Alex and Bethany enter the game.
Alex and Bethany stared at the sand which stretched out for miles around them. As unpredictable as ever, the Jumanji game had created a brand-new adventure for them to play. While Alex had had the good fortune of becoming Seaplane McDonough once again, Bethany had inexplicably been transformed into a black horse named Cyclone.
"You alright there, Bethany?" he asked her with concern.
Bethany only whinnied in reply.
Alex frowned. Communication between them would now be a challenge. They had to figure out a basic system for getting her thoughts across.
"Okay, how about this?" he said thoughtfully. "Whinny for 'Yes', stomp your front hooves for 'No'."
Another whinny.
Alright then, thought Alex with relief. That was one obstacle down at least. Their next task would be to find north so that they could head towards Jurgen's fortress.
Based on the sun's position in the afternoon sky, Alex quickly calculated the direction they needed to travel in. With any luck, they'd be able to reach the Oasis before nightfall.
"Well, at least we won't have to walk all the way," quipped Alex gratefully. "May I?" he asked Bethany, gently patting her equine back.
Bethany whinnied enthusiastically. Of course she'd let him ride her!
"Okay!" grunted Alex as he struggled to climb onto Bethany's back. He'd barely gotten on when she suddenly reared up on her hind legs, hurling him hard to the ground.
"Ow," said Alex, as he picked himself up from the hot sand. Perhaps climbing onto the back of a nubile teenage girl wasn't the brightest idea after all.
He looked up in amazement. The impact of the fall had triggered his character stats menu, and to his surprise, its contents were different than he remembered. While women and mosquitoes were still his weaknesses and he still excelled at piloting and margaritas, there was a new item in his list of strengths: Piracy.
Piracy? thought Alex, bewildered. How would such a skill come in handy later in the game?
Bethany trotted over to him apologetically, inviting him to try again. After dusting the sand off his clothes, Alex mounted his friend once more. Mercifully, this attempt went off without a hitch.
Energised, the two friends galloped north until they found an assortment of weapons half-buried in the sand. Unbeknownst to them, these items had fallen out of Mouse Finbar's backpack while Milo and Eddie were fleeing from some ostriches earlier. Never one to waste an opportunity, Alex stopped to collect some water bottles, an RPG and two pistols.
It was twilight when they finally reached the Oasis. After taking a much-needed drink of water from a public well, Alex and Bethany suddenly realised that their friends would need winter gear where they were going. Desperately, they searched for a merchant willing to trade them clothes for weapons, but one trader after another turned them down. Dejected, the two friends filled their bottles and continued their journey north.
After travelling for about half an hour, they spotted a group of human silhouettes in the distance. Apparently, a handful of Jurgen's buggy thugs had burst a tyre and were busy changing it under the moonlight.
Seeing this, Alex was suddenly struck with a brainwave. Whispering to Bethany to stop galloping, he quickly devised a plan to take advantage of the situation.
Quintus paced back and forth in the desert sand impatiently. He never liked working with Junius, a man he found to be an insufferable know-it-all. For some reason, though, Jurgen had made him ride with the idiot and that sleepy-head Rodrick today. When Junius blindly drove over a sharp rock in the darkness, Quintus wondered which of the gods he'd offended.
"It's all your fault!" he snarled at the younger man. "If you'd been paying attention at the wheel, we wouldn't have been left behind!"
"What wouldn't I give to be back at the fortress," grumbled Rodrick.
"Either you two help me change this blasted thing, or else SHUT THE H*LL UP!" roared Junius, who'd been left to do all the work.
Suddenly, a meteor streaked through the night sky, startling the three men.
When the "meteor" landed and exploded a few yards away from them, they realised that it was no shooting star - it was an ambush!
Shouting, Quintus and his companions fumbled for their weapons, but it was too late. Their mysterious assailant had suddenly appeared, pointing a loaded RPG in their faces.
"Don't move!" the man yelled.
Squinting, the barbarians looked up at their attacker. He was a rascally youth, clad in a pilot's jacket and riding an ebony horse. His appearance was not in the least bit terrifying. And yet Quintus, Rodrick and Junius all felt the sudden need to surrender.
"Your money or your lives," growled Seaplane McDonough.
Laughing, Alex and Bethany returned to the Oasis and bought the best winter gear they could find. Bethany was in heaven - she never imagined she'd be able to go shopping in Jumanji!
The traders were noticeably friendlier to the two players now that they had money to spend. After a bit of coaxing, one merchant named Effendi Abdalla gave Alex detailed directions on how to get to Jurgen's fortress. Another handful of gold coins later, the same man revealed the existence of a short cut across a monkey-infested ravine.
Once they had purchased all that they needed, Alex and Bethany set out across the desert once more. If they hurried, they might catch up with the others on the other side of the ravine. Both man and horse prayed they'd make it in time.
And there you have it - Alex and Bethany's offscreen mission in The Next Level! Please leave a review if you want to read more!