just us four

Blair Hazelwood

Nikki Flamel

Bridget Hazelwood

Ash Hazelwood

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this is part of the recruitment series!

The moon hung high overhead, a brilliant eye that gazed down on the allegedly-idyllic town that my sisters and I called home. The townsfolk slumbered, and I - as was always how it was - stood before my sisters.

Long ago, I bore witness as they were taken from me. I took them back from the flames of Hell. Now, the three of us stood gathered around the cauldron, chattering with the sole remaining member of our collective.

"Blair," The younger one asked, adjusting her black robe and dress before standing up straight. "Whatever shall we do? That mayor's investigative team is going to find us, and - you'll end up losing us again."

"I am trying to figure that out, Bridget." I replied, voice perhaps a touch too venomous as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "As much as I would love to destroy Salem here and now, we must simply continue to lay in the shadows." I sighed, shoulders sagging as I looked at my reflection in the pale grey... ooze, the moth-like Potion Master was stirring. "So much has happened; we have lost many - surely we will have to gather more."

"...Perhaps Nikki has ideas?" My youngest sister piped up. "You always ask us about your plans, but she's actually seen you in action."

"True." I turned my head, looking at her. Her white hat and dress were embarrassingly clean, her hair up in a ponytail as she smiled. "I appreciate the comment, Ash."

"Of course, Blair." She replied as I turned my head again, gazing at Nikki. Her white hair glittered in the moonlight, shine liberated by the fact her hat was not on her head. Her purple eyes glowed softly as her focus remained on the cauldron, stirring softly as her shimmering black lips parted into a sad smile.

"...Je suis désolé," She said softly, continuing her circular path in the mirror-like broth. "I haven't the faintest idea where to start. How do we go from fifteen members... to just us four, in a single year?"

"I wonder if we could use... that." I mused, gazing at my reflection once more. I hesitated to explain to them the nature of their return to my embrace - least of which because their own ashes remained in my pocket for emergencies. I had long opted to stop questioning how they always returned to my pocket - It didn't matter as long as I had a use for it.

"It could work." she replied idly, stopping her motion, gazing at her own reflection on the other side of the cauldron. "When you brought Bridget and Ash back - that brought our ranks from two to four. Using them was how you found us, after all."

I chewed on my lip, nodding slowly. My younger days were a blur to me, truthfully - losing Bridget and Ash, saving my Helena, finding Nikki, Kande, Bakt and... I sighed. "I know that Kande is still out there. I remember she escaped." I said, looking at Nikki. "but Bakt, Helena, Medusa..."

"I know," Nikki replied. "Perhaps this mirror will show us where to start."

We both leaned back as the moon hit its peak, the light collected fully into the cauldron. It shimmered, and a familiar face appeared, distorted by the faint ripple of the liquid.

"That's her." Nikki's eyes lit up. "But where has she gone...?"

I dipped my staff in the brew, swirling it tentatively. To my delight, I could look around her. She wasn't far, to my elation - she was in the forests, away from Salem but more than close enough to reunite with her. Next to her slept a younger woman, bearing the same tattoos.

"Who is that?" I asked myself, lifting my staff from the cauldron. "They look quite a lot like her."

"A descendant, perhaps?" Nikki wondered. "They could be sisters, with how similar they look to each other."

"Not of her own blood, surely..." My brow furrowed. "I remember she was not fond of... yes."

"Perhaps a descendant of one of her relatives, then." Nikki shrugged, "The important thing is we found Kande, no?"

"Correct." I laughed softly. "...If only we could find the others."

"You have the ashes." She pointed out. "You could fix everything."

"Indeed I could..." I let the thought roam my mind. A chance to gather everyone again, to start over and take over the town properly this time. "...Yet, something compels me against it."

"Even for--"

"Even for her." I sighed, painfully. "I will reward myself with her resurrection. We will reunite over the ruins of Salem... just as we had planned."

"Then how will we find new members to replace the old ones?" She asked, voice tinged with genuine curiosity. "You, myself, Ash, Bridget, and Kande - that's five people; not quite enough for whatever you happened to have in mind."

"It will be enough to get us started." I put my hands on my hips. "Myself, you with your talent for potions, Bridget's affinity for the mind, and Ash's rituals - it's enough to defend ourselves."

