Ready Or Not

Chapter 5

Ink

XOXOXOXOXO

Author's Note: Man, things keep going from bad to worse in this story! But I'm keeping it true to the anime that inspired this whole thing, so please understand.

Let's hope Theodore, Alvin and Brittany figure out something!

XOXOXOXOXO

It was a time for rest. Even though sleep was the last thing on the children's minds, they forced themselves to walk to another building, far away from where Jeanette was captured. They finally found an abandoned clinic, locking themselves inside the doctor's office. They agreed that at least one of them would be look-out, not trusting their surroundings any longer.

They also had a plan: even if Simon and Jeanette (or even Eleanor) showed up, they would immediately distance themselves and thoroughly question them. It sickened them to admit it, but they couldn't even trust their own family at this point.

Brittany fell into a fitful sleep in Alvin's arms. The two of them were resting against a wall, snoring softly. Theodore offered to take first shift, sitting on the large window sill and peering out of it silently. He watched the large monster from before continually pace in front of the old warehouse. It had been a few hours since then, but it hadn't given up it's vigil.

Night had fallen. How long had they been inside the Devil's Labyrinth? Dave and Miss Miller undoubtedly realized that they had lied and ran off on their own. His stomach twisted at the thought of worrying their poor guardians even more than they already were.

Will they come looking for us? Theodore wondered, biting his lip. I hope not. I know Dave told me to never say this, but... this is hell.

After everything they went through, did Theodore regret coming out here to look for Eleanor? No. He missed her so much, it hurt. He resolved himself to at least try his best to look for her. She was his everything. His little angel. To find out, one day, that she had suddenly disappeared from their lives was too much for him to handle.

What he did regret was bringing his brothers and the remaining Chipettes into his search. If he had just went alone, none of this would be happening now. Simon wouldn't have been attacked. Jeanette wouldn't have been stolen right in front of their eyes. Alvin and Brittany wouldn't be so broken down, afraid...

They never would have let me go alone anyway, Theodore realized with a small smirk. Still, I wish I could do something.

Movement outside the door caught his attention. He gulped and stood up, flashlight at the ready. He glanced back at Alvin and Brittany, who were sleeping soundly. He breathed heavily and crept towards the door, hand reaching for the door knob.

Something was out there. Would it be a monster? Or would it be the real Simon, or maybe Jeanette?

Theodore slowly unlocked the door and poked his head out. He shivered slightly, expecting something to jump out at him. But nothing came. He peered down the dark hallway leading to the office, squinting his green eyes. A small, petite form stood standing on the opposite side. A very familiar form...

"E...Eleanor?" Theodore whispered, his eyes growing wide. "Ellie?"

The girl walked forward slowly, coming into the light of the moon filtering through the glass. She was dressed similarly to the rest, with a loose-fitting shirt and matching pants. She wore a flowery mask on the side of her head. To his amazement, she looked unscathed. No wounds, no cuts, nothing. Eleanor was alive and well, after all!

He bit his lip. What if this was another trick? They did it with Simon, they might even do it with Eleanor.

"Teddy," Eleanor smiled, her eyes welling up with joyful tears. She stopped a good distance away from him. It looked like it took all she had to not run to him. "Theodore... I missed you so much. All of you. Brittany, Jeanette, Alvin, Simon, Miss Miller and Dave. It feels like it's been ages since I've last seen all of you."

"Eleanor... Eleanor, it really is you!" Theodore said ecstatically. He smiled, a true smile. A smile that he refused to show ever since she disappeared from his life. He had never been so relieved, so happy, in all of his life. Eleanor was alive, she was okay. He didn't care how she managed to survive for days in that awful place, all he knew was that he wanted to take her back home. "Eleanor, I'm so happy to see you! We were all so worried."

"I know, Teddy," Eleanor said, her expression growing sad. "I'm so sorry I ever came here. Cindy, Jill, Tammy, Jessica and I were just playing a game we heard about. I had no idea it would be like this."

"I know, Ellie. We didn't either," Theodore said softly, walking towards her. "But it's okay. We can leave together now!"

"I can't leave," Eleanor said, her voice cracking. She shook her head and looked up at him with a pained expression. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she tried her best to hold them back. She ran forward and hugged him, catching him by surprise. Theodore held her gently, rubbing her blonde hair in an attempt to calm her down. She nuzzled into his chest, crying softly. "It's too late for me, Teddy. But you still have a chance to escape. All of you do. I can't take losing you or anyone else. Run."

Before Theodore could respond, Eleanor broke away and ran back down the hallway. She was too fast for Theodore to catch up, but that didn't stop him from trying. What did she mean? She was okay and that was all that mattered! Why couldn't she leave with them?

"Ellie, wait! Come back!" he called desperately. "It's not too late!"

Before he could pursue her any further, Brittany's hand shot out and grabbed the back of his shirt. She yanked him back into the office, looking at the younger boy like he had completely lost his mind.

