"Hang on, hang on...I think I know where this leads..."
After several moments of sailing through the lava, the pair eventually came to another tunnel, which they proceeded to enter. As they climbed through the narrow passages, Tily began to recognize what part of the mountain they were in. "Yes, that's right! Follow me, I know how to get to the top of this mountain quickly!"
Tily began to glide forward through the tunnel, momentarily forgetting about Alice in her excitement. Alice did her best to keep up with her, carefully stepping across the uneven stone floor.
A few minutes later, the pair came to an opening, through which a bright light shined. Tily promptly darted through it and turned around, facing Alice with her arms outstretched. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination!" Alice climbed through the opening and took a look at her new surroundings.
The young girl nearly dropped to her knees. The cave they were inside was simply enormous. A mix of tan and sparkling white rocks created large, rounded walls that looked as if they stretched on for miles. Sunlight shone in through a large hole in the side of the cave, causing the white rock to give off a beautiful shine. Somewhere below them was a waterfall pouring out of another hole in the rock, forming a pool at the bottom of the cave. A gigantic stone pillar ran straight down the middle of it all. Alice was at a loss for words.
Tily approached her awestruck friend, grinning. "So...you like what you see?"
"Tily, it's beautiful..." Alice faintly replied. "You come here often?"
"No, actually," said Tily, scanning the cave. "I don't wanna risk getting used to a sight as amazing as this." Tily suddenly looked up at something. "Oh, yeah! We're right on time! Look!"
She pointed up at a distant group of creatures, drifting along the cave wall in their direction. As they got closer, Alice could see that they looked like cream-colored jellyfish, only they were far bigger than any she had ever seen. "Wow!" exclaimed Alice. "I've never seen jellyfish that big! And they fly in this world too? That's so neat!"
"You got that right." Tily said. "I love these guys. They swarm through here periodically, and they're the ones who'll take us up through that big hole up there!"
"Are they going to carry us?" Alice asked. Tily laughed.
"Close...we're going to hitch a ride on them!" she replied. "I was looking forward to this so much! Get ready for the flight of your life!"
The jellyfish were drifting closer now. "Now, these things always remain upright," Tily told Alice. "You don't ever have to worry about falling off. I say this because we're gonna be going pretty high off the ground, and we're a bit short on restraints."
Alice studied the creatures as they came even closer. They were very pretty despite being a single color, and the way they glided smoothly through the air gave them a sort of majesty...
Her thoughts were interrupted very suddenly as Tily wrapped her arms around her. "Sorry to do this yet again," she said with a chuckle, "but we've got some jellyfish to catch!" Tily began to flap her wings, lifting them both off the ground. Within seconds, the two of them were floating in the air just as the jellyfish came drifting by. Tily trained her eyes on one that was coming up below her..."Alright, Alice! Hold real still!"
"Wait, are you going to-Yaaaah!" Without warning, Tily dropped her human friend right onto the jellyfish as it drifted below her. She landed with a bounce on top of it, face first.
Tily couldn't help but snicker. "Oooh, didn't exactly stick that landing. Sorry about that!". She then darted forward through the air, towards another jellyfish flying close to the one Alice was now on. "Watch out now, comin' in fast over here!" laughed Tily as she flipped around in the air, throwing out her arms and legs as she landed bottom-first onto the creature. She continued to laugh as she too momentarily bounced atop its bell.
Alice sat up on her jellyfish, shaking off the excitement of the moment. She placed her hands down on its skin, getting a feel for it. It had a soft, rubbery quality to it, like a giant silicone balloon. Alice turned her gaze over to Tily, who was sitting right across from her, a big smile on her face. "So, is this neat or what?" She asked. "It's like having your own personal cloud to ride on! Oh, and look how high we are!"
Against her better judgement, Alice turned to her other side where she had an unobstructed view of the distant cave wall. She and Tily were many, many miles off the ground. She couldn't even begin to imagine just how long of a drop it would be if she were to accidentally slip off the jellyfish. And yet...she didn't feel the least bit afraid. In fact, a feeling of excitement was beginning to rush through her.
"Tily...this is...amazing!" Alice finally spoke up. "We're really flying!"
Tily laughed again. "You bet we are! Now hold on tight...is what I would say if I was a total wimp!" The two girls laughed and cheered as the creatures flew through the cave, drifting down past the waterfall, and then drifting back up, towards the hole in the roof of the cave.
At this very moment, Alice's worries were completely gone. She wasn't afraid of this incredible world anymore; with her new friend by her side, she knew nothing was going to hurt her, nothing was going to stop her from getting back home.
Everything was going to be okay.