Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators and writers of Julie and the Phantoms (2020). I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: K+

Author's Note: This chapter was so fun to write! I absolutely love Flynn and she's just as chaotic as the boys (except, unlike them, she has a braincell). Also catch the lowkey luke x reggie and past!luke x alex vibes because even though I'm Juke all the way, I have a soft spot for those pairings as well

Chapter 13

The first thing the boys do when they see Julie is rush over and hug her. She returns the gesture, so happy to see them alive. A part of her had worried that she acted too late and they might have lost their last lives.

"I've never been so happy to see someone as I am to see you," Reggie says. If his avatar wasn't so strong-willed, he probably would be crying. Julie knows she is.

"So we didn't get it," Alex says. "We didn't escape."

"It was my fault," Luke says, hanging back a step. "I didn't jump far enough."

"It's not one's fault," Julie assures them, taking a moment to look each of them in the eyes. "We just didn't have all the players that we needed. Now we do." She steps back and motions at the - oh, God, Flynn's avatar really is a white frat boy. "Everyone, meet Flynn."

Even on a foreign face, Flynn's expressions are unique. Her eyes are wide as she stares at the others. She looks around at their surroundings and then back at Julie. "Julie? Is that...you?"

"Yes." Julie steps over and takes her hand. "My avatar's name is Rebecca Cho, but I'm still the same Julie you've known for years." She motions at the others, who are staring at Flynn in wonder. "Flynn, meet the boys."

Flynn leans over and stage-whispers in her ear, "Julie, not to assume gender, but I don't think those are all boys."

"And I'm not actually Asian and you're not actually white." Julie points to the guys. "That's Alex, Reggie, and Luke." Each of them wave and smile.

Flynn half-holds up her hand. She turns and shoots Julie another look. "Okay, what is going on here. Where are we? We were just in your garage." She gasps. "Did someone drug and kidnap us? Are we being trafficked?"

Julie shakes her head. "No, we're in the video game. It's like virtual reality, only - well, it is reality."

"So let me get this straight: we got sucked into a video game."

"She's taking it pretty well," Reggie says. "I'm impressed."

"Oh, no. I'm totally freaking out." Flynn's grip on Julie's arm tightens until it's painful. "Please say this is some sort of twisted joke, Julie."

"Nope." She unlatches Flynn's hand from her arm before bruises form. "Now, take a step this way, unless you want to meet the snake face to face."

"The snake?"

As if one cue, the snake slithers up and hisses. Flynn shrieks, which sounds hilarious coming from her avatar because it's still high pitched.

"You didn't say anything about snakes!"

"Ah, he won't hurt you," Reggie says. "At this point he's almost like a friend."

"We've seen him too many times," Alex says dryly.

The sound of a vehicle comes through the jungle and the man with the white beard pulls up. By now, Julie thinks she can almost quote his lines by memory.

With the lack of seats in the caged vehicle, Alex snags the front seat this time (his avatar being the biggest) while Luke, Reggie, Julie, and Flynn crowd in the back. Reggie is sitting on Luke's lap.

"You said they're both boys, right?" she once again stage-whispers.

"Yes."

"Okay. Just checking."

"You know we can hear when you whisper like that, right?" Alex asks. Flynn sticks her tongue at him, which really surprises him. He shoots Julie a look that almost appears hurt.

"Listen to what the old man says," Julie urges Flynn. "It's important."

The driver gives his spiel about the gem and the curse and Caleb. Flynn listens, her eyebrows furrowed the entire time. When he drops them off, she almost doesn't exit the car.

Once he leaves them, Flynn digs in her heels.

"Alright. I'm not taking another step until you guys explain exactly what's going on." She looks over at the boys. "Like, who even are you? And Julie, what have you gotten yourself into? What have you gotten me into?"

"We're Sunset Curve," Luke says. "Tell your friends."

"What's a sunset curve? And why should I tell my friends? Ya'll are crazy, that's what you are. This whole thing is crazy!"

