ALVINNN! and The Chipmunks:
Tamian Mysteries
Season 2, Episode 4 of 10:
No Munk Left Behind
In the bedroom of the Seville brothers, Simon and Theodore wake up with a big stretch and yawn. "Good morning.", said Theodore. "Good morning.", Simon replied.
Theodore, not having heard a response from Alvin, looked to his left, only to find Alvin's bed vacant.
"Hey. Where's Alvin?", Theodore asked.
Simon put on his glasses. "Alvin?", he called out into the rest of the room while looking his head in nearly every direction. He then hopped out of bed and went out into the hallway. "Alvin?", he called out again.
Simon then went downstairs, only to find no one except Dave, who was drinking his morning coffee in the kitchen. "Hey Dave? Have you seen Alvin?", Simon asked.
"Oh. Good morning Simon. No, I haven't seen him.", Dave answered. "Have you checked outside?", he asked.
"Not yet.", Simon replied.
"Well when you find him, tell him that I put you in charge. I gotta go to a meeting across town.", Dave ordered.
"No problem, Dave.", said Simon.
"Simon.", Theodore called from the bedroom.
"Just a moment, Theodore.", shouted Simon. "Good luck with your meeting, Dave.", said Simon before running back upstairs.
When he finally arrived, he noticed Theodore at the closet with the doors open, and the door to the laboratory inside it open as well.
"Charlene is gone too!", Theodore informed Simon with great shock.
"What?!", Simon reacted as he looked inside the lab. "That's it! I'm calling him right now!", he proclaimed as he went to grab his cPhone from his nightstand. He dialed Alvin's name from his contact list and waited as the dial tone played. After a few seconds, an automated voice message started playing. "Sorry. The person you are attempting to call is outside of cellular range. Please try again later.", it said.
"What?!", Simon exclaimed to himself.
Five minutes later, just as Dave was leaving the driveway, The Chipettes all ziplined into The Chipmunks' bedroom. Theodore was there waiting for them, and started to look concerned as he saw Brittany with a stern grin on her face.
"You lost Charlene?!", Brittany asked discontentedly.
"I don't know. I just hope she's safe with Alvin. Wherever he is.", Theodore answered.
"That's even worse!", Brittany replied. "Charlene's mind is still young and impressionable. Alvin's a bad influence on her.", she explained.
Simon came back into the room after having been in the basement. "The Munkmobile is gone too.", he told the others.
"Great.", Brittany said with frustration and sarcasm. "Who knows where they could be by now.", she commented.
"Let's think about this for a moment, guys.", said Eleanor. "Alvin took Charlene with him, they're out of calling range, and they took the Munkmobile.", she specified. "Knowing all that, where could they be?", she proposed.
"Well, we've only been to two places recently without reception. Eagle's Peak and the culverts.", said Jeanette.
"Why would they go back to the culverts?", asked Brittany. "She's already safe with us here.", she added.
"Plus, why would they take the Munkmobile when the culverts are easily within driving distance?", Eleanor pointed out.
"Maybe they just wanted to get there even faster.", Theodore suggested.
"Yeah. And Alvin's car is still here.", said Simon. "The Munkmobile would seem practical if they went to Eagle's Peak, but Charlene has no reason to be there.", he detailed.
"Are you kidding me? Alvin can lead anyone wherever he wants to go without reason.", said Brittany.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why.", Eleanor told her frustrated sister. "Keep your head level, Britt.", she advised her.
"Maybe Alvin just went to visit our mom again and wanted Charlene to meet her. Or to show Charlene that cave art.", Theodore further suggested.
The sound of the Munkmobile's turbines started to become audible from outside. Simon, Theodore, and The Chipettes looked out the bedroom window and saw the Munkmobile landing through the hatch in the front yard.
"They're back?", Jeanette asked with confusion.
"To the basement.", said Simon.
They all rushed down into the basement and Simon opened the door to the second lab. Once they could see the Munkmobile parked inside, Brittany started marching towards it.
