Okay, I know I just updated, but I just had to put the next chapter up! I couldn't just leave it at that. This is probably one of my favorite chapters. I love this one.

Enjoy!

Adam was leaning against the wall, a triumphant smirk on his face, when the two guards dragged Simon in. Simon knew that it was too late. He had known that since the guards had caught him.

He looked around, curious. There were guards on both sides. Lounging on the wall across from them was Adam. And a few feet away from Adam, chained to the wall, was—

"Jeanette!" Simon cried.

"Simon," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry, Simon, I—,"

"Shut up," Adam snarled at her, and she shot a hate-filled glare at him.

"Leave her alone!" Simon growled at him, and he laughed.

"Aww, isn't this touching," he sneered. "You, over there, acting as if you have a CHOICE in the matter."

"Adam, he's not who you want," Jeanette said in a low voice. "You don't have anything to do with him. It's me you want. Just leave him alone."

"Afraid I can't, dear Jeanette," Adam said lazily, leaning his head back. "I do need him, actually. As for the leaving alone part—," He smirked. "After I'm done with him, we'll see how many different ways 'left alone' can be interpreted."

"Don't touch him," she growled.

"Honestly, what do you see in him?" Adam said, ignoring her remark and sauntering over to her. "Don't you think you'd do so much better with someone else…me, maybe?"

He took her in his arms, but she struggled to get out of them.

"Don't TOUCH HER!" Simon snarled, fighting against the guards as hard as he could.

"Why not?" Adam shot at him, grinning. "She likes it when I touch her, don't you, Jeanette?"

"No!" she yelled, fighting him. "I do NOT. If you need that message CLEARER than how I've been giving it to you, I might have to get you a BULLHORN!"

"She's lying," Adam said, rolling his eyes but letting to of her. She fell against the wall. "She loves it when I hug her…"

Simon felt like he had just been punched in the gut.

"Don't listen to him, Simon," Jeanette told him, her voice soft. He locked eyes with her. "You know that I don't love him."

Truth was brimming in her eyes, and he instantly knew that she was telling the truth.

"You're still lying," Adam taunted, but Simon knew who the real liar was.

"I am not," Jeanette snarled. "I hate it when you touch me. I hate it when you come anywhere NEAR ME. I can't stand you!"

"Aw, c'mon," Adam grinned. "I'm not that bad. I can be gentle when I want to be…"

"You certainly weren't being gentle when you touched me a second ago to THROW ME INTO THE WALL!" she yelled at him. "Or yesterday, when you were trying to…"

The rest of what she was saying faded out of Simon's hearing as he looked at Jeanette more closely. His eyes widened. She was covered in scrapes, scars, and bruises. She looked horrible.

He hurt her, he realized, and his eyes narrowed as bloodlust filled him. He HURT HER!
Rationality left him in a rush as he forgot the plan, forgot everything. He fought against the guards holding him as hard as he could, not even able to form comprehensible words.

Jeanette glowered at Adam as the guards hauled Simon back. One particularly hard lunge brought the shorter guard close to Simon's ear, and Jeanette frowned. She could've sworn she'd heard the smaller guard whisper, "Not yet."

Simon straightened up, glaring ferociously at Adam.

"I cannot believe you, you sick lowlife," he hissed.

The smaller guard was tense and ready, as if he were about to do something.

Two of the shorter guards on the wall, including the small one who had asked if Jeanette was all right earlier, were tensing up as well.

"Where are the others?" Adam asked the guard that had brought Simon into the room, completely ignoring Simon's comment. Jeanette fought against the chains that were holding her.

"No others were found, sir. Just this one," the guard answered in a gruff voice from under the helmet and blaster shield.

"No girls? None of the other chipmunks?" Adam was astonished.

"No, sir."

"Where on earth are they, then?"

"WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

That was all the warning that Adam had before he was kicked—hard—in the back.

The shorter guard who had been kind to Jeanette earlier was standing there. The guard reached off and pulled off his helmet. Jeanette's mouth dropped open in astonishment.

It wasn't his helmet at all.

"Ellie!" Jeanette cried.

"No one hurts my sister, you jerk!" Eleanor yelled down at Adam.

