through the mist he suddenly found himself screaming and falling to his knees. Pain... Pain worse than anything he thought possible flooded through him.

But he knew he could not stop walking. Climbing to his feet he continued moving. Even as his body felt like it was being ripped apart from the inside he struggled to keep his feet moving.

Pain...