"Alvin! You better have a really good explanation for-", Brittany was interrupted as the cockpit opened and Charlene climbed out carrying Filder's book of the Tamian language.
"Charlene!", the group said in surprise.
"Where did you get that?!", Theodore asked in astonishment as he pointed to the book.
"Alvin and I found it on an island. We took it from a village.", said Charlene.
"Where is Alvin?", Simon asked.
Meanwhile on Chipmunk Island, Alvin wakes up in the village hall to find that he, along with the stranger that Charlene had knocked out, are tied to chairs with ropes, back to back. Alvin struggles within the ropes, which refuse to become loose.
"Kid. You're awake.", said the stranger.
"What the- Why are you tied up?", asked Alvin.
"Same reason as you. You weren't the only one interested in Harry's plans.", the stranger answered. "Thanks for knocking me out by the way.", he sarcastically added.
"You wanted that book too? What for?", Alvin continued asking.
"I can't disclose that.", the stranger said. "I thought I recognized you. You're one of Vinny's kids aren't you?", he asked.
"You know my mom?", Alvin asked with surprise and curiosity.
"Yep. Last time I saw you, you and your brothers were infants.", the stranger told Alvin.
"You're being very secretive.", Alvin commented.
"Just in case Harry's listenin' in on us.", the stranger answered.
Harry and Orwell entered the main hall from the study.
"Indeed I was.", Harry said, slowly strolling toward the captives. "I knew it would be a matter of time before someone came after that book.", he stopped in front of Alvin and started monologuing. "But I didn't expect both you and a member of the North Coast Colony.", he said, looking towards Alvin and then the stranger. "You and that girl didn't get along well with him, did you?", Harry asked Alvin.
"My friend and I thought he was with you.", Alvin remarked. "So what's his deal anyway?", he asked. "He doesn't wanna tell me." he added.
"I already told you, not now." the stranger told Alvin.
"I wish I knew, Alvin.", Harry answered.
Orwell walked up to Alvin. "Where is that book?", he asked seriously.
"Rude.", Alvin said with a snarky attitude. "You're not gonna tell me your name too?", he asked rhetorically. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Alvin.", he introduced himself.
"Where is that book?!", Orwell asked with intense frustration.
Harry put his hand on Orwell's shoulder. "Ease off, Orwell. He'll break in time.", Harry said.
"Ah, so you're Orwell.", Alvin said to the slightly more adolescent chipmunk.
"What?! How do you know my name?", Orwell asked in surprise.
"I know all about you guys and what you wanna do. That's why we came to take the book back.", Alvin boldly said to Harry and Orwell.
"Who told you about us? Was it Vinny?", Harry hastily asked.
"Vinny? Vinny who? I know a lot of Vinnys.", Alvin feigned confusion.
"Your mother." Harry replied.
"But you said my mother was lost at sea along with me and my brothers. I don't know where she could have ended up.", Alvin continued to fake his lack of knowledge.
Harry leaned in closer to Alvin. "Stop lying to me. You found your mother between now and when we last met, didn't you?", Harry started to become more interrogative.
"Hey, what happened to easing off of me?", Alvin nervously asked.
Meanwhile, in the Seville house basement, Simon was repairing Charlene's arm with a small laser tool as she told the story of what happened on Chipmunk Island.
"…And then he threw the book to me, before he got captured by Harry. I barely made it to the Munkmobile in time and came back as soon as I could.", Charlene detailed.
Brittany groaned in frustration. "I knew he'd get himself in trouble like this someday. Remind me, why did we make him leader, again?", she ranted.
"Now's not the time to complain, Brittany. We need to figure out how to get him back safely.", said Jeanette.
"Yeah. Before Dave notices.", Theodore added.
"He already has. We just need to save Alvin before he questions why he's been gone for so long.", said Simon.
"How're we gonna do this? The easy way, or the hard way?", Eleanor asked with serious spunk.
"What do you mean?", inquired Theodore.
