Excitement hangs in the air. It's twenty minutes until Alvin and the Chipmunks take the stage, ready to perform for the final round of the Battle of the Bands. Their competition has been a group called Shuffle, and it's been a fierce rivalry ever since the start. But Alvin, Simon, and Theodore firmly believe they can win against the other group.
"Come on," says their human manager, David, "It's almost time for you to go out there and take home the victory!"
"But what about Shuffle?" squeaks Theodore, adjusting his green pullover. "They've powered through every round so far!"
Beside him, the taller chipmunk in a blue turtleneck and glasses responds "And so have we!"
"Simon's right," adds Alvin, straightening his red shirt with a yellow 'A' on it.
David smiles. "Sure, they may be a rock band, but you have something they don't have."
Tilting his head, Theodore asks "What's that?"
The human chuckles. "Cuteness!"
Simon nods eagerly. "Yeah! The judges can't resist us!"
The youngest chipmunk takes a breath and smiles. "Yeah, you're right. We've got this!"
"That's the spirit!" cheers David.
His watch beeps, and he stands and straightens his suit. "I'm gonna go scope out our judges; I'll be back in a minute."
"Sounds good, thank you!" shouts Alvin.
The human leaves the room, leaving the three rodent brothers alone.
Alvin grins. "Alright, boys, let's give it one more go!"
He counts off to three, before the group sings their rendition of an old classic – "Christmas Don't Be Late". The three sing their signature song, harmonizing with one another as they aim for a heartfelt performance to win over the judges when they'd go on stage.
As they finish, they hear the voice of David from behind, congratulating them. "Nice, nice! Not bad at all! You'll wipe Shuffle out with a performance like that!"
Alvin smiles proudly as he turns around. "Thank you! I think we're… Ready…"
He trails off as he spots not the human, but a tall raccoon wearing a tye-dye shirt and black sweatpants – Bandit, one of the guitarists of Shuffle.
He smirks as he steps closer, his voice suddenly coming out at his natural range. "Of course you are! Any minute now, right?"
The other two, hearing the suddenly different voice, turn and look, unnerved by their unexpected visitor.
Theodore stammers "Wha… B-But… I thought… I thought I heard…"
Bandit grins, switching back to his near-perfect imitation of their manager. "You thought you heard someone else?" Swapping back to his natural tone, he adds "Easy mistake."
Simon speaks next. "What do you want, Bandit?"
The raccoon chuckles. "Well, like I said, that was an amazing performance. Not personally my thing, but it's not me who's making that call. And the ones who are making that call, well…"
He glances around the room. "As I said, you'll blow us out of the water. There's no way we'd win against a number like that. No performance we could do would top yours."
Theodore, taking a half-step backward, asks "S-So… Are you… Con… Con… Uh, what's the word?"
"Conceding," finishes Simon.
Bandit shakes his head. "Oh, no, no. We came to win, after all. And therein lies the problem."
Alvin tilts his head. "What problem?"
The raccoon's sea-green eyes focus on the red-adorned rodent. "We want to win. But we don't have a chance if the judges hear you perform like that."
Theodore, growing ever more worried, asks "So… So, what are you… What are you going to do…?"
Bandit's smirk grows, and he responds matter-of-factly, "Make sure they don't hear you perform."
Before any of them can react, he reaches out and grabs the three of them – Alvin in one hand, and Simon and Theodore in the other.
"Ack!" shouts Alvin. "What are you doing with us?!"
"Put us down!" yells Simon.
And Theodore, cowering, calls out "David! Help us! Please!"
Bandit chuckles. "He's gonna be a while. The rest of my band are engaging him in a pleasant, friendly conversation right now. Y'know, to stall for time."
Alvin, growing more nervous, asks "T-Time for what, exactly?"
The raccoon looks at Simon and responds "Time to insert you into the upper portion of my alimentary canal and let my internal functions take over from there."
Alvin and Theodore look at Simon for a translation, only to spot him shrinking back in fear. "You… You wouldn't…"
"Wouldn't what?" asks Alvin.
Simon looks over at him. "He's going to… To eat us!"
All three chipmunks yell out in their high-pitched voices as Bandit chuckles, lifting them to his mouth and opening it widely in front of them. They're terrified by the sight of the cobalt-blue interior, his tongue rippling expectantly for them, the tip tauntingly curling back toward his dangling uvula and pulsing throat. And in one quick motion, he stuffs them all inside, shutting his jaws with an audible clack of his teeth to trap them within his maw!