"Yes, it is!" Julie feels a huge weight lift itself off her chest. "That's why I couldn't tell you. I knew you wouldn't believe me. No one would."

"Sunset Curve is a band," Alex explains. "It's our band. Well, us and one other guy who was lucky enough to not get sucked into the game."

"So we're in, like, an adventure game. It sucked us in when we went to play. But why play at all? Why not just leave it alone?"

"We can't," Luke says. "Only Julie can come and go. We don't know why, but that's the way the game works."

"We've been stuck in here for almost two months," Reggie says.

Flynn's eyes shot up. "Two months? Oh, nah. I'm not here for this."

"We have to win the game in order for them to escape," Julie continues. "When I called you, we were so close. We were just missing the last avatar and we needed someone to play it so we could finish."

"So you're trying to save them. Okay, I respect that." Flynn takes a deep breath, swinging her arms in the air to complete the motion. "I respect that, but it's still crazy."

Luke starts leading them along the route. They don't need to look at the map again yet. Reggie falls into step with Julie and Flynn.

"So the rules are pretty simple," he says. "If you die, you get a little black tally mark on your wrist. You can die twice."

"We can die?" Flynn's eyebrows shoot up and she looks over at Julie.

"Yeah. It's not pleasant."

"How have you guys died?"

Alex begins the list, counting off on his fingers. "Lion, collapsed temple, falling off a cliff, toxic water, drowning in a bog, gunshot, falling off a statue, avalanche, eaten by piranhas - "

"Did he just say eaten by piranhas?"

Julie presses her lips together. "Yup. That was me."

"Did it...hurt?"

"What do you think?"

Flynn shudders. "Alright. But what happens after the second death?"

"You have one more life to try and beat the game with. If you don't - well, no one really knows what happens, but we think you either get stuck in the game forever or you die in real life." Reggie flashes a smile. "Fun stuff."

"Except Julie," Alex points out. "Julie has the option to restart the game. That's what happened when we failed. She restarted the game and we're all back at our full lives."

"Okay." Flynn nods. "So, how long is it gonna take us to get through this - a couple of hours? You guys are pros by now, right?"

"Try a few weeks. One, if we're lucky." Luke's voice has a bitter tinge to it.

"Weeks?"

"Time passes differently in the game as in real life," Julie says. "Sometimes I'll be in the game for days and only a few hours will pass in the real world. And sometimes I'll be days in the real world and it's only a few hours in the game. There's no pattern that I can tell."

"So you've been in the game for the past week whenever you weren't at school?"

"Basically." Julie is relieved that Flynn is calming down and starting to think rationally. She loves her friend, but she can be a tad dramatic at times. "I've spent almost three weeks in the game now."

Flynn shakes her head. "No wonder you were so stressed. I forgive you for everything. Well, except for dragging me into this. I'm waiting to see if I survive before I come to a decision on that front."

They reach the vehicle in the shed an hour later. As before, Luke drives while Julie navigates. Flynn sits in the back with Alex and Reggie.

"So you said you guys are in a band," she says. "Are you any good?"

"I see why you two are friends," Reggie says grumpily. "You're both so nice."

"Julie insulted us the first time she heard our playing," Alex explains. "She called us unoriginal. She thought we were a cover band."

"You've heard them play?"

"When we thought we were trapped in the game and we only had one life each left, we went to the game lobby and got a gig as musicians. Julie wandered in and found us." Luke glances over at her and smiles. Julie pretends she doesn't notice the way her heart skips a beat. It's just his avatar's attractiveness, she tells herself.

"I thought you guys sounded good," Julie protests. "I'm just pretty sure I've heard the song you were playing before. Or at least one very similar."

"Julie's got a perfect ear," Flynn points out. "She's never wrong when it comes to music."

"And here I thought you didn't know anything about music." Luke raises an eyebrow.

Flynn opens her mouth, but Julie shoots her a warning look. "It's not important," she says. "What is important is figuring out our new strategy. We can't fail again. Flynn, what's your avatar's powers?"