"Should we, A: Try to offer Harry something in exchange for Alvin, or B: Go in fists-a-burnin' and rescue him by force?", Eleanor asked while making forward punching motions in the air during the latter part of her question.
"Good question, Eleanor.", said Jeanette. "We could offer the book, but you and Alvin already went through so much trouble to get it back.", she said while looking at Charlene.
"Alvin told me to make sure they do not get it. Giving the book to Harry is not an option.", said Charlene.
Simon stopped using the laser tool and looked at Charlene. "It most certainly is.", he asserted. "We don't value anything over the lives of each other.", he said, just before resuming the repairs on Charlene's arm. Charlene felt intimidated about the reply to her previous statement.
"We can't give up that book. We all agreed that Harry and Digbee would be a big problem with it. Who knows how far they got with their plans while they had it.", said Theodore.
"So option 'B' then?", Eleanor asked with hope.
"Not so fast. Let's try to rescue Alvin by stealth, first.", said Brittany.
"But how are we all gonna get to Chipmunk Island?", Jeanette asked.
Simon finished the repair on Charlene's arm. "All done, Charlene.", he said. "Thank you, Simon.", Charlene replied as she automatically closed the panels on her arm and rolled her sleeve back out.
"I have something that can get us there.", Simon answered to Jeanette.
A few moments later, Simon was guiding the others through a secret passageway from his basement lab, and into a large, dark room. When Simon turned the lights on, it was revealed to be a gargantuan hangar, housing a larger version of the Munkmobie, nearly the size of Dave's car.
"Ladies and gentlemunk, I present, the Munkmobile 2.0.", Simon dramatically announced.
Theodore, The Chipettes, and Charlene all gaped in awe and murmured "Wow." to themselves.
"How long have you been working on this?", Eleanor asked.
"Months.", answered Simon. "This new model can easily seat all 6 of us, has a max altitude of 18,000 feet, comes equipped with multiple scanners including LiDAR, thermal, magnetic-"
"Yeah that's great Simon, but we gotta save your brother. So let's all hop in this thing.", Brittany interrupted.
"Right. But let's bring along a few things to make our job easier.", suggested Eleanor.
Everyone went back to Simon's upstairs lab and quickly gathered some of his inventions. Jeanette pulled out Simon's invisibility suit from its case and held it up, looking at it.
"I'm surprised he didn't take this.", Jeanette commented. Eleanor walked up to Jeanette from behind and replied, "I guess he was that determined to go after Harry that he didn't think to take anything.".
Theodore pulled out his jetpack and helmet from a containment vessel on the back wall. "This should come in handy.", he said to himself.
"What should I bring?", Charlene asked Brittany. "I want you to stay in the treehouse while we're gone.", Brittany told her. "But why?", Charlene asked. "I can show you to the top of the mountain where we found the village.", she added. "You barely escaped Chipmunk Island on your own. I don't want you to take that risk again. Alvin is not your priority, and frankly, you shouldn't have been his.", Brittany responded. "Come on, I'll take you to the treehouse and tell you what you need to do in case anyone comes by.", she said as she guided Charlene out of the lab and towards the zipline rig at the bedroom window.
"We'll be waiting for you in the new Munkmobile, Simon.", said Jeanette, as she, Eleanor, and Theodore all left the lab carrying their supplies. "Okay.", Simon acknowledged as he packed his utility toolkit into a backpack.
By the time everyone else had left the vicinity of the lab, Simon looked at the Tamian language book and thought about taking it. He felt uneasy for a moment, but then decided to pack it as a backup plan. He zipped up the backpack and rushed out of the lab to meet up with Theodore and The Chipettes.
By the time everyone minus Charlene made it back to the hangar, Simon pulled out a key fob with a few buttons on it and used it to open the rear door to the Munkmobile 2.0. Upon entering, Simon and Jeanette sat in the pilot and copilot seats respectively, while Theodore, Brittany, and Eleanor all sat in a row of seats along the left side of the cabin.
