Page 35 of Langiappe & Lost Legends

"Lucky me," I muttered as I wiped sweat from my forehead. "Though I have to admit, this is way better than trying to heal them on my own."

When we were finished, my sisters took Madame Chronos in Lia’s car, and I drove with Steve. "You know what I don't get?" he said when we finally headed back to the plantation. "Why didn't the Lost Legends just create their ritual circle somewhere else? Why pick a spot where the six magical sisters could detect it and counter their plans?"

"Because they need us," I replied. "The prophecy said we're the crystal's true guardians. Without us, they can’t stabilize their ritual. It’ll backfire on them."

"And you said they're using you as magical anchors without even touching you directly. Can’t they channel your bond the same way?” he asked.

My eyes widened. "Our trap might need some adjustments." I pulled out my phone to call Lia, then paused as a thought hit me harder than a hangover. "Wait. If they need our connection to stabilize the ritual..."

"Then you could deliberately destabilize it instead," Steve finished with a grin that matched mine. "Have I mentioned lately how scary you and your sisters can be when you work together?"

"Frequently. It's one of your more endearing qualities."

We pulled up to the plantation at the same time as my sisters. We dove right into magical research with our unexpected visitor. "Okay, now that we’re back," Madame Chronos started. "We need to modify your trap design. The ritual circle draws power from your connection to the crystal whether you want it to or not. But we can use that."

"By reversing the flow," I agreed. "Instead of trying to contain their power, we let them draw on our connection..."

"And then yank the metaphysical rug out from under them," Lia finished with a grin that would have made a shark proud. "I like it. It's got that special blend of crazy and clever that usually works for us."

"It's also incredibly dangerous," Madame Chronos warned. "If your timing is off by even a fraction of a second – which, given the current state of things, is more than possible – the backlash could..."

"Let me guess," Dani interrupted. "Make reality go boom?"

"More like everything ceases to exist," Phi supplied helpfully. "But yeah, basically boom."

"Your trap is clever," Madame Chronos said as she studied the intricate wards we'd laid around Willowberry. "But the Lost Legends have found a way to shield themselves from the worst effects of temporal manipulation. Notice how they don't bleed when they use the crystal? While you six..." She gestured at our collective bloody noses and trembling hands.

"Are leaking like broken faucets?" I supplied. "Yeah, we noticed."

"If you try to spring this trap as is, they'll be able to use that advantage. They'll turn your connection to the crystal against you and take control of your powers." She paused to let that lovely thought sink in. "You need to learn how to ground yourselves against temporal chaos before you can hope to fight it."

"And how exactly do we do that?" Lia asked as she dabbed at her nose with what had to be her hundredth tissue of the day.

"I have a place where we can practice safely. A pocket dimension where time behaves differently," she replied with a sweep of her hand.

"Differently how?" I asked, already knowing I wouldn't like the answer.

"I’m in charge there, and outside powers can't intrude," she said with a smile that sent chills down my spine. "Just try not to accidentally erase yourselves from existence. The paperwork is dreadful." She winked and snapped her fingers. Magic rippled out from the noise and a shimmering oval appeared a few feet away.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked before my sisters and I jumped through the mysterious portal.

Madame Chronos snorted and rolled her eyes. “It’s far safer than here. And it’s the only way you can learn more.”

Nodding, I followed her through with my sisters behind me. Her practice space turned out to be exactly as weird as promised. "This is my anchored realm," Madame Chronos explained as she gestured to what looked like the world's most massive training room carved from pure obsidian. The black walls seemed to absorb any temporal disturbances, like a cosmic version of soundproofing. Unlike everywhere else we'd been, time here flowed in one steady stream, no fluctuations or hiccups in sight. "Here, temporal magic can't create rifts or tears. It's the perfect place to practice control without risking your lives"

By the time she finished talking, my magic actually sighed in relief. It felt like I'd found solid ground after trying to stand on Jell-O’. The constant pressure of time trying to split apart just vanished.

"It's like a temporal panic room," Phi said as her scientific brain churned. Her detection equipment, which had been going haywire for days, suddenly settled into steady readings. "A bubble where time has to behave itself."

"Exactly," Madame Chronos smiled. "Now we can work on your control without worrying about accidentally erasing yourselves from existence. Though I should warn you. Learning to combat time magic in a stable environment is very different from what you'll face out there."

We spent what felt like several eternities practicing. Coordinating six different magical specialties was like trying to herd cats while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Over lava. During a hurricane. "No, no, no," Madame Chronos called out as another attempt ended with Phi's detection equipment having an existential crisis. "You're thinking too linearly. The Lost Legends will be drawing power through multiple points simultaneously. You need to be ready to counter from every when, not just everywhere which is why whatever you use for grounding needs to be extra."

"Every when," I muttered. "Sure. That's totally a normal thing to worry about." By the time we finally got back to our own dimension (and wasn't that a weird sentence), Phi had more bad news.

"The temporal instability is spreading faster than we thought," she informed us as she looked over the screen of her device. Lights were flashing, and the thing was blaring like a fog horn. "The weak spots in reality are multiplying."

"We need to find a better way to ground ourselves before drawing the Lost Legends to us, but we still need to address the party," I said as I straightened my shoulders. "Dani, how's the party prep coming along? What do we need to finish?"

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