Ianthe seemed to look at the air two inches from her face. "This doesn't sound very good… I dinna like crying… Cryin's sad… I mighta used to cry a lot 'cos I was ultra-sensitive, but I dinna like sorrow… Can I just get it over an' cry now instead so that I can just cry from joy next time?!"
     "It's alright, luv, I'll be there," Aubrey said this, pulling her closer to him. She let memory of the prophesy be lost as she rested her head on his supportive shoulder. She breathed in his scent, forming it into a protective barrier, and locking them inside, like a box. (Sorry, I have this thing about boxes…) She looked up, and Aubrey gazed into her eyes. Her eyes became his world. He had once said, "The eyes are the doorway to the soul." They didn't kiss, but they once again became lost in each other's presence.
     "Well, they're gone," Daphne interpreted, gesturing to the said pair.
     "Apple juice?! Apple juice?!" questioned Daivi, obviously not understanding what had been said to him.
     "Wahl, Ah don't unnerstan' BADE any more'n you unnerstan' apple juice," observed Maik. "It's getting' kinda dark," he said, looking at the stars which stood out whitely against the black of night, "an' a bit chilly. Perhaps we should turn in an' call it a nahght. We can trah to fahnd the Applebus in the mornin'."
     Somehow, still embracing each other, Ianthe and Aubrey had managed to find their way to the ground whilst they were still entranced by each other, and they now were asleep, probably dreaming of one another, mayhap together.
     The four owners of the Applebus moved off together and laid down to sleep. Maik had mainly done this out of decency, willing to give Daphne some space and time to "settle your mind and reveal who you are…", to take a direct quote from "As We Go Along". Daphne and Elisay slept near each other. This left Blake and Naomi.
     Blake could have joined the four older men (excluding Aubrey, who actually was older than him, but they were in the same grade…). This would have left Naomi alone with Elisay and Daphne. But he didn't. Mayhap he remembered the words of the creature. He semi-awkwardly sat down and motioned for Naomi to join him. Naomi looked around, then realized he was serious. How Not-Blake! This wasn't like him. Not that she was complaining… She sat. Blake! wrapped his arm around her shoulders!
     And here we will leave the picture of these two, in fact all of them, to leave the reader wondering if anything else happened between Naomi and Blake. Also, things were coming to a lull, seeing as all of out main characters are sleeping, or getting there, however slowly.
     Now we turn our attention to one of our lesser characters. This character may not be recognized as a character, but it is. It is the Applebus. Even inanimate objects think and feel.
     The poor thing had been excluded from most of their explorations: they arrived and then disembarked, flying away on adventures. The automobile had to stay behind and wait. Then everyone had been lost in the mist. The Applebus had felt itself teleported to where it currently was, alone and waiting once more. Such is life for non-living things, which actually, it can't have life, and thus I have contradicted myself in one sentence! (Note to any thoroughly confused readers: This is actually quite normal for Daffy. *g* ...ok, so this specifically is probably actually the result of reading a bit much Douglas Adams, but.. ;) ..and if yer really *that* confused..than *what* are you doin' tryin' t'read this bloody thing?! *G*)
     Ianthe was dreaming. She dreamt about Aubrey. They were together, and they were both laughing and having a good time in general. He tenderly dropped a kiss on her forehead. Then he vanished. POOFE! Ianthe looked everywhere… he wasn't anywhere. He had left her, betrayed his word…
     She awoke with a feverish brow. She sat up, causing Aubrey's arms to fall from around her waist. She stared blankly in front of her, thinking, Oh man…please tell me it's not one o' me prophetic dreams… 'Cos I do NOT want to lose 'im… I dinna know wot I'd do…
     While Ianthe was lost in this reverie, Aubrey stirred. (With a spoon? *g*) He missed her warm body (i.e. he noticed that it wasn't there) that had been pressed close to his. He sat up and gently placed a hand on her arm, saying quietly, "Y'okay, luv?"
     She turned to face him with her troubled visage. "You're not gonna leave, are you? I mean, leave me?"
     Aubrey smiled at Ianthe and tenderly said while he brushed his fingers on her face, "I have no intention of leavin' the crew, especially you… However, I do intend to stay with you, wherever this trip takes us… What made you think o' that?"