"Everyone buckle up. Take-off is gonna be a little intense.", Simon cautioned as he pressed a button on the control console to close the rear door.
"What do you mean?", Brittany asked.
"You'll see.", Simon replied.
Simon pressed another button and the ceiling of the hangar began to open. Water poured in and submerged the Munkmobile 2.0. Its rotors started propelling it up through the water and out of the opening, revealing that the hangar was actually located under the Seville house swimming pool. Once the Munkmobile 2.0 had risen out of the pool and started to become airborne, the opening in the floor of the pool closed and the water that fell into the hangar was pumped back up to it. The Munkmobile 2.0 then turned its rotors and took off at full speed toward Chipmunk Island, with Charlene watching the takeoff from inside The Chipettes' Treehouse.
Back on Chipmunk Island, Harry was still interrogating Alvin.
"Vinny is the only one who could have told you who we are. So how much do you know?", Harry asked.
"Well, for starters, I gotta ask: If you hate humans so much, why are you working with Digbee?", Alvin asked back.
"A means to an end, boy. Manipulating one human with his own agenda was a risk, but if it means I can ensure power to our species again, so be it.", Harry answered.
"I had no idea why you had invited a human to the island.", the stranger commented to Harry. "What's his agenda?", he asked.
"That is between us and him". Harry answered, referring to himself and Orwell.
"Yeah, well your plan to get power over the humans sucks.", Alvin brashly stated. "You should open up to more of them. They're not so bad once you get to know them.", he added.
"Blasphemy!", Orwell yelled to Alvin. "Humans have been our enemies for thousands of years. They have leveled our once great cities, pushed us into the shadows, and claimed the lives of our loved ones; like my mother and father." he told in a grave tone of voice. "Once we find the capital where our Tamian ancestors held their greatest weapons, we shall do the same to them.", he proclaimed.
"Can't you talk things out with them?", Alvin pleaded. "Besides, most humans don't even know that we exist. I should know. It's been impossible for me to break out of the 'local legend' status.", he remarked.
"Oh, you don't know, do you?", Harry asked in an ambiguous way.
"Know what?", Alvin asked.
"I guess your mother didn't tell you much about your father.", Harry replied, still leaving things ambiguous.
A beeping sound started to go off in the study.
"We shall continue this soon.", Harry said to Alvin and the stranger just before walking back to the study. Orwell followed shortly behind but stopped and looked back at Alvin before heading through the door. "How could you betray your own flesh and blood?", he asked Alvin.
"Hey, Orwell, I'm sorry you lost your parents.", Alvin replied with sincerity. "But humanity doesn't deserve what you want to do to them.", he said.
"Stay out of our way. You've been warned.", Orwell concluded as he entered the study and shut the door.
Harry opened the closet and pulled out the device that was making the beeping sound. It was a very old radio system that had a small microphone connected to it by a curly wire.
Meanwhile, Simon, Theodore, and The Chipettes were flying above the sea on their way to Chipmunk Island.
"Alright, do we have a plan?", Brittany asked the rest of the team.
"You mean you hadn't come up with one?", Eleanor asked while looking at Brittany awkwardly.
"Why do you all expect…", Brittany muttered, gave up her complaint mid-sentence, and then groaned. "I actually do have a plan; I was just making sure you all were open so I could share my ideas.", she clarified.
"Well, I don't think we ever established a chain of command, so I'm fine with you being leader in Alvin's absence.", Simon said to Brittany.
"Great. So here's my plan: Simon, you find somewhere to park the Munkmobile, and remain on standby in case we need a pickup.", Brittany explained.
"Gotcha.", Simon acknowledged.
"Girls, Theodore, we'll all go up to the mountain and find the village. Once we sneak in, we'll need a way to distract anyone's attention away from Alvin.", Brittany further explained.
"We're approaching the island. What if someone sees us?", Jeanette asked.
