Tales Of The Underlands (jjba part 5 Wonderland AU)

Hope And Ice

The next morning you felt refreshed and reborn, probably because of the combination of a hot shower and a real bed.

The Snow had stopped falling and following Narancia was way easier when you could see him clearly.

Yesterday, right after you had helped him, he had send the letter to Bucciarati and was expecting a reply from the prince by noon. You wondered how Aerosmith managed to fly that quickly without even resting, maybe animals were different in the Underlands.

The sun was high in the sky now and the snow had changed its color to a darker shade of blue. You listened in to the conversations of the others, but didn't part take in them. Listening to their banter made the time pass faster.

The next few days nothing big happened. No enemies to fight, no other villages or any other people. The only thing was the reply from the Prince wishing all of you safe travels.

Today was the third day and if everything went according to plan you would finally reach the camp where the Prince resided with his army. You had learned that that region was called snow cliffs. Steep white rock faces towered around it and below them was the ocean of the Underlands with a small fleet of ships provided by higher ranking allies of the prince.

Learning that the Underlands had an ocean was a surprise. You already knew that they were huge and even had a desert in the south were Formaggio came from, but you would've never expected an entire ocean. When you asked what lies beyond the ocean they just shrugged. According to them no one ever came that far, each ship destroyed by sea monsters and storms. There might be a whole different world or nothing at all. To them it was not worth the risk of losing more ships and men.

As you eyed the horizon, you made out a group of high white mountains, pointing at them you turned to Prosciutto.

"Are that the snow cliffs?"

Prosciutto hummed as his eyes were glued to the white mountains.

"Beyond them is the sea, we should reach the camp at night fall."

You noticed his clenched jaw and tight posture as he continued talking.

"After we deliver you the prince will decide if we join his army or if we will get punished for our crimes under king Diavolo."

"You're worried he'll decide for the latter?"

"Of course I am. Everyone in the kingdom knows of the things we did. You heard what the boy called Risotto."

"Then why even deliver me at all? Why even join the rebellion?" you asked.

Prosciutto finally tore his gaze away from the mountains and looked at you, in his eyes you saw something, a glint of hope and something even bigger: determination.

"Because it is the right thing to do. All of us did things we aren't proud of, made mistakes. The kingdom suffered from Diavolos reign for too long. We could've either given our lives for a king we don't believe in or we can die with the hope that the future will be better under prince Bucciarati. We made our choice and this time it is one that I do not regret."

Stunned by his speech you stood there for a second, thinking about his words. Risotto had already said that they had a further motive and honestly you doubted that it was only out of the goodness of their hearts, but you believed Prosciutto. He had told you the truth. One of their reasons was to give the Underlands and the people who lived here hope for a better life.

He had turned away after saying that and continued walking.

After the talk to Prosciutto you felt a sense of guilt wash over you. They were counting on you and the role you had in the prophecy. What if you wouldn't be able to fulfill whatever it was you needed to do?

Trept in your thoughts you didn't notice that the entire group had stopped. They all stood huddled together in front of a canyon. As you stopped beside them you saw that the only way across was some old wooden bridge, talk about clichés.

Formaggio jabbed Illuso in the side, "I think you should go first."

"Are you kidding me, you're basically the shortest one here, if anyone should go first it's you!"

"You know damn right that I'm not the shortest in this group, look at Pesci or the kid, he's even smaller!"

"Quiet. We don't want your screaming to accidentally cause an avalanche." It was Melone who spoke up, giving them a side glance.

The thought of getting buried under all that snow shut them up immediately.

"I'll go first." Narancia said, "If I fall Aerosmith will catch me. Behind this bridge should be a secret tunnel that will lead us to the camp, it's not far!"

Hesitantly he sat his foot on one of the wooden planks to test if it would hold his weight. He winced when it creaked, but other than that nothing happened. And so he took another step forward and another and another, till he reached the other side.

"Look, it's safe!" he yelled.

You went next, after you it was Prosciutto, then Pesci, Melone and Ghiaccio. Just as Illuso wanted to step onto the bridge you could hear a sudden rumble in the distance.

You turned to Melone
"What is that, is there a storm coming?"

The lilac haired man looked terrified.
"No, it sounds like an avalanche." he whispered.

The next second you all were shouting for them to hurry over the bridge, Illuso hurried, while Formaggio and Risotto where a few meters behind him. Just as they reached the other side you could see what looked like a blue cloud rolling down the mountain. The avalanche wouldn't stop at the canyon, you had to hurry to find the tunnel.

"Narancia," you heard Prosciutto call "Where is that hidden tunnel?"

The orange glowing boy lead the way to what looked like a glacier wall, before you noticed a small gap that could fit a person.

"Quick!" the boy called and one after another each of you slipped in. After getting a few meters away from the entrance you all caught your breath for a few seconds as you heard the masses of snow colliding with the mountains. It was so loud that you had to cover your ears.

As you looked at the entrance again you saw that the snow had closed it up. No way to get out of it now.

You looked around and saw that the blue shimmer from the ice gave off enough light for you to see. If it wasn't a life or death situation you would've taken your time to enjoy the magical atmosphere.

"Do we just follow the tunnel now?" Formaggio asked.

"No. This is a tunnel system, we have to follow the map if we want to get out of here."

"You know the way right?" you looked at Narancia.

"Of course! Its just strai- no no its the right - No that was wrong again."

"You mean you don't know how to get out of here?" Ghiaccio yelled at the boy who hid behind your form now.

"It's not like that, I just need to refresh my memories, okay?! Give me a second."

"Of course we have to be the ones stupid enough to follow a child into an ice cave." Illuso grumbled.

"Didn't you mention a map?" It was Pesci who said that. You were surprised. Had his injury healed enough?

"Yes! It's in my bag!" the boy looked relieved. He rummaged through his bag, till he got a piece of paper. It looked old and slightly yellow, the edges were tattered and you swore that it smelled a bit like mustard.

"The route is on here."

"Let's go then." Illuso said, ready to get out of this tunnel which felt like a cold grave.

And so you started to make your way through the tunnel system under the faint blue light.