The two guards holding Simon let go and pulled off their helmets and shields.

"Alvin! Theo!" Jeanette cried happily. The other guard who had been next to Eleanor pulled off her disguise.

"Britt!" Jeanette grinned.

"Guards, get them!" Adam rasped from the floor.

Instantly, Simon sprang to Jeanette, pulling a huge sword out. "Back up," he yelled to her, and she instantly did, stretching the chain taut. He slashed right through it, and Jeanette was free. She yanked the remnants of the chain off of her wrists and Simon dropped the sword. Instantly, she ran to him, and he caught her in a tight hug.

"I missed you so much," she whispered. "But I knew that you'd come back for me."

"I'll always come back for you," Simon whispered back.

"DON'T MOVE!" she heard from behind them. Instantly, they both whirled around to see Adam pointing the gun straight at them. Simon stepped in front of Jeanette instantly, shielding her from Adam.

"Go ahead," Simon sneered. "Shoot me."

"What are you doing?" Jeanette hissed frantically.

"I don't think he will shoot me," Simon snorted. "I think that he's too chicken."

Adam scowled. "I am not," he said through clenched teeth.

"Killing isn't as easy as the innocent believe it is," Simon told Adam, quoting Harry Potter, one of his favorite books.

Adam glared. "Ever since you got off that island, all you've been is a nuisance," he hissed. "And I'm going to finish that right now."

He squeezed the trigger at the same time Simon flung out his hands. Instantly, the same force field rushed out and surrounded him and Jeanette, and the bullet bounced harmlessly off.

"No way!" Alvin gasped from where he was battling two guards at once on the other side of the room. "Dude! You got your powers, bro!"

"That's impossible," Adam hissed.

"Nothing's impossible," Simon replied smugly. "And news flash—as long as I've got this up, you can't touch us." He smirked at Adam.

Adam clenched his fists. Jeanette leaned around Simon to smirk at him as well.

"Jeanette was never yours," Simon told Adam, fury sparking from his eyes. "She's mine. She's always been mine. And I will never let you have her again."

The other four chipmunks grouped around Simon and Jeanette, and Simon extended the force field to include all of them.

Adam grinned suddenly.

Simon stared at him.

"I admit, you're good, Simon. That force field is…the bomb."

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An enormous explosion rocked the cave, and everyone fell to the ground. Simon's force field flickered as he struggled to regain his balance, and that was all it took.

Adam lunged for Jeanette, who was sprawled on the ground, and snatched her up. He yanked a dagger out from where it had been under his sleeve and pressed it to her throat.

"Nobody move," he said in a low voice.

No one did.

"Let go of me," Jeanette hissed.

"No," he hissed back.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Jeanette whispered with a smile.

"What?" He was taken off track.

SLAM!

She drove her foot into his kneecap as hard as she possibly could, and he let out a scream of pain. The dagger slipped, and he released her. She tumbled to the floor.

He stood over her, clutching the dagger. He advanced on her, raising it high above his head.

"That," he snarled, "was a big mistake."

Jeanette backed up as far as she could possibly go, but then she hit a wall and gulped.

There was no way out.

Adam raised the dagger and began to bring it down.

"NO!" Simon yelled, springing forward and blocking the blow with his sword.

Simon pushed Adam backward, away from Jeanette, who stumbled to her feet.

The two chipmunks squared off in the middle of the cave.

"This ends now," Adam snarled at him.

"I agree," Simon hissed back.

"No!" Jeanette put herself in between them. "Stop it, now!"

"Jeanette, get out of the way," Simon told her grimly.

Eleanor panicked and focused on the plant growing in the corner of the cave. The thick vine curled itself around Jeanette and pulled her away from the two chipmunks. Jeanette, terrified for Simon, covered her face with her hands and turned to face the wall.

Simon jumped at Adam first, and Adam blocked his blow. They fought ferociously, continuously getting hits on one another. It seemed as though Simon had the upper hand, because he deployed his force field whenever he could.

But then Adam let out a ferocious roar and knocked Simon to the ground with his sword. Simon was sprawled out on the floor, completely out cold.

Adam was advancing on Simon, his sword raised above his head, a look of complete and total fury on his face.

