Disclaimer: "I do not own Jumanji, or any part of that franchise. I only own my character, Sydney, and any original content that I make her do or say. Everything else belongs to the talented writers of Jumanji."

Side Note: I also want to state for the record that, this is based on the new Jumanji movie, with The Rock and Kevin Hart in it. It also, as far as the ending is going to go, doesn't follow the same guideline of how a typical game of Jumanji is supposed to always end. (Those who love Jumanji, you'll see it when you get there, I'm sure.)

Okay, I'm sorry to interrupt. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

Sydney Gilpin woke up feeling both satisfied and disappointed in herself. It had been a long night, and while the work had been good, she wasn't exactly pleased with what she'd been doing.

Spencer, her younger brother by a year, had come to her as soon as she'd come home yesterday from the gym. Apparently his 'friend', needed help completing an essay assignment so he didn't get kicked off the football team.

Sydney didn't like Fridge anymore. When they'd been younger, he'd been a pretty cool guy. Then he got into football, became the typical jock, and brushed Spencer to the side. Now, all Spencer was good for, apparently, was to help out with homework assignments.

It took a lot of willpower for Syd not to punch Spencer in the gut and ask why he was trying to help the 'good for nothing' football star. Spencer was a more forgiving soul than she was. Gentler and more innocent. And while it was annoying sometimes in how naïve it could make him, Sydney also loved that about her little brother.

Spencer slumped in relief when, rather than berating him, Syd just began pulling back her long black hair into a ponytail. Whenever she did that, it meant she was ready to get to work on whatever assignment needed her attention. It didn't matter if it was as simple as making breakfast, writing a paper, or as intense as practicing her Kung Fu, or shortening her five-minute mile down to a four-minute mile. Syd's hair went up for all of it, and it meant she was ready to get down to business.

Syd had laughed at him at the time, amused at his very visible relief that she was going to help him. However, once they got to his room, the berating came almost immediately after they began.

Spencer started out slowly, knowing how to handle his sister at this point. He needed her help if he wanted this done by the morning. And according to Fridge, it most definitely needed to be done by then. So he started by saying that Fridge just needed help on the body of the paper. Spencer, himself, had already put some of it together, and Syd began helping to fill in the gaps.

Of course, Syd knows her brother just as well as he knows her. It didn't take her long to realize that the work Spencer already had for the paper was actually his own. Fridge hadn't come up with any of it. That earned Spencer a punch to the shoulder.

After that, Spencer resigned himself to the idea of being punched several times. Like, when Syd figured out that Fridge hadn't even come up with an introductory paragraph. And when she figured out that he hadn't even tried to help provide them with sources for the research. She also punched Spencer to force him into texting Fridge to see if he could at least create his own concluding paragraph.

Spencer's just glad that Sydney decided to kick at his chair, rather than hit him again, when the jackass said he couldn't.

In any case, they'd worked well into the night on the paper, and it was a fine piece of work, considering it was put together at the last minute. So yes, Sydney is proud of the work they accomplished. She's just not proud of why.

Rolling out of bed, she showers and readies herself for the day. Jeans, black tank top, button-up dark green shirt, and dark brown boots with just an inch of heel. Enough to make the outfit look a bit fancier than it was, but not enough to hinder her balance if she suddenly needed to kick the crap out of somebody.

Don't get ahead of yourself though. Sydney wasn't the resident school badass. In fact, outside of her family, no one knew she had any trained fighting skill at all. They knew she could run, and that she was the silent star of the track and cross country teams, but that was it. Aside from that, everyone kept themselves away from her, a silent rule that had been in place since her second year of middle school. And Sydney didn't bother with overworking herself trying to get to know any of the rest of them. She just… kept mostly to herself.

Well, aside from Spencer. They had what Sydney considered to be a rather unique brother-sister relationship. A lot of siblings spent their younger years in a constant flip-flop of hating each other one minute and loving each other the next. But with their single mom working double shifts all the time, and the nannies they'd had in the past not amounting to much… well, they needed each other. Both of them were loners more than anything else, which meant that they really only had each other.

Bottom line, they couldn't waste time going through the stage of flip-flopping back and forth. So they were just brother and sister. Occasional arguments, and constantly with different views on the world, people, and life in general. But always, one-hundred-percent, there for each other. Spencer never had to wonder if Syd had his back, and Syd was the same. Whatever the other needed, if they had the ability to provide help and aid, they did it.

Sydney goes about drying her hair, and then brushes on just a touch of eye-shadow before grabbing her bag and heading for Spencer's room. He was already awake, as she'd known he would be. Sydney could pull an all-nighter just as well as the next girl… but she was not a morning person. Hated them with a passion, actually. Which is why she can't fathom how, even after staying up until three last night, Spencer is already up and ready, looking awake and content on the floor of his room, playing one of his video games.

She knocks on the doorframe before coming inside and plopping down on the edge of the bed beside where he is sitting on the floor with his head leaning back against it. Spencer goes through a few other moves, fighting some huge demon looking man on his TV screen. Then he asks, "How'd you sleep?" "Like the dead, as usual." "And my alarm clock?" "Works like a charm. You should patent it." "I'll consider it."