"We should still bolster our numbers, I think." She said softly, stirring the brew again so the contents stayed mixed - the scene changed, revealing to the two of us a young-looking fellow, diligently sewing the mouth of some kind of doll. Satisfied with his handiwork, he promptly thrust the needle deep into the doll's chest, before tossing it into a pile of dolls behind him.

"Who could this be...?" I marveled, watching him pick up another doll, this one with short blonde hair made of yarn. "These dolls..."

"They're enchanted, see?" Nikki pointed, the dolls faintly shimmering. "Where is this man...?"

I dipped my staff in the brew again, moving the scene - The building had no windows, the only light coming from a candle by their foot. The door had a slot in it, which shifted open - revealing a pair of brilliant golden eyes. I turned the scene again, revealing the young lad's look of dismay as light entered the room, and a plate was pushed towards him. The person bearing the golden eyes gave him a patient smile before turning and leaving.

"That other fellow... I wonder what he's doing with this man." Nikki said softly, watching my expression change. "Do you suppose they're allies?"

"I have my doubts," I said softly, pointing at the way the man looked at the plate set before him. The food looked divine, a slab of meat with mashed potatoes and vegetables, yet the fellow did not eat. He simply continued to jab his needle into the doll. "He doesn't want to eat it?"

"Look at the building he's in..." She replied, pointing out the lack of windows and sole candle illuminating him. "I have doubts that he's here of his own volition."

"A simple collection, then." I shrugged, "We rescue him from his captor, and then bring him into our fold. Even if he has no...innate talent, surely we can teach him something."

"I agree." Nikki replied, smiling at me. "Although..."

"Hm?"

"How will we collect him?" Nikki asked, hand on the edge of the cauldron. "Kande is in the forests; we can track her down easily. We only know this man's being held captive somewhere, and not much else besides that."

"I will figure that out on my own time." I replied, folding my arms. "Bridget, Ash - do either of you have a word to say about this?"

"Not one, Blair." Ash replied, "though I wonder if I should test my luck here and now."

"Certainly not." My voice was firm. "If they catch us, or worse, it backfires - we will lose this whole coven before we've even begun to gather it. We will lay low while we gather our forces. Allow Salem to lower their guard."

"What do we do if..." Bridget put her thumb to her mouth. "If they catch us before we're done?"

"Defend ourselves. As far as anyone knows, we're townsfolk like they are. I have my disguise ready to go; did you two come up with ones like I asked?"

"O-of course, Blair. Ash has been working with the Cleric, and I've been, um..."

"Bridget has been working at the tavern with me, Blair." Nikki replied. "Though the barmaid doesn't care much for her work ethic."

"I've been trying!" Bridget protested, sighing. "Perhaps I shall find another occupation."

"Once we get Kande back - if that wench doesn't fire you first - you can work with me at the lookout tower." I said, hand on my hip. "You'll just have to tough it out." I shrugged.

"As you wish..." Bridget grumbled, shaking her head. I turned to look at Nikki again. "Do you think we should keep searching?"

"In just one moment..." Nikki's voice was full of hesitation as she tentatively reached her hand into the brew. The man's eyes grew wide with shock; her expression mirrored his. Tentatively, she reached for the closest thing on the plate, pulling her hand back with a single green bean.

"...This brew is a portal...?" My voice was incredulous as I stared at her staring at the legume. "That's... You have outdone yourself, Nikki."

"I hadn't anticipated that would work." she said softly. "I wonder... Ash."

Ash perked up, walking toward us. "Nikki?"

"Write this down: 'Where are you?'"

Ash's brow furrowed but she quickly scribbled it onto a piece of paper, and Nikki dipped it into the cauldron, allowing it to float toward him. He opened it, quickly reading it and trying to find something to write with. After a moment, he shook his head, bracing himself as he poked the needle through his index finger of his non-dominant hand, painting the paper with something before tucking it under the plate. Nikki reached back into the cauldron, pulling out the paper.

"LONDON."

"A whole ocean away." I mused half-bitterly. "Didn't even write down a year for us."

"Is it possible that for once we're recruiting from within our own year?" Nikki replied almost playfully, waving goodbye before removing her hand from the brew. "Should we continue to look for other possible recruits?"

