Note: I know, I know, it's not nice to leave the readers hanging like that! I'm awfully sorry! Blame it on a new job and a writer's block.
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"What do you mean, the Elders don't know anything about this Master of the Game fellow?" says David, frustrated. "Aren't they supposed to have all the answers?"
"You'd be surprised..." Cole grunts.
Leo is standing before them, not looking very happy himself. The Elders know nothing about the Master of the Game... at least, nothing that he, Cole and David haven't already found out in the Book of Shadows. He turns to Cole and says, clearly uneasy:
"Cole, I hate to ask you this but, since the Elders don't know anything, do you think you could...?" -- he motions downwards, leaving the question hanging.
"Sure," Cole promptly says. "I'll be right b..." -- he suddenly gasps, bending over and leaning on the kitchen's table for support.
"What's wrong?" says Leo, taking a step towards him.
"Back off!" Cole says between clenched teeth, and something in his voice makes Leo and David quickly take a few steps back.
David's eyes grow as big as possible as they see Cole morph into Belthazor, still grabbing the edge of the table and breathing heavily.
"What's... w-what's this?" he stammers, still backing away, until the refrigerator prevents him from going any further.
"Just stay close to me," says Leo, tensely, keeping his eyes on Belthazor and reaching out for David's arm, ready to orb them out of here if needed. He can see that Cole is holding his demon self back with great effort, and feels deeply relieved when he finally morphs back into his human form.
"What happened?" Leo asks, as Cole falls heavily on a chair.
"Phoebe," says Cole, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "She summoned Belthazor."
Leo gives him an intrigued look and he proceeds, in a tired voice:
"Now I understand what you meant when you said that their calling was somehow blurred: I could hear her chanting, but her magic seemed weakened, not strong enough to take me to her. Instead, it pushed Belthazor into surfacing."
Cole cautiously stands up, still leaning on the table, and waits until he's sure he can trust his legs again. Then he lets go of the table, saying:
"But at least now I've got enough information about the realm they are in to shimmer us there." -- he then turns to David -- "Do you still wanna go with us?"
David hesitates just for a split second before saying in a fairly steady voice:
"Yes."
"You can't say no one warned you," Cole sighs, holding out his hands.
As Leo and David each holds one of his hands, Cole shimmers out with them.
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"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" says Piper, stopping and giving a frustrated look around. "At this point, we should have already reached the place where that freak bird attacked us."
"It's hard to say, considering I was hanging in space and screaming at the top of my lungs," says Paige, scratching her head. "But," she adds, as she surveys the surroundings, "I'm afraid this is not the problem here."
Piper gives her an inquisitive look, and Paige says, pointing at a weeping willow a few yards to the right:
"We have been walking for a lot of time now, and every time I look to the right that tree is there."
"Paige, it can't be the same tree," says Piper, giving the tree a doubtful look.
"Do you see any other willow trees?" says Paige, waving her hand around. "If it's not the same tree, then where's the one I saw five minutes ago?"
"So, what do you think is going on?" says Piper. "We're walking, but we're not moving?"
"We were moving when we started," says Paige, "because the tree was a couple of yards ahead. But when we lined up with it, we seem to have reached the limit."
"That's weird," says Piper, cautiously. "Do you wanna try orbing?"
"Sure. Give me your hand."
They're upset, but not really surprised when Paige orbs them out and then back in the same spot. The two sisters exchange a worried look, and Piper says:
"There is some kind of magical barrier preventing us from redoing our steps, isn't it?"
"Apparently," says Paige. "Wanna try other directions?"
"We have to try something," says Piper, with a sigh.
After a few minutes they have learned that Paige can orb them only inside the limits of a large square area. They have tried walking out of the square in three directions already, with no visible results, and are now standing next to the fourth edge of the square, uncertain.
"We'd be putting even more space between us and Phoebe," says Paige.
"If this place was linear, yes, we would, but I don't think it's linear at all," says Piper. "I bet that the minute we take another step, the world will flicker around us, and we'll find ourselves in a totally different place, with no means to come back here."
"So," says Paige, nervously increasing her grip on Piper's hand, "you think Phoebe...?"
"Could be anywhere by now," says Piper, tensely.
The two sisters then take a deep breath and take one step ahead.
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"Can you sense them?" Cole asks.
"Sort of," says Leo, frowning. "You were right: they are in this realm. But I can't locate them." -- he waves his head, frustrated.
"If this place is anything like the real game," says David, looking around and surveying the meadow they've just shimmered in, "there's only one direction we can go, and it'll lead us to field 63 -- that's the last field. I suppose right now we're on the edge of field 1, and the girls must be somewhere between here and field 63."
"And field 63 would be...?" says Cole, raising one eyebrow.
"This way," says David as he starts walking, and Cole and Leo follow.
"How do you know this is the right direction?" Leo asks as he catches up with David.
"I don't," says David, still walking. "But as I've told you, there's only one possible direction, so if it's not the right direction, we're gonna find out pretty soon, when something blocks our way."
"Weren't you supposed to know the rules?" Cole snaps, from behind them.
"Those are the rules," says David, turning around to face him.
Leo lets out a heavy sigh, wishing he could just proceed and let the two men behind to work on their differences: Cole has one strong temper, but he seems to have found his match with David. Under different circumstances, Leo might find it amusing, but right now he's too concerned about the girls' situation -- not to mention their own. Still, he knows they have to stay together, so after a couple of steps he takes a deep breath and turns around, saying:
"Listen, you two..."
Before he can finish the sentence, Leo accidentally steps on a rock and loses his balance. As he falls backwards, the world flickers around him, and when he lands on the ground he finds himself in a difference place, with Cole and David not in sight.
Leo jumps back to his feet, but Phoebe comes out of nowhere and bumps into him, causing them both to stumble to the ground.
"Leo?" she says, when she recognizes him. "Thank God it's you!"
Phoebe throws her arms around Leo's neck, and he promptly hugs her back, relieved to have found at least one of the girls.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"Yes," she says. "But I don't know where Piper and Paige are. There was this huge bird that..."
"Bird?" says Leo, pulling away from her and looking her in the eyes. "Could it have been a goose?"
"A goose?" Phoebe says, bewildered. "Hum, I suppose yes, a giant, hellish goose... Why?"
"David believes we're trapped in this realm playing some kind of twisted version of a game called The Royal Game of the Goose."
"David?" says Phoebe, arching her eyebrows. "Oh dear, you didn't bring David here, did you?"
"Actually, we did," says Leo, grimacing. "I mean, Cole did. I mean..."
"Cole? Where is he? Where are they?" Phoebe asks, worried. She wanted Cole to be here, alright. But she wanted him here by her side, where she could keep an eye on him and know that he was fine, not lost somewhere in this freak realm.
"I don't know," Leo says, apologetically. "They were just a couple of steps behind me, and then they were gone. And you came along," he adds, frowning slightly as he remembers her sudden appearance. "Where did you come from, by the way?"
Phoebe looks behind, towards the place she came from, but she doesn't see any signs of the woods where she was hiding before she got tired of waiting and decided to try her luck in the open.
"I'm not sure," she says, scratching her head. "This place is weird: you take a few steps, and out of a sudden you have walked several yards."
"Well," says Leo, standing up and holding out his hand, "if David is right, we're all heading towards the last field, and that's where the game ends."
"And what's in the last field?" Phoebe asks, taking the hand he offers and standing up, too.
"He didn't have time to tell me," Leo sighs, as they start to walk. "But I doubt we're gonna like it."