"Not to worry. We'll just hide underwater.", Simon answered as he lowered the Munkmobile 2.0 to the ocean surface and it transitioned to underwater mode. Upon submerging, it shifted its rotors into a forward position and took off.
"Wow. This is so cool, Simon.", said Theodore.
"Oh, oh, look at those grey whales!", Jeanette excitedly said as she looked out of the right side of the cockpit.
Everyone looked out as well and saw a grey whale mother and calf on their summer migration route.
"Look at the baby one.", Eleanor said in a cutesy voice while pointing at the grey whale calf. "Awww.", The Chipettes and Theodore all said in a long and drawn out way.
A few minutes later, the Munkmobile 2.0 resurfaced in a small cove at Chipmunk Island. The cockpit opened and The Chipettes, along with Theodore, all hopped out onto a large boulder.
"Watch your step. It could be slippery.", Eleanor cautioned.
"Here.", said Simon as he handed Jeanette a nanophone. "If anything goes wrong, call me. And please, make sure Alvin gets back safe.", Simon instructed.
"We will.", Jeanette replied. "Don't worry, Simon. We'll leave no munk behind.", Eleanor chimed in. "Come on.", said Brittany as she and Theodore were already a little farther ahead.
Back in the village hall, Alvin was low-spirited. He thought that no one was going to come and rescue him, along with wondering what his mother had not told him about his father.
"What was Harry talking about with my father? Did you know him?", Alvin asked the stranger.
"Trust me, kid. You're not ready for the truth. And I hope Harry never gives it to you.", the stranger replied.
"Gosh, what does a guy gotta do to get some information around here?", Alvin asked with frustration.
"Calm down, kid.", the stranger said.
"Would you stop calling me 'kid' already?!", Alvin demanded. "You know my name is 'Alvin', you know who my parents are, and you've known me since I was a baby. Besides, I'm not a kid. I only have one more year of high school to go.", he ranted.
"Look, when we get outta here I'll tell you all about what I've been doing here on this island.", the stranger promised.
"If we get out of here. I'm worried about Charlene. And if she made it home safely. And even if she did, my brothers and The Chipettes may not want to rescue me. They say I drive them crazy, and probably think I deserve what I've gotten.", Alvin said in a depressed tone.
"Chin up, ki… Alvin. I drove my siblings crazy when we were kids. They almost never respected me. One day, I climbed the tallest tree in our forest, and couldn't get down. But they came to save me.", the stranger said. "Besides, I've got a wife and three kids of my own who I gotta get back to. We'll get out of here.", he added.
Meanwhile, Theodore and The Chipettes found the village, and snuck beside the building that Harry and Orwell were in. As they crouched and slid along a wall, they could hear talking from the window they were right next to.
"That's right. We have three pages deciphered.", Harry said into the radio's microphone.
"That's Harry.", Theodore whispered to The Chipettes.
"Only three?", Digbee asked over the radio. "I thought you had more.", he said.
Jeanette pulled out her cPhone and started voice recording the conversation.
"We do, but there's been a complication. One of the Seville brothers stole the book before we could decipher any more pages.", Harry said.
"What?! Are they onto our operation?", Digbee asked in concern.
"No, we managed to capture him and someone else, but a girl got away with the book. We'll be working on getting the book back.", Harry answered.
"You'd better. Don't make me regret falling back on my smuggling associates so soon.", Digbee said condescendingly.
"Don't worry my friend. You'll get whatever miscellaneous treasure we find from these sites. That was the agreement. Just as we've done for the other chipmunk sites we have pillaged. And as I've helped you find your own human relics to sell.", Harry exposited.
"So, about these three Tamian sites; do you want me to gather some men so we can collect all three simultaneously?", Digbee asked.
"No. I don't trust you humans to handle artifacts of chipmunk origin without my supervision. Besides, I have more than enough volunteers from my village to help.", Harry replied.
"Very well then. I will arrive in two days. I need to gather a boat and all the equipment we'll need for these three expeditions.", Digbee said.
"Understood. Over and out.", Harry responded and then turned off the radio.