Jeanette felt paralyzed, frozen, stuck to the ground with panic and terror. It was just as though she was in the park again, and Ryan and the bullies were dangling Simon far up in the air. He seemed just as far away now, sprawled out on the ground, as he had been then.

NO! He wasn't that far away at all!

She could save him. She had to save him.

Stop freezing up, she commanded herself furiously. Think! MOVE!

And in that instant, she was sprinting toward Simon as fast as she could.

The sight of her sister running straight at Simon caused a wave of panic to crash over Brittany so fierce that her feet seemed to pull themselves forward of their own accord. "JEANETTE, NO!" she screamed, and then she was running after Jeanette.

"NO! BRITTANY, COME BACK!" Alvin yelled, tearing after her, but Brittany had too much of a head start. Jeanette, however, knew that she was being followed.

"NO, BRITTANY!" she yelled over her shoulder without breaking stride, and the ferocity in her sister's usually-gentle voice was enough to make Brittany freeze and falter. It was only for a small moment, but it was enough for Alvin to catch up to her. He managed to get one arm around her.

"No! Get off of me!" Brittany struggled against Alvin with all her might. Alvin was extremely strong, but Brittany had panic and fury on her side, fueling her. Alvin felt his grip weakening.

Desperately, he yanked backward as hard as he could. It was only enough to pull Brittany back a few inches, but a few inches was all Alvin needed. He managed to get his other arm around her, and then she was fighting a lost battle. He dragged her back away from the fight.

"Let go! Let go of me! JEANETTE! STOP!" Brittany screamed, fighting Alvin with all her strength.

Jeanette ignored her sister. Just as Adam was ready to bring the sword down, she reached Simon and collapsed, shielding his body with hers.

Adam froze.

Simon blinked in surprise. "No…Jeanette, get out of the way," he murmured, attempting to push her off. The attempt was so weak that she ignored it, staring defiantly up at Adam.

"Jeanette, move," he said through clenched teeth.

Jeanette stared up at him. "No," she said quietly.

Everyone was staring now, the room dead silent.

"If you kill him," she said, each word slow and distinct, "then you'll have to kill me, too."

They stared at each other for a long, long moment as Jeanette hugged Simon's limp body to her chest tightly. Adam stared into her eyes, her eyes that reminded his so much of Callie's…

I can't do it, he thought. I can't.

He put the sword down.

Jeanette all but collapsed in relief.

Then he sprang at her.

She closed her eyes and waited for the worst.

Thud.

She looked up in astonishment to see Adam sprawled out on the ground. Then she saw Simon's hand up, and saw the force field.

She quickly stood up, but the force field worked two ways—he couldn't get in, but she couldn't get out.

"Simon, put it down, quick," she said.

He reluctantly did so. She hurried over to look at Adam.

"He's out cold, but he's not dead," she called to the others. Instantly, Simon expanded the force field over her again, and she rolled her eyes.

"Still as overprotective as you were before," she murmured, walking over to help him up.

"I've got a good reason," he murmured back.

"We have to get off of this rock, now," Jeanette called urgently.

They all got to their feet—Simon with some difficulty—and started for the door.

Just as Brittany reached the door to open it, it burst open and hit her hand, hard. She stumbled backwards and fell.

A guard bowled over Eleanor. Her wrist slammed into the ground as she tried to catch herself, and then she managed to push herself back up again. Another guard slammed hard into Alvin, and he was knocked to the ground. His hat actually fell off of his head, and he quickly replaced it. Then he saw the guard heading straight for Simon.

"Look out!" Alvin yelled.

Simon nearly broke his ankle when he twisted it away from one of the guards, but luckily, he was unhurt.

"Hurry up!" he yelled to the others. Jeanette was running in front of him toward the opening to the cave, and she stumbled. He didn't wait for her, but instantly scooped her up and kept going.

They ran through passageway after passageway, blindly trying to find the exit.

"There!" Theodore yelled. No one questioned him, due to his ability to see in the dark.

They charged out of the tunnel exit and into the blinding sunlight.

It was a different exit from the way they'd come, though. And this one was much higher up. And it was only a small ledge that six chipmunks could not all fit on and did not see.

They screamed as they all plummeted over the edge and into the dark water below.