     "I'm prone to prophetic dreams… I know 'cos some have come true, to some extent. I was hopin' that the dream I just woke up from was not one o' them. 'Cos if it was, you'd be disappearin', an' I wouldna be able to find you at all…"
     Aubrey caught her chin in his hands, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm gonna do wotever's in my power to stay with you… An' if I get lost, I'm gonna try as hard as I can until I'm back with you, luv… An' if you get lost (never mind the fact that we both already are, we're lost together…) Well, if you get lost, I'll look everywhere until I find you… I'm not gonna lose you."
     Through the magic of transitions, it is now the next morning. We have left behind that last scene. Wait, scratch that thought… One thing did happen when all of our characters slept. In a place called Nvembolojq, a man named Foddlebrane Peishutre ate a Xi-gua fruit. This juicy fruit dripped on the nose of a Bora-bora beetle named Shorty Longsmith, who consequently sneezed, thus causing the sun to rise five minutes early at the location of our protagonists.
     Our friends had awoken, and now were searching for the Applebus. They came upon the intersection of many different groves of trees.
     "We'll have no trouble getting' apples, peaches, bananas, and pears here!" joked Elisay cheerfully. For indeed, there were groves of these trees.
     Daivi looked odd. (Or rather had an odd look on his face.) "Apple juice. Apple trees. Applebus… 'Ey guys! The bus is in the apple grove!"
     All ten of them rushed into the grove, and soon they were at the Applebus. Finally.
     "Hey Aubrey, man, it's tahme for you to push one o' the buttons," urged Maik.
     Aubrey reached up and pressed a button, as green as healthy grass and in the shape of a question mark. The results of this were quite baffling. As the Applebus was transported, everyone was knocked unconscious.
     Ianthe was the first to gain consciousness. They had not yet arrived anywhere, so it was quite impossible to get out of the bus. The seat next to her was empty… Aubrey was gone!
     When the others awoke, they found Ianthe gently sobbing. Aubrey was nowhere to be seen. Maik asked the girl, "Hey, babe, what's wrong? Where's Aubrey?"
     Ianthe looked up. Her eyes were wet with tears and red from crying. "I woke up first, before we stopped, an'… an'… Aubrey was gone! He couldna have left then, 'cos we were moving… an'… an'… he said he wouldna… if he could help it… I think he's in trouble…"
     The rest of the crew gaped at this tale. They couldn't believe it. Maik once more took charge. "'Kay, y'all, we're gonna have to split into teams to look for him. Myki, Daivi, Blake, you go look together over there. Elisay, Daphne, Naomi, you look there. Me, Piyteur an' Ianthe'll look over there. Wherever that cat's at, Ah sure hope he's okay…"
     The three parties searched everywhere, almost literally. Ianthe was the one looking the hardest. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red and listless, her hair was tangled, her clothes were crooked, and her necklaces were hanging in the wrong places. She searched frantically for any trace of him. After it became dark and cold, still she was out searching in the blackness in vain, shivering. Maik and Piyteur had to physically drag her back to the Applebus, pain showing in their eyes as they witnessed her anguished moans and muffled cries. They hated to see her like this.
     That night, after all the others had managed to find some way to slumber, Ianthe remained awake. Then she thought of one place that the others couldn't look… Only she could… Now she turned her focus inward, and she entered her own mind. It was the same first room that Maik, Blake, and Naomi had accidentally DAGE'd to… She rushed from this room, on finding no one, to the NG room. This too was empty. Mayhap in the Black Box, she thought. The dark room housed only the single candle. Lastly, she rushed into the final room, where she was sure she would find Aubrey for this was his own mind. Alas, amid all of the examples of medieval themes, he was nowhere to be found. All strength, energy, and hope drained from her. She curled up on a woven rug on the floor and cried herself to sleep.

     A being, like a ghost, wandered the world unseen, invisible. The being was lost: it had lost all memory of itself and what it had once been. In its wanderings, it came upon a group of nine people. Everything they had came from within the multicolored vehicle that they had arrived in. They were worried about someone… someone who'd disappeared. They spent much time searching for this person. The one who searched the most relentlessly was a girl with light brown hair and green-brown eyes misted with tears, clinging to a black and orange jacket, nearly making herself sick. The being felt drawn to this group… it would watch these people for a while longer. At night, the depressed girl somehow managed to fall into a restless sleep, perhaps because the needs of the body were taking over.
     Only two remained awake. These were the older long blond- haired man and the man with the green hat who acted as leader. They sat in front of a fire, in case their missing friend turned up. The being read each of the nine's minds to find out more about the missing… it still was capable of curiosity.