"I'm glad you finally decided to take extra measures to ensure the humans don't take advantage of our relics.", Orwell commented to Harry.
"Finally?", Harry questioned. "I've always been sure to keep limits in our collaboration with this human.", he corrected Orwell.
"I hope so. You had been helping him by going on his expeditions and retrieving relics from spaces he was too large to get through. Your cordiality to him will be our undoing.", Orwell said.
"That's enough.", Harry ordered. "Humanity at large will still pay for what they've done to our kind, and this agreement with Digbee will be behind us by then.", he clarified. "Now, let's get back to our captives.", he said as he and Orwell left the study.
Jeanette stopped recording. "Digbee steals and smuggles artifacts. This answers everything.", she said.
"We have to get in there.", said Brittany. "Jeanette. Give Eleanor the invisible suit.", she instructed. Jeanette handed the invisible suit to Eleanor and started to put it on.
"What about me?", asked Theodore.
"You've got a special job, Theodore.", said Brittany.
Meanwhile, Harry and Orwell approached the tied-up Alvin and stranger again. "Let's get back to business.", said Harry. "Where is Vinny?", he asked them both.
"I don't know. And I wouldn't tell you even if I did.", the stranger told Harry.
"Oh really?", Harry asked with skepticism.
"She didn't privy me to where she's been hiding out. She came to my colony.", the stranger answered.
"Same.", Alvin interjected.
"I have a hard time believing either of you don't know where Vinny and the rebels are hiding, or have been there yourself.", Harry said. "Especially you, Alvin.", He added as he menacingly turned towards him.
"I'll never let you get what you want. You hear me?!", Alvin talked back to Harry.
"We will get the answer from one of you. By any means necessary.", Harry threatened.
"Oooo.", a female ghostly voice said.
"What was that?!", Harry asked apprehensively.
Alvin started to tense up in his seat.
"Harry. I've come to haunt you.", the voice said.
"Is that a… g-g-g-g… g-g-ghost?!", Harry asked, growing evermore terrified.
"Leave Alvin and this other guy alone, or else.", the voice said.
"Or else what?", Orwell asked fearlessly.
Suddenly, the iron rod in the fireplace behind them started to levitate. It was glowing orange on one end, and it started to point at Harry and Orwell as they turned around.
"Or else you both will pay.", the voice said in a raised tone as the rod slowly got closer to them. Orwell started to grow fearful, but still not as much as Harry.
"Let's get out of here!", Harry exclaimed as he grabbed Orwell by the bicep and they both ran into another room.
"Ha! What'dya know. Harry's afraid of ghosts.", the stranger laughed and commented.
Brittany came in through a window and made her way over to Alvin and the stranger to untie them.
"Brittany?", Alvin said in surprise.
"What were you thinking, Alvin?!", Brittany scolded him.
"Save it for later, Brittany.", said Jeanette as she came in through the window too and helped untie the ropes from the other side.
"Jeanette?", Alvin was once again surprised.
"Don't forget about me.", Eleanor said as her head appeared out of the invisible suit.
"Threatening them with a hot fire rod?", Jeanette questioned Eleanor. "There was no need to go that far.", she said in discontent.
"What?", Eleanor said in a jovial way as she took off the rest of the suit. "I wasn't gonna do it. Besides, it was the nearest thing to me; I had to make something float.", she added.
"Where're Simon and Theodore?", Alvin asked The Chipettes.
"Simon's our getaway flier and Theodore's nearby.", Brittany answered.
"Who's your new friend?", Eleanor asked Alvin.
"I don't know. But we need his help. We can trust him.", Alvin answered.
"If you all are out to protect that book and the Tamian relics, I'll tell you everything you need to know.", the stranger told Eleanor.
In a small doctor's room where Harry and Orwell were hiding, the former was still cowering from having been threatened by what he thought was a ghost.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before ghosts started to seek me out. Must be revenge for that Inca tomb I helped Digbee raid.", Harry said nervously.
