Aru Shah - Jumanji: The Next Level AU

Chapter 14

   Aru and Mini walked in silence, Mini cowering a little due to the sad, sad loss of her beloved backpack. She had hand sanitizer in there - the game had spawned her some. And now...may her backpack rest in peace. Aru kept her eyes wide as they stalked over to the camel shed. Min spotted a large sign that said, "BUY CAMELS NOW! ONLY 18 GOLD PIECES AN HOUR!"

Mini tugged at Aru's sleeve, "Aru? Hey Aru!"

Aru turned around to look at her friend, "Wassup?"

"We can buy the camels. Why steal them?" Mini asked her.

Aru facepalmed, "Really? We have no money. Besides, I'm a spectacular thief. Well be in and out in no time."

"She's right, you know," a voice said.

Mini and Aru jumped, turning to look at whoever spoke. It was just Keira. Both girls sighed in relief and Aru put a hand to her heart. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Hira?"

Keira shook her head, "Nah. She's with Brynne, and there's a whole bunch of awkwardness going on there so I followed you guys, and here I am!"

Aru just sighed and turned back to the store. She tried to sneak a glance at the back of the shop, "I think there's a back entry. It's gonna be locked..."

Keira sent her a funny look, "Aren't you a professional lock picker or something, in this game?"

Aru gave her a deadpan look, "No. I rode unicorns and went around handing people cupcakes that they pooped out."

Keira just shrugged, "I'm going to ignore the sarcasm and hope that you actually get a unicorn later in the game."

Aru snorted and gestured for them to follow her. Staying crouched, the three girls made it to the back of the shop, and just like Aru said, there was a large back door that the camel riders used. Aru pulled out a small pouch from a concealed pocket in her cloak. She laid it out on the floor and looked at Mini and Keira.

"This lock is double sealed. It's gonna take a bit of time to unlock. Can I trust you guys to cover me?" She asked, eyeing the two girls.

Keira scoffed, "Of course. Right Mini?"

Mini was too busy inspecting the pouch, "What's in here?"

Aru snatched the pouch away, "My unicorn's cupcake poop."

With that, Aru proceeded to reveal the actual contents of the bag. They were lock picking tools. Screwdrivers and "mini crowbars" were only a few of the tools inside. Aru set to work, choosing a locker picker and trying to unlock the door.

After about ten seconds of work, Keira started to get bored. She was finally out of the hospital, and she had to spend her time waiting for someone to open a door for her? No way. She wanted to explore, and that was exactly what she was planning to do.

Keira stared at Mini and Aru working intently. She quietly stumbled around them, successfully making it out of their line of vision. Luckily, they were too busy with the lock picking that they never noticed.

Keira nervously glanced around. She hadn't seen many of the things around her before. Curse her sickness for not letting her grow up normally, not that any of this was normal.

"Hey you. Look at me. What were you doing back there? That's not for little kiddies like you, girlie." A big, rough looking dude called out to her. He was double her height, and that was impressive. She was quite tall in her character.

"None of your Beeswax! Go away, and bother someone else with your crazy antics, beard man!" She snapped back, stabilizing her trembling body.

With that the bearded giant had held out a massive fist, "Tell you what. I'll give you 2 seconds to run. If you don't... Well then, I'll have to beg at my dead mother's grave for forgiveness for hitting a baby girlie like you. Ready? 1.....Tw.....-Mpf!"

His big talk was stopped as he howled, clutching his...area where the sun don't shine.

"Not so tough now, are ya, big boy?" Keira taunted, delivering a punch to his face. Not even seconds later, a full arrangement of people flowed out of the nooks and crannies of the street.

Keira stared, slightly fearful, "Oops..."

Suddenly, she heard yelling behind her. Keira turned around to see Aru and Mini being held hostage by two goons. Aru looked a little scared before looking at the crowd. She seemed like she was looking for someone, and when she found them, Aru turned her head to Keira, practically glaring holes into her soul. Keira winced and muttered, "A glare worthy of Lupa and Percy."

Aru tried to shake off the man that was holding her back, "You got us captured! What were you thinking!?"

Keira put her head down, "I-I wanted to see... You know... cuz all I remember is a hospital room...I'm sorry."

Aru immediately stopped struggling, and her eyes softened, "It's fine. Just don't run off like that anymore. This place is dangerous. Thank goodness we did what we had to before we got captured."

"Silence!" A voice bellowed. It was the same man Keira had kicked earlier. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, "I'll make you pay, girlie."

Keira turned to the man with a bored look on her face, but before she could say anything, she spotted familiar faces in the crowd. The rest of the gang was standing around, trying to figure out how to get Aru, Keira, and Mini out of the situation. Keira just had to stall a little longer.

She stood her ground, and spoke, making sure voice didn't shake, "Mhm, how do you propose, good sir?"

The man raised an eyebrow in confusion at the new tone Keira was using. The girl smirked, putting her hands behind her back like a true princess, "You see, if anything happens to me, I doubt the people of my kingdom will be happy. In fact, I have a feeling that the moment I get a scratch on my head, they'll ransack this entire town for it's goods. And my people are vicious. Very, very vicious."

The man winced a little at the thought of bloodthirsty villagers, but he realized that Keira was pulling his leg. A moment of realization crossed his face and he snarled, "Bones! My weapon."

Keira gaped, "D-Don't make me summon my people, dude."

Aru wanted to facepalm, but instead, she yelled out, "DUDE?! REALLY?! THAT'S YOUR BEST NICKNAME FOR A WEAPON HOLDING ASSASSIN?!"

Keira stomped her foot, a little frustrated, "Aru, I haven't had a reason to call anybody names though! The most I've done is call my nurse insane sometimes!"

The group was still planning, but Keira doubted she could hold off the big man any longer. A helper of his, Bones, she assumed, handed the man a giant gun. At least, that's what she assumed. The only thing weird about it was that it launched out rockets instead of shooting bullets. Keira had no clue what that thing was, but she didn't like it.

She was about to ask the man about the crazy looking clown gun, when Aru, Aiden, and Rudy shouted out, "AN RPG!"

Brynne facepalmed, "We're so dead."

The man chuckled and motioned his arms as the rest of his goons found everyone else and brought them over to Keira. She stood in the middle, not able to do anything. So, she did the smart thing and lifted up a finger, "What's an RPG?"

Everyone facepalmed, including the big man with the gun. Well, all except Mini, who nodded along with Keira. The man held the gun up to her face, and she could practically smell the fumes of the gunpowder. He laughed at her, "This, girlie, is a rocket launcher. And your doom."

He pointed the gun straight at the group, and pulled the trigger.

With that, everything went black.......uuuuuuntil they all respawned into the desert again (outside of the town). Everyone had two lives, and a mouth full of sand. All except Keira. She had one life and mouth full of sand. Regardless, everyone had a mouthful of sand...and one less life.