So I was watching Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle tonight (for the 4th time in a week), and realized, if Spencer and the others were given the jewel, what happened with the jewel Alex was surely given when he entered the game? I literally wrote this in an hour, and it is not beta read. I'd love to hear what you think about it! I rated this 'T' but there are four instances where I used the F-bomb, I'm not sure if that merits it being rated 'M' so...

-owl

The days had been funny, Alex thought. Time was moving differently than in real life because he had only been in the game for a few months. In that time, after he had lost his second life, he had managed to find a place to make camp until more players joined the game and would (hopefully) help him escape.

All this brooding he had been doing had put him in the mood for a margarita, which he moved from his self-proclaimed 'brooding spot' and moved to his food prep area to begin a margarita, and his brooding anew.

When he had first been thrown into the game he had been scared and confused. He didn't look like himself, his voice was wrong and he was not in his bedroom. He was in a jungle, with shorter hair and his face the wrong shape, clothes that he wouldn't have been caught dead in covering him. What the fuck had happened? He had been about to play that creepy video game.

Wait, video game. He was in the game. An adventure game by the look of it. The only thing for him to do had been to start playing.

The first level had been easy, avoid the huge jaws of the hippo and run. While Alex didn't run track or anything for high school, he wasn't bad at running. The first level had honestly been too easy for him.

Nigel had then picked him up to transport him to the second level. His speech seemed off somehow, like he wasn't expecting to see only one character. Nigel's words, however, had been burned into his brain.

'Jefferson 'Seaplane' McDonough, Nigel Billingsly at your service. I'm so pleased at your arrival. Jumanji is in grave peril. I had detailed it in the letter sent to Dr. Bravestone, thinking you would be coming together with his other associates.'

'What's going on?'

Nigel froze for a second before speaking. 'We don't have much time, I'll give you the abridged version. Russel Van Pelt has stolen the jaguar's jewel. One night I stole it back from him. Jumanji needs you to return the jewel to the statue. With your skills, I'm sure you'll be able to complete the mission. Head to the bazaar to find your friends.'

Then he had been handed a green jewel that honestly looked more like a shiny rock than anything that could be called a jewel. Once it was safely in his hands, and he was out of the jeep, Nigel told him how to leave the game before driving off.

'The goal for you I'll recite in verse, return the jewel and lift the curse. If you wish to leave the game, you must save Jumanji and call out its name.'

That had been months ago, and still the words rang in his head anytime he settled down to rest. Right after Nigel had driven away, Alex had decided he needed to find out how to see his 'skills.' The only thing that had gone perfectly his way that day was that the first thing he tried to see his skills was the way to do it. Tapping on the left side of his chest, Alex saw a gray holographic board thing pop up in front of him. At the top his name was written, and the rest was split into strengths and weaknesses.

His strengths were piloting and making margaritas. Odd combination, but he would have to deal with it. His weakness list was quite short. One item on the list, short. Mosquitoes. He remembers very clearly the 'fuck!' he had screamed into the jungle. How does one avoid mosquitoes in a fucking jungle?

The second level hadn't been quite as easy as the first, which wasn't surprising. It involved a lot of running, and avoiding death, in much the same way as the first level. With the jewel barely fitting in his pocket, he had run away from the people on the motorcycles that had appeared after he had screamed.

He eventually got away from them by jumping off of a cliff into water below. After that he had found the bazaar and collected supplies. The bazaar itself was another level, the third, and the only thing that he needed to do was find his friends. After scouring the entire area, Alex had concluded that his 'friends' weren't there, and when he saw Russel Van Pelt, he ran.

The fourth level looked like it had been made for him. The transportation shed, filled with things to fly and drive. This was where it had all gone wrong. Two lives lost, one life left. So close to game over. Too close to game over.

His first attempt, the hot air balloon, crashed not far from the shed, and with a 'ding' he fell back to the ground like he had when first entering the game. His second attempt, the plane, hadn't gone so well either. He had thought that taking his namesake would give him some luck or something, but he had ended up getting shot down by orangutans.

'Ding'

He was fucked. He had to wait until more players joined.

Then he had found Allan Parrish's house and added citronella candles to ward away mosquitoes, and set up camp. Months had gone by and he had brooded, his eyes on the green jewel the entire time. To go home, he had to put the jewel back. To put the jewel back, he would need to beat the fifth level. To beat the fifth level, he had to get through the transportation shed.

As he sat there, the jewel began flickering. Alex stood up to look at it more closely. Was it just a trick of the light? Or maybe his margarita was getting to him. Upon closer inspection, it was starting to fade entirely now, not just flickering. Then it was gone. Right out of his hand. Where did it go?

Now how was he supposed to get out of the game?