Jumanji's Creed Welcome to the Jungle

Season 1

Episode 12 The End of Fairy Tales

30 May year Unknown

Bazaar sewers

Jumanji Valley

Jalen lit a torch "Follow me and do exactly as I say" He said, the group followed him as he walked along "les move" the group headed down the sewer line, Spike was in a bit of a hassel thanks to her wings but quickly figured out how to hide them.

As they walked Spike asked "How do you know Diadem ? And Spyder ?"

"Oh that's a long story. It started with me in the Bazaar when Diadem first showed up there to get the missing piece. Dunno how she got it but she fought off most of Elsas soldiers with skill nobody had ever seen before" Jalen said he turned a corner "About a week later Spyder showed up. And I was like yeah, that's totally... Backs against the wall!" Jalen stood against the wall the others following suit, speas fired between them. Spike didnt want to think about it seeingt he dead body speared to the wall

"Oh my fuck!" Mark screamed seeing the dead

Jalen smirked, "lets keep moving" he said, the group moved on pretty well before turning a corner, "Watch your step in here" Jalen said.

"You said your name is Jalen Arscari, but what exactly did you do after the Portal Guards disbanded ?" Spike asked

"Yeah, and who do you think we are ?" Mark asked

"Right sorry, my bad, my bad, uh...let me back up a little bit here" Jalen said

Spike put two and two together then but it was Miao that spoke. "Are you one of those recruits we could have called upon during the main levels ?"

Jalen nodded, "Yeah, yeah that's me I'm also a field guide like I mentioned though Nigels the main guy of the bunch"

"So that means you're able to help us out ?" Mark surmised as Jalen stopped seeing where they were

"Stay off the white bricks, and freeze" Jalen said, the group backed up and got off the white bricks just as massive battle axes swung briefly between them over the white bricks

"Whoa!" Mark yelled

"aie!" Miao screamed as Diamond went dead quiet. Spike at the rear smirked, thankful for once that the blades missed cleanly.

The blades retracted without a sound, Jalen smirked, "so crazy huh ?" he said, the group headed onwards.

"This crystal sucks" Mark muttered, Spike hated it but she agreed with him. The group headed for safety deeper into the sewers and soon came to a centeral area that looked set up for a camp of some kind.

Seeing it Jalen spread his arms wide "Welcome to my basecamp, right now with the Eshu up top getting anywhere will be dangerous, I can get you to Diadem once the coast is clear up top, but for now. Welcome to basecamp!"

Spike took in the look of the place, Ok it looked alright, so there wasnt anything bad happening there as far as she could see. It even felt rather homelike aside from the fact it was the sewer. Spike however was clearly unhappy. She was inside a fairy tale world, Spyder was alive as if she had never died, even had her demon splitblade swords too.

But during all this Spike was reminded how much she had outgrown fairytails. Fairytales were for kids werent they ? Stories told by their parents before bed, something to keep them innocent, and as the child grew up, they outgrew those stories as they matured.

Spike was one of those adults, former kids really some people would even say that they were kids, just bigger and trusted with more duties and chores around the house, like telling their own smaller offspring what to do. But thankfully Spike was single,. And happily so, so there wasnt much that could be done in that regard.

So that evening, and for the rest of the day, Spike keopt to her self, Jalen didnt have much information to work with for the group either so Spike was left to herself to try and think and figure out a plan, if Spyder could do it, and only died twice, how much longer before Spike herself was killed in combat ? Spike tried not to think about it

Mark saw that she had kept to her self and went over to her, the winged woman didnt look too happy in and miuch as that, when she drank that potion and got her wings back things had changed, for the better of course. Spoike had gained her height she had lost along with regaining her wings. And in doing so the scales had tipped in their favor, for the most part.

"You alright ?" Mark asked offering her a wedge of cheese

Spike took it, from where she sat apart from everyone else and watching the way they had come for signs of the Eshu made sense, she wasnt one to fully relax. Even then though, it was good she was even there to begin with. "Maybe"

"Whats bugging you ?" Mark asked, for once taking the role of someone above Spike in command to help her out of a jam

"Where we are" Spike replied, sounding pissed off, which she was given the fact that there wasnt normal proper beds, in Jumanji it was weird, creepy, and scary.

"How so ?" Mark asked her

"Look around you, think of where we are" Spike said waving her arm at the area around them, "Jumanji, a relic of arcadia, a STONE that sucked us into it. A item of fairy tales. " Spike was indeed upset

"Hey, hey, calm down" Mark said, When Spike slightly did so Mark said "Be happy you havent died once yet" he had a point, and it was in her favor at that moment too. Spike took a breath and tried to relax. "Come on, whats wrong ? I mean think about it, sure we're in Jumanji, a fairy relic or whatever. But we got each other and you havent died yet. Whats there to be upset about ?"

"Everything, we're not at home in bed dreaming all this, I've woken up itchy every morning so far, this place scares me, Spyder isnt dead, and you blew up" Spike said

Mark raised a hand "im gonna stop you right there" He didnt like that he had a weakness to cake of all things, how was he to know that bread could be mistaken for bread when it was really poundcake ?