"Theo, what in the world are you thinking!" Brittany snapped, pushing him into a patient's chair. Theodore looked at her, outraged. "You don't know if that was really Eleanor! She could be just like that clone we saw a while back! Do you want to end up like Jeanette and Simon?"

"That was the real Elanor!" Theodore shouted angrily, shoving Brittany back. She glared at him, clearly unconvinced. "I'm telling you the truth! She knew things only the real Ellie would know! She knew all of our names, about Miss Miller and Dave! We have to go find her, she ran away!"

"It's no use, Theodore. She's probably long gone by now," Alvin said, rubbing his tousled hair. He sighed deeply, looking back at him. "Besides, why didn't she come back and stay with us? She knows that everyone's searching for her. Why would she just run off like that?"

"I... I don't know why," Theodore said reluctantly, looking away. "But I know we've finally found her."

"Don't beat yourself up over it, okay?" Alvin said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and grabbing his flashlight. "Let's start searching again."

Alvin lead Brittany and Theodore back outside again, carefully avoiding the prowling beast that continued to stake out outside the warehouse where he last saw them. They made their way towards another street, going in the opposite direction this time.

"Alvin, I'm beginning to think we should have stayed back there," Theodore insisted. "What if she comes looking for us again?"

"Theodore, for the last time, that was not Ellie! Eleanor wouldn't just run off like that," Brittany said, fed up with the issue. "Besides, we – what the!"

The ground began to quake violently, throwing the three children off their feet. They huddled together as fast as they could, looking around wildly for the source of the disruption.

"Head to the sides of the street!" Alvin yelled over the deafening rumbling.

The three chipmunks tried their best to get out of the middle of the street, but it was too late. The pavement began to crack and quake more violently than before. A few feet away, the street began to rise up and crumble, as if something was about to erupt from just below the surface. Alvin, Theodore and Brittany quickly scrambled away from it, and not a second too soon.

Out burst forth a huge, tortoise-like creature that gave forth an earth-shattering screech as it broke the concrete surface. It was a sickening pale white, with it's eyes just as blank and unnerving as the rest of its form. Black ooze served as its habitat, the disgusting substance bubbling through the cracks of the street and pooling around the oversized reptile.

It snapped its head around, eyes rolling to reveal its pale blue eyes. Its eyes locked on Brittany as its first target. Brittany gasped and tried to move back, but it quickly shot out a black tendril from the black pool and wrapped it firmly around her waist. She screamed in terror, latching onto a nearby pole.

"Help! Get this thing off me!" Brittany pleaded, holding on for dear life as the monster tried to pull her back.

Alvin immediately ran forward and took firm hold of Brittany's hands. He yanked back with all his strength, pulling his counterpart free of its slippery grip. He wasted no time in holding her hand and running away from the screeching creature. Unfortunately, it slammed down five tendrils in front of the pair, creating a crude wall of smashed concrete around them. One of the raised pieces threw Theodore back, making him roll back painfully into a wall several feet away.

"Alvin! Brittany!" Theodore yelled, ignoring the splitting pain in the back of his head and trying his best to maneuver through the debris. "Don't worry, I'm coming!"

"Theodore, stay back!" Alvin demanded, holding a frantic Brittany in his arms. They continually stepped back from the screeching monster that had trapped them. He gulped, tears welling up in his eyes. Theodore gritted his teeth, trying to squeeze through again. Alvin shook his head and repeated himself. "GO! RUN! One of us has to keep going! Go, Theodore! Run!"

"I'm not doing that! I'm not leaving you like I left Simon!" Theodore said, tears rolling down his cheeks. He shook his head. "Come on! I'm not doing that!"

"Theodore, you have to," Alvin replied, voice cracking. He held Brittany close as the monster lifted a heavy foot and stomped again, causing the area they were on to begin to sink into the ooze. Brittany sobbed into his chest, trembling violently. "Do it for us."

Theodore didn't want to. Why did he have to be the one to survive? How could he possibly do this on his own?

He closed his eyes and forced himself to run away. He shut out all vision and sound as he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He ran until his chest begged for air, until his legs began to lock up from the effort. Then, and only then, did he brace himself against a building and chance a look back.

He could make out the black tendrils waving around wildly. He could hear their screams as the beast began to slowly descend back to whence it came...

He covered his face and collapsed. Grief and regret rocked his body. Everyone was gone. His brothers and the Chipettes were all lost to the Devil's Labyrinth.

He was all alone.

XOXOXOXOXO

Author's Note: Nooo! Not Al and Britt! At least they went together, I can totally see that happening in a Kakurenbo universe. Poor things. :C

And poor, poor Teddy! He has to fend for himself now. Nearly done, guys! Thanks so much for the feedback. I know this was a bit darker than my other stories, surely, but I'm keeping it faithful to the storyline it was inspired by.