* * * * * * *

Larry closed his eyes and let the feeling of the night wash over him. It was colder out now, and murkier than he had ever thought possible. He could sense the glimmer of his friends' essences carried in the air. With his eyes still closed, he could see in his mind the colors that made up their respective life forces. Bono, a glittering gold; Edge a calm, collected blue; and Adam a fiery red. Larry himself was a spiky, stroppy green.

Auras�as the fake psychics from all the hotlines would have called them�

He stood still, under a street lamp, and let the colors dance in his mind, delighting in the comfort that they brought. He opened the gray orbs again, only to have his vision assailed by a vast nothingness, a dense, white cloud of fog. The murk prevented him from seeing anything in front of him. Larry frowned in minor annoyance, waving his hands in front of him to try and clear the fog. It didn�t work, if anything the fog grew thicker, and swirled around his body as if mocking him. Larry glowered at it, then raised his hands up to firmly swipe at the air. All around him, the mist cleared. He could then see in all directions, but only for a few feet. It was almost like being in a protective bubble; as he moved forward, the fog would be cut through like a hot knife through butter. He walked onward, the clouds in front of him parting with each step, then closing up again behind him.

Larry tried to focus on the glittering gold image in his mind, tried to picture where Bono was in the large city. He wasn�t successful. While he could feel his friends' presence strongly in his mind, he could not see them in his mind's eye. He stopped again directly under another lamp that shone like a faint beacon across from a vaguely familiar-looking alleyway. Larry's eyes widened when he realized that his feet had unconsciously taken him back to the same part of town that he had wandered aimlessly in only hours earlier. At a loss for what to do next, he stood still and listened to the voices of the night and the rhythm of the darkened city. After a moment's deliberation, Larry found himself reaching under the collar of his long, black coat, and beneath the sweater and shirt as well, to extract some sort of chain. Gently undoing the clasp with shaking fingers, he removed his ever-present necklace and let it dangle down from the index finger of his left hand. At the end of the chain, his prized possession swayed as the breeze blew. A ring. His mother's engagement ring�

With his gaze firmly locked on the ring, Larry whispered the word, "Bono." Under the intense concentration, the necklace and ring grew totally motionless for a moment, still suspended in the air. Then slowly the chain began to swing. Left and right it moved, gradually at first, but quickly gaining momentum.

"Left or right�" Larry murmured to himself, eyeing either direction speculatively. Frowning, he took a cautious step to the left; the chain immediately stood stock-still. He moved back again and the chain moved. Then he stepped to the right and the ring swung even faster, like an out of control pendulum. "This way�" he confirmed. The necklace paused then seemed to shake back in forth in affirmation. Pleased, Larry gathered the chain into his palm and took off in the direction that the makeshift locator had directed.

He hadn't gone far when the sound of heavy footfalls approaching rapidly snared his attention and instantly his body tensed in anticipation. The footsteps grew closer as Larry strained his eyes to peer through the fog that surrounded his protective bubble. With a sharp gasp of breath he released his hold on the curtain of air around him and was instantly surrounded in the misty cloud once more. The pounding of feet on pavement continued, louder now and faster, each thud making all the muscles in Larry's body tense even more. He struggled in vain to see, not wanting to lift the wispy veil that covered him for fear of who approached. Suddenly, a bright crimson light flared in his mind and a warm feeling flooded his body. With a sigh of relief Larry relaxed and made to call out to the advancing figure�

�Only to be knocked forcibly to the pavement when the person ran right into him.

"ADAM!" he yelled in exasperation as the newly identified man lay sprawled on top of him.

"Lar?" Adam replied, sitting up. "Shit, sorry mate�What are you doing here?"

Larry snorted. "Taking a quaint stroll at three in the morning," he retorted. "I'm looking for Bono since you had to go and lose him; what else would I be doing?" Though he could not see it, Larry could almost feel Adam rolling his eyes at him as he stood and offered Larry a hand up. Larry took the proffered hand gratefully and Adam hauled him to his feet.

"Don't get wise with me, Mullen!"

"Heaven forbid�"Larry agreed. "But you must admit, it is so easy to do." He grinned cheekily, the expression lost in the fog and darkness.

But Adam knew anyway and chuckled quietly. "Have you had any luck?" he asked.

Shaking his head Larry replied, "Fraid not�You?"

"None."

"Now what?"

Adam was silent as he thought and together the pair moved on down the empty street. "I just wish I knew where we were," he mused. "We can't find Bono if we are lost ourselves."

I've been lost most of my life�a voice in the back of Larry's mind whispered. He ignored it. "I have an idea of where we are, but it still doesn't help us any."

