Foggy of Sherwood, Time Warp 1

Guest Stars:  Mark Ryan

Location of Aurora:  Caught in the upper limbs of the second white oak on the right

Phileas, Rebecca, and Passepartout have not been able to contact their friend Jules for some time. They are on their way to look for Jules in Paris when the Aurora gets entangled in a large tree in the middle of the deeply forested area of Paris. While Passepartout remains aboard the airship, Phileas and Rebecca slowly climb down through the tree. They aren't sure which path to follow, when all of a sudden Phileas gets fuzzy. Rebecca is aware that her cousin gets fuzzy from spiritual indulgence, but is hoping that it is more of the psychic kind rather than the alcoholic kind. When he comes out of his fuzzy state, Phileas says that a woodland spirit has directed them to follow the path marked by a sign labeled "Sherwood". At first, Rebecca is certain that it was the wrong kind of fuzzies for Phileas, but when they find the sign, she revises her opinion and decides to follow without complaint.  As they walk along,  Phileas reveals that they must find a group of several men who are camped nearby and that these men will aid them in their quest. All but one of the men are found in the nearby meadow.  The final man has been spotted behind some cameras, playing loudly with several sharp swords. Pulling the reluctant fight coordinator into the scene, Phileas begins his plea for their help with surprising success. Shortly thereafter, the group finds a very strange Jules behind a woodpile. Jules seems to have lost several years of age, several synapses of intelligence, and now speaks with a strange accent.

It is about this time that Phileas and Rebecca take stock of themselves as well. Much to their surprise, they find that they too have changed. Phileas' hair has grown to shoulder length and lost its silvery highlights, while Rebecca's controlled locks are now in a flowing permed-style, more like the style favored by the producers for Jules himself. Phileas is now in a shirt opened to the waist, which Rebecca eyes interestedly. She knows that there is strong evidence that several heroic figures of  past times succumbed to chest colds from wearing such attire, although in the legends built around them, this was changed to being shot at close range by a number of cross bows.  She opens her mouth to remind Phileas of this, then pauses and changes her mind. It is unclear whether her motive is potentially to cause Phileas to become ill or merely to preserve an interesting view. 

Although they have found their friend, they still must find the cause behind their altered states. So once again, Phileas suggests getting fuzzy. This time, Rebecca demands to be included in the out-of-focus altered-hue state,  and so she and Phileas get fuzzy and ruddy together. The message that they eventually hear tells them to look at Jules as he sits near the stone wall. They do, but recoil with horror when they discover their friend is now an ancient man with a clairvoyant rat named Arthur. It is revealed to them that this was caused by one too many joy rides in the Phoenix. Their mystical guide tells them there is only one thing to be done and that is to return to the Aurora as quickly as possible, take off, and not land until the next new episode of the series airs. And so they do just that, carrying Jules between them as they make their way back to the second white oak on the right and the friendly confines of the Aurora. Passepartout, who while they were gone invented the basic principles of quantum mechanics, either notices nothing changed about them or else is too polite to enquire. The foursome takes off from their precarious perch, and as the ship rises, Phileas, Rebecca, and Jules revert once more to their appropriate appearance. They are rather subdued over tea, and several times Rebecca seems about to speak after long looks at Phileas' waistcoat, but each time stops. Passepartout marvels at their adventure and wishes he could have been with them. They convince the valet  that it was a wise move to have stayed on the Aurora, since undoubtedly he would have ended up as some ill-fated French-speaking Knight Templar or other figure generally used for target practice by the descendents of surly Saxons. And so they float away in the Aurora, counting the days until their show once more resumes its new episodes. Below them in the forest sits the tiny figure of Arthur, the clairvoyant rat, who knows that they will be return.