"What ?" Spike asked "It didnt feel good to get to be a suicide bomber ?"

"No it felt... well it felt like I was being torn apart" Mark replied

"So when I die I know then what it will feel like, if I die that way" Spike said, a faint smile on her lips. Mark gave her a dirty look. "fact of the matter is I still cant believe we're here, in a relic of fairies of all things."

"Why is that ?" Mark asked

"Because I outgrew fairy tales" Spike said giving him a look. "By becoming an adult I matured to grow away from fairy tales, myths and creatures like unicorns and the like" she explained

"Yet you have wings" Mark pointed out, "Both here and in the real world"

"True, I do still believe in magic, because Talak opened my eyes to that fact that it still indeed exsisted in the world. I just needed to know where to look." Spike said

"So what happens now ?" Mark asked "Do you believe in fairy tales ?"

"Coming from you that is the strangest question I have ever heard" Spike said to him. Mark smirked

"I am serious. Do you believe in fairy tales ?" He asked her

Spike thought a minute, then started reciting something she remembered "Heros do not always look like they do in the history books, when the world is in chaos, a hero appears to set things right." She then went quite, Mark had asked the same question the poem had.

"Well, ?" Mark pressed

"Before meeting Talak, growing my wings, I never put much stock in them to be honest. But... I am partial to the Legend of the Reborn Ghost" Spike said simply, Mark nodded, he himself was partial to the Legend of the Reborn Wolfe

"So, now that we got that out of the way how about we give this place a chance, you said it yourself when Nigel left us and we had to find his camp and watched Miao die on the way there" Mark said "We have to finish the game, we have to save Jumanji, and if that means destroying Elsa again in the process, then so be it" Mark told her. Spike just looked at him as if he grew a second head

"Does it bug you that much that there is a copy of Elsa here, leading the enemy soldiers ? The Eshu are advanced, they're like the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. How are we supposed to go against them ?" Spike said turning on him

"Relax alright, I killed Elsa once, it took hours sure, but whe nshe died she had a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, when I beheaded her, just before she died she looked at me with recognition, and sadness at what she did to Arendelle. If this is a copy of her here leading the enemy soldiers, we could be fucked, but we only confirm being fucked over by not fighting back"

"You really fought well up in the Bazaar" Mar mused

"You think so ?" Spike asked him

Mark nodded "Oh yes, seeing men, a jager at that, get launched through a roof so easily" Spike smirked. Mark stood back "Comew on, Jalen is going to assign beds to everyone before dinner." He said

"I will be fine here keeping watch" Spike said

"Suit yourself, I'll relieve you in six hours" Mark said he then elt her allowing Spike to be on her own once more. It wasnt the best option sure, but Spike didnt care. Truth be told Mark was surprised he was even gonna be able to sleep that night, it was after all a sewer.. the stink alone should have kept them out of it to begihn with, but oddly it felt more like Sacremento in smells and scents, something Spike herself was used to.

Spike returned to staring out at the sewer paths. Maybe she could go on patrol ? Nah not yet. Spyder soon joined her, also electing to to take first watch with Spike. The two women sat near each other.

For long moments it was simply quiet, Finalyl Spyder said simply. "So, you still find it hard to believe that you're in a fairy tale place huh ?"

"Does it hurt you ?" Spike asked

"What ?" Spyder looked confused

"My not believe in fairy tales, isnt it supposed to hurt a fairy ? Like you, or him.." Spike said nodding towards Jalen

"Jalen isnt a fairy, he's human, Arcadia has humans in it in some areas, the Dreaming too." Spyder said

"What about you ? Arent you a fairy ?" Spike asked

"I am a spider demon, big difference" Spyder replied, "like you are a human woman, well, mostly."

"So you aernt harmed if someone does not believe ?" Spike asked

"Its not easy to explain but it doesnt exactly work that way," Spyder said, Spike simply just nodded. "If one said simply they dont believe in faires, then the fairy in question would fall over dead. But if someone says they lost faith in faries, well, that's different."

"How different ?" Spike asked

"Like I said hard to explain" Spyder replied, Spike just smirked. Even though it didnt answer her questions directly, Spyder was helpful. An hour later and everyone was asleep Everyone but Spike and Spyder. Just the mere memory of it made Spike smirk. "What's so funny ?"

"Oh nothing, just remmeber the last few months" Spike said

"Hey, I missed a lot, how long had it been since I died to you ?" Spyder asked

"About a month, maybe a little more" Spike said

"What happened during that time ?" Spyder asked

"Mark killed Elsa the day after you died, your sword broke though, he plans still to repair it. But Elsa is dead, and it turns out she had a daughter living in Siltu Norway, named Lizzy. Miao's mother was still alive too and they're back together. Too" Spike rattled off a list of events that Spyder had missed

"Wow" Spyder mused thoughtfully after hearing what Spike said. " I missed quite a bit then" Spike nodded. "How is Fuiu taking it ? My death I mean"

"Strangely well, She's stuck close to Mark and Talak recently though, Miao took a shine to her from what I recall, Fuiu though we found out, loves fresh chicken" Spike said. Spyder smiled, most spiders did love fresh blood, not human blood either.