Alex explains to her how she can reveal them. She swipes and Reggie reads her stats out loud.

Brad Wilson

Strength: 4/5

Speed: 4/5

Endurance: 4/5

Abilities: Climbing

"And there it is," Julie says. "Climbing. She's the one who has to return the gem."

"This video game isn't designed very well," Reggie complains.

"I don't think Caleb really cares about what we feel about the game," Alex says. "This feels a lot like The Most Dangerous Game."

"What's that?" Flynn asks.

"It's a short story we read in book club once," Luke says. "It's about a guy who owns a private island and hunts down his guests for sport."

"You're in a book club? How old are you guys, anyway?"

"That's your question?" Alex glances at Julie, as if asking why her friend is like this. "And we're seventeen."

"Ooh." Flynn sits up straight. "Are you guys cute in real life? And are you single? 'Cause I don't have a date to homecoming."

"Seriously?" Now Julie is the one who turns around. "Priorities, girl."

"Okay, okay." Flynn raises her hands. "But please say yes."

"I feel like this is a trick question," Reggie says, glancing at Julie. Why are all the boys looking at her for answers? She's not the expert on everything just because she lucked out on having control over the game."

"I mean, I want to say yes," Luke says. He glances at Alex in the rearview mirror.

"I'm gay, so I don't think it matters to you," Alex tells Flynn.

"But you would be able to say if Luke and Reggie are," Flynn points out.

"Oh my gosh!" Julie throws her hands in the air. "Let's focus on winning this game. If we survive until homecoming, then you can find a date."

Flynn crosses her arms and settles into her seat. "Nothing wrong with a little multi-tasking."

Julie sighs and sits back. This is going to be a long game.

Willie isn't at the village, which puts Alex in a sour mood even though he tries to pretend otherwise. They pick up their supplies and continue on.

At the temple, Luke and Reggie go in alone to retrieve the gem. They easily burst out before it collapses around them. They all get back in the vehicle and start off.

The entire round is like a speedrun. Now that they know exactly what they're going to face and where, it just becomes a simple matter of either avoiding mistakes they made in the first round or repeating their successes. They make it to the two cliffs without losing a life or stirring up the Jumanji natives.

But, as it turns out, not everything is going to run smoothly for them. At the cliffs, the bridge they'd broken on the last run is still broken. They gather around the worn posts, at a loss for words.

"Does your map say anything?" Alex asks after a minute. Julie pulls it out, but the yellow path shows a straight line.

"Nope." She sighs and puts it back in the canister. "So what now?"

"We climb."

Everyone turns to look at Flynn. She's standing at the edge of the cliff, a coil of rope in her hands. She's already tied one end around the wooden post.

"That's why you guys needed my avatar, right? I'm the climbing person. So we'll shimmy down, cross the river, and then I'll climb up the other side and throw down a rope."

Julie isn't sure what stuns her more - the idea itself, or that Flynn has picked up on the game so quickly despite her initial reactions.

Reggie raises his hand. "Just one problem. Two, actually."

"What?"

"My avatar's weakness is heights and Luke's is water. We're gonna be facing both of these."

"We'll work through it. This is the only way through, unless you guys want to risk taking days to circumvent and risk getting lost." Flynn ties the ropes around her chest, her fingers moving like a practiced climber's. She yanks on her make-shift harness one more time. "Alright. Here goes nothing."

She turns and jumps off the cliff.

Julie and the boys rush over to look down. The rope unspools as Flynn drops. It catches her suddenly and goes taut. Julie estimates that it's about sixty to eighty feet. Flynn unties her harness and drops the remaining couple feet. She looks up and waves her arms.

"Here goes nothing," Julie murmurs to herself. She grabs the rope and starts inching down. Her heart is racing out of her chest but she forces herself to look straight forward and focus on the rope and her hands. She nearly slips a couple times but makes it to the bottom without incident.

When she drops, Flynn runs over and hugs her. "You did it! Now let's see if the boys can manage as well."