"Unless you'd like to climb into the cauldron right now, that would be a splendid idea." I gave her a look as she nodded, stirring again. "We don't have much time before the moon..."

"Yes, I know - we've only got a few minutes before the moon isn't where we need it to be." The scene shifted again, revealing to us a dark cave, and nothing else.

"I can't... see anything." I grumbled, dipping my staff in and trying to maneuver things. Darkness surrounded the whole scene, and I pulled my staff out in frustration. "Drop a candle in."

"And that's how we found out this one lives in a methane cave." Nikki said with a laugh. "I suppose we'll have to look through this one again... assuming we can, since this brew only works under a full moon."

"If only we could make it work with sunlight." I said. "What if we changed the ingredients?"

"Certainly that would change how it works, but it took me quite a long time to perfect even this." Her brow furrowed; I hated seeing her so frustrated... "I will try, though. Anything to make this plan work, now that we know we can simply travel through the cauldron."

"But what do they see on the other side?" Ash asked, looking at us curiously. "I wonder if what that poor man saw was just Nikki's hand appearing out of thin air to steal a green bean from him."

"Your guess is as good as mine." Nikki replied, looking first at me then at her. "Why don't you head back to the hideout? Surely I can envision it and make it appear in the cauldron."

"Sure." She snapped her fingers, a small ring of green fire appearing at her feet. She jumped through, disappearing through the grass. Nikki stirred the brew again, eyes shut in concentration as the faint image of Ash appeared, standing in her room. My brow furrowed as Nikki stuck her hand in the cauldron, hesitation diminished. Ash turned her head, seeing Nikki pluck a hand mirror from atop Ash's wardrobe. She took the mirror from her, spinning it around to show us what it looked like - Nikki's hand stuck from the wall, as if the rest of her were embedded in the stone.

"Fascinating..." Nikki mused softly, watching as Ash set the mirror down. "Blair," She said, turning to me and removing her hand. "Move the scene, I want to try and bring her through."

I raised an eyebrow, "We hardly know anything about the mirror's transportation properties. What if you lose your arm - or worse, the moon moves at the worst moment and lops her legs off?" I questioned,

"We're running out of time." she pointed out, "If you hesitate, we'll never know for sure."

"I still think you're getting carried away with all of this," I said, sighing as I moved the image for her. The scene pulled away from Ash's wardrobe, resting now over her bed. "Using the dust has been safer - despite the setbacks."

"It'll be worth a try." She replied, sticking her hand in the cauldron again. Ash climbed up onto the bed, grabbing Nikki's hand. Nikki pulled, yet did nothing more than knock Ash against the wall. Her hand left the cauldron, unaccompanied by Ash.

"Hm." I mused, looking at her. "Doesn't seem to work like that, then."

"I suppose not." Nikki shrugged. "Still, we can leave things on the other side - that alone is a powerful utility."

I nodded. "Our game plan then..." I shook my head, sticking my own hand in the brew and motioning for Ash to return to us. The faint crackle of flames behind me indicated that she had returned, and I pulled my hand from the cauldron as the moon finally left its peak, the brew changing from a brilliant mirror to a vaguely grey-green sludge.

"Bridget, Ash, come here." I commanded, the four of us gathered around the cauldron. "We have found two members - our beloved Kande, and a possible newcomer... I will have to take a journey to meet our new friend. Bridget, Ash, I want you to stay and gather forces here in Salem - surely here, there are others who have been wronged by those assholes in charge. Nikki, you will travel to the forests and collect Kande - and possibly her relative, as well."

The three of them nodded, though Nikki's lips pursed nervously. "And... if her relative doesn't join our cause? I would hate to have to extinguish her in front of Kande."

"You will make the right choice when the time comes." My voice prickled with impatience. "This still only brings us to six members, so despite this important head start - we will still have to lay low and maintain our personas to the townsfolk, for better or worse."

"Anything else, Blair?" Bridget asked softly, smiling.

"Don't do anything to cast suspicion on yourselves. If they suspect anything, defend yourselves as you see fit. We will have to keep searching for new members from all available sources..." my hands gripped the sides of the cauldron. "...and this time, absolutely nothing is going to stand in my-- in our-- god-forsaken way."

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Lifelink Stories

The Recruitment

just us four

Side Stories

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