The alarm clock he'd tweaked for her didn't just have a normal shaker that shook the bed. It had everything Spencer could possibly wire to it that could be used to wake a person up. An alarm buzzer that grew louder the longer you left it on. A flashing light that would flash right in Sydney's face. The shaker that fit under the mattress that was meant to shake her awake, did not just shake the whole bed. It felt like it shook the whole room. And if for some insane reason none of that worked, Spencer also had the clock wired to a separate remote that, after five minutes, would power on her CD player, which would then begin to play the absolute loudest, screaming, rock band song that he had in his arsenal of music. And sure, he'd had to seriously dismantle her CD player, and the remote, and her clock in order to make it work. But hey… Sydney never had to wonder if she was going to sleep-in on a school day.

Spencer's phone goes off, so he hands her the controller and says, "Here. Just… keep kicking his ass for a moment." And Sydney tries, she really does. But where her brother was a nerd and a gamer in every sense of the word… Sydney was only smart when it came to her schoolwork, and the self-discipline it took to become a master of Kung Fu.

She didn't do games. Her fingers seriously aren't coordinated enough to even come close. Spencer's text only took ten seconds at the most, and when he looked up, the screen still told him that he'd lost. Looking up at Syd, he asks, "Really? Not even for that long?" "Hey, if you wanted to keep winning, you should've just told me to send the text for you." Spencer raises an eyebrow, "And have you type out every foul word you know into a message for Fridge? I don't think so." "He'd know it was from me, Spencer. It's not like he'd actually think you sent it." "Maybe, but still…"

Sydney grins down at him, and then ruffles his thick black hair before saying, "Come on. We don't want to be late." "One more game." "Spencer, we need to hit the road." Grinning, he says, "I'll pack up and leave willingly… if you sing me a song." "You know my voice doesn't cooperate completely this early in the morning." "Still beautiful to hear though. So… come on. For me?" "You always say that." "It has yet to fail me."

She rolls her eyes, but then ponders what song she might sing that is both quick, but will also satisfy Spencer's request. She's just settled on one, when he gets another text from Fridge. Then he says, "Actually, it's alright. We should probably head out. And in fact, you can go without me today. I'm meeting Fridge at Freak House." Raising an eyebrow, Sydney asks, "Why does he have to meet you there?!" "It's directly in the middle of our houses. It's fine, really. And besides, it's not like I'll be there long. I'm sure Fridge will give me a ride."

Syd resists the urge to give him a look that says she is painfully aware that Fridge won't be giving Spencer a ride. She loved that Spencer could always see the better side of people. And it wasn't like Sydney went around just looking for everyone's bad side. She just… knew too much about Fridge and how he now treated Spencer. She knew all too well how their friendship really worked now, and so she couldn't see any brighter side to Fridge.

The boy had better pray Sydney's patience holds out. One day, he was going to take more advantage of Spencer's kindness then she could stomach. And when he did… well, it wasn't going to end well for his football career if Sydney had any say in it.

Spencer has just printed out the paper, when their mom barges into the room unannounced. "Spencer!"

Spencer, for his part, flails in his chair before saying, "Mom! What did we say about the knocking?!" Their mom, Phoebe, simply says, "I'm late for work. You going to your father's after school?"

Spencer nods, and then Phoebe looks over at Sydney and says, "Oh good. You're in here too. You going to your father's after the gym?" Sydney shrugs and says, "Sure." "Good. Oh, and Spencer, don't forget your Epi-Pen. And both of you, please, remember the world is a terrifying place. Be careful of everything. And I love you both more than life itself. See you Sunday night. Okay?"

They both nod as their mom rushes out of the room. Spencer then asks, "Why does she always say the world is a terrifying place?" Syd shrugs, "Because it is. Well… some parts of it is, anyways. And she's worried that those parts will find us and eat us alive." Spencer chuckles, but then grins appreciatively when Sydney adds, "Don't worry though. Between you kicking ass in the online world, and me kicking ass in the physical world, there won't be anyone left that's stupid enough to come after us when the apocalypse starts."

Slipping on his rain coat, Spencer asks, "Are we talking about the apocalypse of the zombies, plagues, robots, or all the parents vanishing on us?" Syd raises an eyebrow, but Spencer just laughs again when she asks, "Does it matter? We will survive them all, take out anyone in our way, and bring about the new world order."

Heading out the door, Spencer says, "You know, people should really be afraid of some of the contingency plans you have floating around in your head. Out of curiosity, what's going to happen when somebody is stupid enough to try and kill me someday?" "That involves a very deep hole in the ground, about a month of recon work, and bleach. Lots and lots of bleach." "I was kidding!" "And yet, I'm not."

Laughing again, he hugs her and says, "I'll see you later." "Sure thing. Oh, and don't forget to tell Fridge that I hate his guts." "I'm sure he already knows." "Well, you can never be too careful."

She's actually in the parking lot at school, when Spencer texts her that he needs a ride, or he's going to be late. Sydney makes a mental note, as she whips her car back around, that she's going to kick Fridge's ass.

Hard.

So here's chapter 1! And just for the record, there will be eleven total chapters in this work.

For those who have read my work before, this is something I worked on to give myself a break from the Teen Wolf series I did with Nixie and Jordan. This movie has become a favorite of my family, always making us laugh. And as my brain is constantly capable of doing, I saw the chance to insert my own character and create a romantic subplot. (As usual, an overprotective character. One day, I will attempt to write a different kind. But until I stop coming up with ideas involving overprotective characters, they will continue appearing in all my stories.)

Again, because I said this with my Speed Racer story too, this is not as in depth as my teen wolf stories were. It will be shorter, quicker, and more like the story I wrote for Speed Racer in that respect. I hope you all enjoy what I came up with. :)