After a moment Spike then asked. "So whats you plan ?"

"What do you mean ?" Spyder asked

"You gotta be in Jumanji for a reason, what is it ?" Spike said

Spyder thought a minute then said. "Diadem, shes my best friend, the only person who trusted me out of a legion of soldiers back in Arendelle all those ages ago. When she came in here I went through Arcadia to find her" She said

"So the story is true, Diadem went into a crystal to protect the kingdom, Diadem went into... Jumanji ?" Spike said

Spyder nodded, "I think so, we found the gem inside an Eshu city. There wasnt a lot there but the stone was drumming, there was writing on the walls too that we could read easily. It explained how to Jumanji worked." Spyder then went throughful "Though I dont recall any legend or the like of Diadem going into the jewel to protect a kingdom. That must have been after I went into the Dreaming to find the Portal to get here to get to her. Diadem said she was alone at her camp for several months before I showed up, but by then for me two years had passed. So since Diadem is unable to age naturally I... showed her some tricks asnd even used one on myself"

"Yes, the time spell you mentioned, it wasted a life to empower it. So you still have seven lives, yet in Jumanji your weaknesses cant kill you thanks to that time spell ?" Spike asked

"I am a spider demoness, I dont have many if any at all, weaknesses." Spyder replied, Spike shrugged and simply nodded in reply at getting corrected, seeingly not caring at the fact she was even corrected by the spider demoness.

Another hour passed. Then Spike asked "If Diadem were to finish the game, what would happen then ?"

"Well, the way Elhazzard worked was that it would spit out the people it sucked in when they finished the game's main story, any outstanding side missions and objectives would keep them here longer."

"And Diadem ?" Spike asked

Spyder smiled "She is still here, she somehow fell in love with the place I guess. But if she were to finish the game, Jumanji would spit her out where she started, with me, in that cavern south of Arendelle, a million years ago. No age difference, nothing, and Jumanji safely hidden within the kingdom by me as planned"

"So if we finish the game, would you still do that as planned, would you still be... with us in the present ?" Spike asked, she somehow found herself missing Spyder already.

Spyder thought a long minute, then nodded. "If I can get Diadem to also use the timespell on herself and cancel times effects on herself like I did, yeah, I think we could end up in the present too"

That was all Spike wanted to know, the rest of their night passed in peace as Mark and Diamond took over around one in the morning.

31 May year unknown

Bazaar sewer network

Jumanji Valley

Sunrise

Spike was woken by a boot to the arm, of course it was accident as Mark insisted on that much, He wasnt out to kill her any more after all, he was in a manner, her brother in law. Fact of the matter was, it was dark, the camp area was filled with thick mist and it smelled gross. Spike snarled as her arm was stepped on.

Mark sprang off her and ducked to her level, "We got a problem" He said softly to her

"Tell me somethying I dont know" Spike replied just as quietly. The two had their eagle vision abilities back too, allowing them to easily see the unfindable men stalking them.

"How many do you count ?" Mark asked

"I count two, split them up ?" Spike said

"Yeah, lets have some fun" Mark replied

Spike got up from her bed location and stalked into the mist, someone was magically triggering the mist, so to clear it out was to be the main issue it seemed.

The two Eshu soldiers were overjoyed at finding the camp, but as soon as they had entered it got fogged up entirely, they could not see a thing. Looking around madly the two men found themselves split up, and having to rely on the one thing they had to rely on without their sight.

Sounds echoed, which allowed Spike to easily sneak up on her target and drive him crazy, just like Mark did, the two assassins soon had the two Eshu wandering in circles before one was dead.

The remaining Eshu had no idea of his fellows demise and continued searching for the group. Apparently the Eshu were searching for them, it was clear enough as it was alone of why they were even in the sewer campment on its own!

"Is that you Missair ?" the living Ewshu asked as the sound of Marks foosteps on the floor made him turn

"Yeah, its men, cant find anything in this fog" Mark replied, using his ability to fake his voice to sound like the other Eshu.

"This might be a wild goura chase again, come on, lets find the way out of here. Feel along the wall if you gotta" Said the Eshu.

"Right." Mark replied, then a moment later "I think I found the path out. Follow my voice." Mark said the Eshu did just that and walked right into Spikes trap.

With a slash the Eshu fell into the sewer water dead. Spike dusted off her hands as Jalen stepped into view as the mist cleared. "I see you made some friends Lady Ravenloft, Sir Turen." He said

Spike smirked "Could say that" She said

"Anything I need to know ?" Jalen asked

"Well, he got a little frisky so I slit his throat without him seeing, this guy was flat out stupid and walked dead into a trap Mark and I set." Spike said

Jalen smirked, looking to Mark, "Well ?"

"He tried to pull a gun on me, so I shot him" Mark said, truth was neither Spike nor Mark shot the guy, he simply walked into their trap dead on and dead in the braincase, which allowed for them to keep their bodies and hands clean just fine without issue of any kind. Not that Spike found it much of an issue

Then again, Jumanji was full of issues. So what else was new ?