     First it visited the leader. It heard this. "Ah sure hope that Aubrey cat comes back… an' that he's alrahght… ev'ryone's so worried, an' it's tearin' us apart…"
     It next listened to the other man who was awake, the hippie. "I hope he's not in trouble… If he only could see what this is doin' to Ianthe… He doesn't realize what a lucky man he is, to have one who loves him so much…"
     A third man with curly brown hair was read next. "He'd better be alright. If not, there goes our couple thing… No more 'we'll make a couple outta you!' I myself am deeply jealous, of him…"
     Nearby was a short man with brown hair, who was thinking, "Lucky Aubrey… Hope he makes it back from where he is alright…"
     The only other male had in his mind, "I might not be extremely fond of him, but I hope Aubrey comes back okay soon… Poor Persephone/Ianthe isn't her smiley self… an' he was settin' such a good example for me…"
     The girl next to him thought, "No one's goin' off on our scary tangents… I never thought I'd miss 'em… When Aubrey gets back, they'll start again, an' Ianthe'll be happy again… They were givin' me somethin' to look forward to…"
     A girl with semi-wild blond hair reasoned, "Aubrey, come back! Look at poor Ianthe… I so kindly got you together, somehow, sort of… Will all my sacrifices be in vain?"
     The girl with sandy hair and braces thought through, "Aubrey, where are you? You left us an' Ianthe… we miss you…. even all the Irish!"
     The last girl, the one formerly depressed, had no words in her mind. She was perhaps too exhausted. She had wrapped herself in Aubrey's jacket. In her mind were pictures, memories that showed her and Aubrey together, happy. A slight smile showed on her worried face.
     The mysterious enigma felt a dawn of memory. The girl's smile looked familiar, her mind presence distinct. He saw the poor one's arms wrapped around his neck, their lips pressed to each other's. He knew who she was! This was Ianthe. And he? He was Aubrey, loved by the nine people, in many different ways. And here was Ianthe, poor lass, shivering alone with his jacket, searching desperately for him, making herself sick, her beautiful eyes wet with tears, sleeping only when completely exhausted… She loved him so much! And he loved her too!
     Upon discovering himself, Aubrey reappeared. He and Ianthe were situated beyond the sight of Maik and Piyteur's nodding heads. Ianthe's eyes fluttered open. When she saw his smiling face, she ran over, Orioles jacket still around her shoulders, and fell into his open arms. He caressed her tousled head, which was on his shoulder. Happy tears were in Ianthe's eyes, replacing the sorrowful ones. "You came back!" she cried. "I woke up an' you were gone, after you said you wouldn't leave… I looked everywhere… Even in the special place, in our minds… I was so afraid that you'd left an' weren't comin' back…"
     He answered, "Well, I'm back now… I'm not entirely sure what happened when I pressed that button, but I remember bein' an invisible bein'… no mem'ry of my identity… By some chance I found y'all an' decided to stick 'round for a bit… I was drawn here… An' when I saw you there, asleep an' in distress… It all flooded back…Your love brought me back, summonin' my own love…" A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Order me to never leave, an' I'll obey."
     Ianthe smiled up at him. "Then I forbid you ever to leave me again, Sir Aubrey."
     "As you wish, Lady Ianthe," he said, and they kissed happily.

     In the morning, the crew of the Applebus awoke to find Aubrey leaning against a tree, Ianthe's head on his chest and her arm around his waist, and the black and orange coat was over them. They both were asleep. They all wanted to wake him up, welcome him back, and ask where'd he'd been. So they did. (Which was rather inconsiderate of them…) [But so typical!] [Oh yes…*eg*]
     "Alright. I'll tell you. I got lost, an' I didn’t know who I was… you could say that where I was, I wasn't… It's a bit confusing…" Aubrey told them, attempting to satisfy them with only part of the story. "Now can I finish sleeping? You woke me up… I didn't come back 'til late, an' bein' amnesmatic is tiring…" He and Ianthe resumed their positions, and crept off to sleep (oddly, 'cos Ianthe couldn't usually just fall asleep like that… Mayhap she was looking forward to meeting Aubrey in the place of their minds…) [Well, then. Hmph.]
     "He didn't tell us everything…" Myki complained mischievously.
     Blake, in a very uncharacteristic act, defended Aubrey's case. "If it happened to you, maybe you wouldn't have told everything, either…"
     Daphne said wistfully, "You realize that that is two more prophecies taken care of… If you think about it… 'Cause we know what Ianthe did when he came back…"
     The eight of them found something to do, quiet, so as not to arouse the slumbering, blyssful pair.
 

Chapter Notes

On to Blake and Naomi...