It takes the boys a while to decide what they're going to do, apparently. It's at least five minutes before Julie sees more than their heads peeking out and over. Finally Luke shimmies down with Reggie holding tightly onto his back and Alex brings up the rear. His arms are shaking and he's sweating buckets when he finally makes it to the bottom.

As it turns out, the river is not too deep. It flows pretty fast, but there's a tree branch that lies across the middle, not quite reaching the ends on either side. Julie goes first, swimming the short distance between the shore and the tree and grabbing hold of it. She pulls herself along it, slowly crossing the river. Behind her, she hears splashes as the others follow.

When she reaches the end of the tree branch, she realizes there's a decent distance between the roots and the shore. She pulls herself up onto the tree branch and takes a running dive off, leaping across the distance as much as she can. The current carries her a hundred feet downstream before she reaches shore.

The others experience the same struggles as her. She's surprised when Luke falls out of the sky and lands beside her, a black tally on his arm.

"I guess I got lucky that I didn't drown or get eaten by the piranhas on the raft last round," Luke says as they wait for the others. "My avatar has so many strengths that it makes sense to have a crippling weakness."

They all congregate on the shore together and look up at the cliff they still have to climb. As difficult as getting down and crossing the river was, getting up the cliff is still the toughest part. And now they're all wet, to boot. Flynn takes their last coil of rope and ties it around herself before drying her hands completely and rubbing them together.

"Let's see my powers in action," she says, and begins to free climb.

Julie alternates between pacing and watching. Although she knows one death won't really kill her friend, she's still worried. But Flynn makes it all the way up to the top, ties the rope around the opposite wooden poles, and tosses it down for them.

Luke goes first, once again carrying Reggie. They make it up safely. Alex goes next. He struggles a lot more, but with Luke helping haul him up, he makes it. They toss the rope back down and it's Julie's turn.

She almost can't do it. The same force that stops her fingers from pressing down on the piano keys keeps her rooted in place on the ground. It takes her several minutes to gather the courage to begin the climb.

Going down was a lot easier than going up. If she slipped going down, it was okay as long as she didn't let go of the rope. Now every time she slips she reminds herself it's another few minutes of suffering she's going to have. Her arms shake from exertion and her hands feel slick on the rope. She has to pause at times, even though she knows it will only wear her out more, just to get her heart beat under some semblance of control.

She has no idea how she does it, but she keeps pushing on. When she gets close to the top, Luke leans over and holds his hand out. Unlike when Reggie fell or when she was swept away by the avalanche, he's able to grasp her hand and pull her up.

He underestimates his avatar's strength and he stumbles backwards. Julie falls right on top of him. She goes to push herself up and for a moment their faces are only inches apart. She feels her cheeks redden and she quickly rolls off him.

It's just his avatar that's attractive, she reminds herself, but the words are so flimsy that they do nothing. She's been telling herself that for weeks. She's been denying the chemistry between them.

Then the logical part of her mind kicks in. Chemistry is something, yes, but it's not everything. In fact, chemistry is only the beginning. Chemistry is the first building block. Everything that comes after is what defines what that chemistry means. And chemistry doesn't always mean romantic. She and Flynn have chemistry and it's why they're friends. All the boys in the band have chemistry but they're not head-over-heels for each other.

Once Julie has convinced herself of it, she's able to appreciate what she just did. She just scaled a freakin' cliff. By herself. With just a rope. Suddenly the climbing walls at the local YMCA don't seem too scary anymore.

"Alright," she says, catching her breath. She pulls out her map. "If we keep up our current pace, we'll be at the base of the mountains in two days."

"Not the mountains again," Reggie groans. "Doing it once was bad enough. Now we know exactly how awful it is."

"If we want to get out of this game, we have to do it." Alex crosses his arms. "Besides, maybe Willie can help us again."

"Who's Willie?" Flynn asks.

Julie glances at the boys and then back at Flynn. "We'll tell you along the way. We need to keep moving."