"It may be setting our captives free as we speak. Ghost or no ghost, we can't let them leave this island.", Orwell said as he got up and went to the door.
"Don't Orwell! We'll find another way to learn where Vinny's hiding.", Harry urged.
"We've gone years without so much as a lead. I'm not going to let a ghost stop me.", Orwell responded. He looked through the keyhole of the door and saw The Chipettes untying Alvin and the stranger.
"I knew it!", Orwell shouted as he swiftly opened the door, alerting his presence to the five other chipmunks. "More intruders!", he concluded as Harry then joined him at the doorway to see.
"Time to get the munk outta dodge!", Eleanor announced.
The Chipettes, Alvin, and the stranger all bolted out of the village hall through the main doors. Upon entering a clearing directly outside, the group stopped and were suddenly on view for several villagers walking about to see.
"Aw nuts.", Alvin said, realizing their mistake.
"Simon! We've been spotted! Pick us up!", Jeanette shouted as she pressed the button of the nanophone in her ear.
"We should get to higher ground!", Brittany told the rest of the group.
The five of them ran around to the side of the village hall and climbed a few barrels to get onto the roof. There were five barrels total, with four on the ground and the last stacked on top of another. With an agile leap, Eleanor made it to the roof first by jumping off the highest barrel.
"Quick. Knock it over. I'll help you up.", Eleanor said.
Alvin and Brittany pushed over the top barrel onto the ground. Eleanor reached down to pull up Brittany, followed by Alvin, and then the stranger. But before Jeanette could make it, she was suddenly grabbed by the hood of her jacket and pulled to the ground.
"Jeanette!", Brittany and Eleanor screamed.
Jeanette stood up. But she was being restrained at the forearms by Orwell. Harry looked up at the rest of the escapees.
"Let her go!", Brittany ordered.
"Tell us where Vinny is, and I will allow you all to leave.", Harry offered.
"What do we do?" Eleanor asked Alvin and Brittany.
The two band leaders looked at each other. "Tell him.", Brittany said to Alvin.
"We can't. Who knows what they could do to my mom and the rest of that village; or what Tamian secrets it'll help them get their hands on.", Alvin replied.
"I didn't come all this way to save you just to get my sister taken hostage in your place! Tell him!", Brittany demanded in anger.
Alvin put his hands on Brittany's shoulders. "Brittany, remember what you told me? I just got my mother back. I can't put her at risk. Would you really do that?", Alvin emotionally argued.
As Alvin put his hands down, Brittany's eyes widened as she realized what Alvin was implying. She looked back down at Jeanette for a moment. Jeanette was staring back up at Brittany with her mouth gaped slightly open, knowing the secret her sister had broken. Eleanor looked at Brittany with a similar expression as well. "I… I don't know what to do.", Brittany cried out as she started to tear up and put her face down into her hands.
The Munkmobile 2.0 flew up to the village and stopped above Harry, Orwell, and Jeanette. The back door opened and Simon was at the edge of the ramp, holding the Tamian language book. "Wait!", he yelled. "Let her go, and I'll give you the book!", he shouted over the sound of the Munkmobile 2.0's turbines.
"Simon?! What're you doing?!", Alvin asked, surprised at his brother's audacity.
"What is that flying thing?", Orwell asked Harry. "Beats me.", Harry replied.
"Don't do it, Simon!", Jeanette said.
"Sorry, Jeanette. No munk left behind. No matter what.", Simon responded as he held the book out over the ramp. "Harry? Do I have your word?", Simon asked.
Harry contemplated for a brief moment. "Drop it first. Then she goes.", Harry told Simon.
"Simon! No!", Alvin yelled.
Simon ignored Alvin's demand and dropped the book. As it fell through the air, Harry reached up, prepared to catch it. He was excited by the impending success of having the book practically handed back to him.
Suddenly, Theodore, using his jetpack, swooped in and caught the book.
"What?!", Harry exclaimed in angry confusion.