When Adam responded, Larry could hear the incredulity in his voice. "You know where we are? How?"

Larry shrugged dismissively and picked up his pace a bit. "This was where I wandered to when I went out earlier�s'all." He was stopped short when Adam clamped a hand down hard on his forearm.

"You spent the night wandering around these deserted streets? Alone? In a rather industrial area? Are you out of your bleedin' mind?" Larry didn't answer so Adam continued his tirade. "Have you any idea how dangerous that could be?"

Jerking Adam after him, Larry began to walk once more. "I am well aware of that, but I do believe that I can care for myself." He frowned in Adam's direction, then softened as he took in his friend's obvious concern. "I'm sorry if that worries you, but right now Bono is also out here, ALONE, and most likely too incapacitated to care for himself if need be."

"True," Adam assented. He followed along quietly for a moment, talking in the dull street lamps that were barely able to permeate the thick cloud cover around them. "Where are we going then?" he asked after some time had elapsed. "I thought you didn't know where Bono was�"

"I don't for certain, but I have a feeling�" Larry murmured, his voice sounding far away.

"Where to?"

Larry still seemed dazed. "There's an old stone bridge up ahead�I was there earlier. I think that is where we will find him�" With a convulsive tremor Larry shook himself from his reverie. His tone more normal, he continued, "Call Edge. Have him meet us there."

"All right," Adam agreed, slowly. "And what, pray you, do I tell him?"

"Tell him we've found Bono and that he no longer needs to worry." In the palm of his hand Larry felt the ring burning secretively with a heat of it's own. Nodding to himself Larry sped up his pace again tuning out the world as he focused on the life force that remained hidden in the night. Dimly, he heard Adam take out his mobile and make the call as was requested. He walked on, the street familiar under his feet.

"Called him," Adam announced to break the eerie silence.

"Good. We're almost there," was the assured reply.

The brighter lights of the bridge loomed into view and with it came a flash of gold that only Larry could see. As they approached the ancient stone structure, the pair could hear a familiar voice softly crooning a love song to the water. The ring Larry clutched in his palm gave an intense flare of heat and then went cold again. Satisfied, Larry withdrew the ring from his hand and fastened it around his neck again, where it rested as a comfortable weight against his chest.

"Bono?" called out Adam, hustling Larry along.

The voice stopped, puzzled, and then began singing again.

"Bono," Adam repeated. It wasn't a question the second time. Larry and Adam had reached him at that point, each shaking their head in fond annoyance.

"Hmmmmm?" Bono returned, only semi-coherent.

"What are you doing?"

"Singin'�"he replied as if it were the most normal and obvious thing in the world. "I'm singin' to the spirits ova there�" Bono waved an unsteady arm towards the quietly churning water. His voice slurred as his tongue got in the way of what he was attempting to say. "Ya believe in shpirits, dontcha?"

With the clearing mist, Larry could see Adam roll his eyes behind the glasses covering them. "Yes, Bono," Adam answered, draping a steadying arm over Bono's shoulders to lead him from the edge of the bridge. "Sure, Larry and I believe in the spirits. C'mon, mate, we'd best be getting back or Edge'll kill us."

"Kay�" Bono was agreeable and began to stumble along with Adam's help. Larry quietly followed until Adam reached back to snag him by the arm and bring him forward.

"C'mon yourself Lar," he stated, not dropping his hold. "Wouldn�t want you to be lost now, would we?"

Larry smiled. Adam was able to read the expression in the dim visibility and smiled in return.

"Losht Larry?" Bono babbled absently.

"No, Bono�I'm not lost," Larry assured him. Not at the moment�

Bono laughed slightly as he was led along. "O...kay�" he agreed again. Then, "Where's Edge?"

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear�" Larry muttered to himself as a car horn blared from behind them. With it Larry felt a flooding flash of blue as the final piece of the puzzle returned. Turning in unison, all three were assaulted by the bright glare of headlights of a swiftly oncoming vehicle. The car honked again as it slowed, and Edge stuck his head out of the back window of the taxi. "You fellas need a lift?" he inquired pleasantly.

"We'd be honored, kind sir," Adam mocked in a falsetto, dragging Bono and Larry with him towards the idling automobile. With Edge's help, Adam and Larry settled a now pliant Bono into the backseat and wedged in after him. With the excitement passed, Larry found himself to be quite sleepy, and he sighed in contentment when Adam shifted to allow Larry to use him for a pillow. As he drifted off into a doze, Larry's last semi-coherent thought was, Lost? No. Right now, I'm exactly where I need to be�

tbc