The slimy muscle presses upward, licking against all three rodents, coating their fur and clothes in slick saliva. Despite the lack of light, they're still able to see – Which doesn't offer any of them much in the way of comfort as Bandit lets out a quiet "Mmmh~" in response to their taste.
With amazing dexterity, he manages to pry Alvin from the others, working him to the back of his tongue. All he can do is yell for help as he tries to scrabble back along the surface of that tongue, to absolutely no avail.
"Bandit, you can't do this!"
The raccoon pauses to mutter "Watch me," before slipping Alvin into his throat and taking a firm swallow. His cries are cut off, muffled as he disappears into that gullet, the muscles squishing him deeper down Bandit's esophagus.
"N-No…" whimpers Theodore as his oldest brother sinks out of sight. "No, Alvin!"
Simon shouts out "Please, don't do this, Bandit!"
Bandit, though, grins and asks "Don't do what? This?"
Again working his tongue expertly, he pushes Simon to his throat. The blue-outfitted chipmunk lets out a meek little "Meep!" just before he too is swallowed whole with a loud Glllck!
"No… No… No…" is all Theodore can say, beginning to tear up. Both of his brothers have been swallowed down the raccoon's throat now.
And he cries out in terror as the tongue begins to work him back, knowing it's his turn now.
"Please, Bandit! Let us go! We won't go on stage! We'll let you win!"
The raccoon chuckles softly, responding "You've got that right!" before tilting his head back, making the youngest chipmunk slip into his gullet. He takes a deep breath, and then…
Gllllp!
Theodore cries out as he's tugged downward, squished into the tight tunnel of Bandit's esophagus and pushed downward by the forces of gravity and peristalsis together. He's terrified as he hears the disturbingly calm heartbeat, realizing Bandit truly thought nothing of them aside from their nutritional value.
Theodore soon presses against a tight ring of muscle – Bandit's cardia – And it readily squishes open to let the chipmunk squeeze through and drop into the blue belly, landing on top of the two others before falling into the fluids at the bottom with a splash!
"Ack! Theodore? Is that you?"
Alvin's voice sounds out as he looks at his two brothers.
"Y-Yeah… Yeah… It's me…"
The trio can feel the raccoon moving, presumably making his escape from their rehearsal room.
"So… What do we do?" asks Theodore, trying not to cry.
Alvin sighs softly. "I don't know… I tried looking for a way out, but the only one I found is too tight to go through."
Simon speaks up. "Maybe if we struggle, we can make him sick!"
"Oh, that's a good idea," exclaims Alvin.
The three chipmunks begin to squirm in the tight chamber, pressing against the rubbery walls of the raccoon's stomach in different directions. There isn't much room to move, but it's enough for them to stretch the stomach walls taut!
And it seems to work, as the raccoon's movements pause. "Hurk! Careful in there; you're gonna make me cough you up!"
Alvin yells "That's the idea, Bandit! Let us out!"
"Oh no, please don't keep struggling!"
Alvin and Theodore resume their movements, but Simon pauses, then sighs. "He's just mocking us."
Bandit, hearing this, continues in a taunting tone. "Nooo, please, your squirms feel delightful! You're almost out, I'm sure!"
Suddenly, the stomach contracts, forcing the brothers tightly against one another as Bandit lets out a crass Oouurrp!
The trio struggle, trying to push back against the now churning and shifting walls as the fluids begin to rise.
"Mmm… Tasty Theodore, Scrumptious Simon, and Appetizing Alvin. So good in my tummy!"
They can feel him patting his midsection – And soon, they feel themselves tingling as the fluids soak into their fur, making them grow softer.
They're being digested!
"Bandit, please," yells Alvin. "Let us out of here!"
"Oh, sure thing!"
There's a pause, then Simon asks "Really?"
"Yeah, in a few hours, when my body is done with you!"
Theodore begins to sob, and the other two stop their struggles, just hugging one another in their final moments.
Bandit's stomach contracts again, forcing them all underneath the fluids, and after a few seconds, his belly has fallen still once more.
----------
Outside, Bandit stretches out on the sofa in his dressing room and sighs happily. "Ahh, that was nice!"
Smoky, the possum keyboardist, nods her head. "Goin' by the noises of your belly, I'd sure say so!"
Suddenly, another wave of gas works its way up his throat, and he lets loose another Brrraap!
Out of his mouth fly a tiny red shirt, a blue turtleneck, and a green pullover, as well as a red hat and a pair of glasses. They land with a splat on the wall before falling into the trash bin, and the raccoon chuckles again.
"What a shame they didn't show up for their performance… They were so promising, too."