Theodore then flew back around and dive-bombed Harry and Orwell, causing them to jump to the ground, flat on their bellies and covering the backs of their heads. Jeanette was pulled to the ground when Orwell had ducked, but he had let go of her, and so took the opportunity to escape by climbing onto the barrels and being pulled up by Alvin and Brittany.
Harry and Orwell got up off the ground. "You liars!", Orwell insulted the C-Team.
Theodore flew up and landed in the Munkmobile 2.0, which Simon then descended closer to the roof to pick up the others. Once they all got in, the rear door closed and The Munkmobile took off at full speed.
"Noooo!", Harry called out as he fell to his knees in defeat.
On the Munkmobile 2.0, everyone took a moment to relax and process what happened, while Simon had set the craft to autopilot. "Thanks guys.", Alvin said, as he was near-exhausted. "Hey, what are brothers for?", Theodore remarked back to him. "I told ya they'd come through.", the stranger added.
"Are you okay, Jeanette?", Simon asked. "I'm fine. Thank you.", she answered.
Theodore took a few steps over to Simon. "How could you bring the book, Simon?", Theodore asked, feeling distrust. "I wasn't going to take any chances. Not with Harry holding any of you hostage too.", Simon explained.
"So you thought playing it safe and letting Harry and Orwell get away with far worse with that book was a better option than fighting to get your brother back?", Eleanor questioned Simon in a scolding manner.
"I know what they want to do with that book. Dave would already hate what we're doing; but no matter what, he would never want us to do anything without everyone being in the safest position possible first. And someone has to make sure of that. Dave yet again put me in charge today.", Simon argued more sternly.
Theodore put his hand up to the base of his forehead, closed his eyes, and sighed. "It's our first encounter with Breaktusk all over again.", he said.
"Can we stop talking about that boar already?", Eleanor asked, slightly agitated.
"I'm serious.", Theodore said. "Any time our situation goes bad, you always give up and do anything just to get us back to where we were before.", Theodore told Simon as the conversation escalated.
"It's called 'picking our battles', Theodore. And when Alvin picks battles like the one he did today, it's a situation that needs to be reversed A-S-A-P.", Simon said in rebuttal.
"Why don't you just drop this argument, Simon? You don't wanna pick a battle with the rest of us right now.", Brittany threatened.
"With that out of the way, may I finally know your name?", Alvin asked, turning toward the stranger.
"Indeed. My name is Eric Munkowski. A few weeks ago, your mother came to my colony and asked me to spy on Harry. I was all set to leave a few days ago after not having found much, until Harry got a hold of that book.", he elaborated.
"Oh, right. Him getting it was kind of our fault.", Alvin nervously admitted.
"I knew it was my duty to get it back. So I was waiting for the right opportunity to go in and steal it.", Eric continued. "But that's when you and her came in and tried to do my job for me.", he said, pointing at Alvin and then Brittany.
"Actually, that wasn't me. It's a long story.", Brittany responded.
"But what about the Tamian relics?", Alvin asked Eric. "Harry already has three pages deciphered.", he added.
"We know. We overheard Harry talking to Digbee on our way to rescue you. They're planning to start their relic hunt in two days. But we don't know anything about where these Tamian sites are or how we can beat them to the relics.", Jeanette said.
"And we forgot to take the ciphered pages or pictures of them. Nuts.", Alvin lamented.
"We'll figure something out to find the relics later. Right now, we need to get home before Dave does.", Brittany stated.
"What about Eric? Shouldn't we take him back to his colony first?", Theodore asked.
"We don't have the time.", Simon told Theodore.
"Eric? Would you mind staying with us?", Alvin asked.
"You want us to harbor another chipmunk without Dave knowing?", Simon, asked in opposition.
"Oh shut up, Simon. You don't get a say in weighing our options after what you did today.", Alvin ranted back.
"That'd be great. Thank you.", Eric replied. "Besides, you might need my help to protect those relics before Harry and Orwell get to them.".
To be continued...