The Council of Seven

"It's here," Vincent informed his friends, "I hid it here after Uncle died. It belonged to him; I was afraid that it would get stolen. Besides, I can't manipulate it by myself. It takes four. So I had to use the train for three years. But now that the Blazing Guns are a team, I will share the Sandcraft with you all."

He hit a button on the side of the cliff. Suddenly, it opened to reveal a hidden staircase. When the entire team was inside, he hit another to close it behind them. After all, nothing good would come of letting monsters or thieves wander inside. It would lead to some unnecessary battles for the four Drifters.

At the bottom, they discovered a majestic Sandcraft waiting for them. It was near the entrance to a small cave; covered just like the entrance to the top of the passage was. Everyone was amazed that Vincent had thought of everything by himself. But he only shrugged and said that he copied an idea he'd read in one of Leehalt's old journals. Then, the team went inside the craft to prepare to launch and leave.

"Ok, we should pick roles for this journey. Jessica, you should be the gunner; I think you'd like to play with ammo for once. Lyla, you're going to stick with the deckhand; I know you're not real violent and would like to avoid forcing you to do anything of the sort if you don't want to. Laura, I think you'd make an excellent helmswoman. And since it's my Sandcraft, I want to be the harpooner," Vincent told the others.

Jessica stated, "It doesn't bother me what type of job I have. I just want to get this puppy off the road and onto the Ark of Destiny. I'm sure they'll have information about scientists and their projects. We can find out what my father was doing and where he is now. I think our luck is going to turn around here."

So they got into their positions, and Vincent hit a button on his remote control. Suddenly, the hidden door that was protecting the Sandcraft's hanger began to open. Laura drove the vehicle and left trough the cave. Then, Vincent closed it once more. Now, they had a place to store it in case they were back in Little Rock for whatever reason. Or if they found an easier way to travel; like an airship or Dragon.

S...S

They arrived at the Ark of Destiny by nightfall. Since it was closed for the evening, the door was locked. Jessica looked at the lock. "Nothing I can't handle. And it will even lock back into place when I'm done. It's one of my coolest powers. I manipulate metal in any way. But the best part is that I can unlock and re-lock doors and other types of locks. I had a lot of fun with it when I was a little girl living in Doria."

A red aura began to form around Jessica. She put her hand on the lock, and it suddenly clicked. At that instant, the door opened. Winking at the others, she led them inside. Since all of the Arkists went to sleep right after locking the door, she knew that they wouldn't find out that they were sneaking inside.

They went into the library. Inside, they found shelves and shelves filled with books. The team mutually decided to split up and search through all of the books until they were able to find something of use. Once that happened, the four would regroup and do the necessary research in order to find out about Jessica's father. Vincent and Lyla climbed up to the top group, while the others took the bottom.

After about ten minutes, Jessica picked up a book. It was about the Council of Seven. But as she began to read the list of members of the final Council listed, she gave a small yelp. The others all raced over to her to see what was wrong. If she wasn't careful, the Arkists would find them hiding there.

"Jessica, what's wrong?" Vincent inquired, "It's only a book of…oh by the Guardians! The names written in this book. Werner Maxwell, Leehalt Alceste, Melody Vilente, Pete Inkapilia, Elliot Enduro, Malik Bendict, and Duran Bryant. My foster father and a name that could very well belong to my birth father are both in here. Not only that, but Jessica's dad. Are we both connected in some way we cannot fathom?"

"Hey! Werner Maxwell lives or lived in Boot Hill. I have a friend living there. Well, like most of us from Doria, we don't know each other's last names, but she could very well know him. With the death of her parents, she lives with her aunt and uncle. Perhaps if we talk to her, then she can give us a lead to your parents. It's too much of a coincidence that both the man who abducted you and a man who shares your last name are both on the same team in the Council of Seven," Jessica called out; loudly I might add.

Suddenly, they heard a voice yell, "Whose there!" It was that of one of the Ark's guards. All four of them froze. Jessica concentrated and created an illusion around them with Water energy. It wasn't as good as her friend Virginia, but it would do. When Albert walked in with a few of the Arkists searching for the intruders, they saw nothing. Confused, the group ran off to see if it was another area of their temple.

After the girl removed the illusion spell, Lyla sighed. "We're lucky we had Jessica with us. Dorian magic is much more versatile than Baskar Arcana. As you've seen it is more powerful than any of the spells we can muster with Mediums; even when it's Jessica herself casting it. That's why she heals us with her own Crest Sorcery unless Summoning Oodoryuk to give the group a greater boost in energy."

They left the Ark and locked the door behind them. Laura thought that Albert would be really confused when he woke up and found that the door was secure. He might have seen it slightly ajar in the night. If so, he would be confused as to how the intruders could unlock the door, hide from them so they could miss them while checking around, and then re-lock the door behind them as they left the Ark.

"Well, we should hightail it to Boot Hill," Vincent told them, "It is our only lead. Even if…this man turns out to not be my father, he will know Jessica's dad and where he is now. But I know deep in my heart that he's the one. I'll be reunited with my family real soon. After all these years, I'll know where I come from. Maybe I can get to know my parents and sister." He stared off at the sky as Laura left port.

They drove towards the land and camped in the Sandcraft on the beach. It wouldn't be good to go inside town after midnight and then try to find someone. He'd probably have some issues with a group of strangers coming into his house for a Q & A session on whether or not he had a son and where one of his co-workers was living now. Best to wait until the morning and then talk about their quests right then.

Teefa's Last Words...

I know I'm crazy. I plan to talk about Boot Hill next chapter. Maybe in two chapters if I get long enough. We have to interview the Maxwells, and also go to the graveyard. Expect some drama and a little mushy fluff.

My updating policy says I'll post new chapters on Monday, Wendsday, and Friday, but only if I get a review in between those times; I like to know my readers are keeping up with the story. Also, I can only post a total of 4 Documents a week, which is the same amount that I can write a week, so I might post less due to a large prescence in shorts, anthologies, and if another fic gets a lot of reviews as well (I post two fics at the same time). The queue of fics is there just in case I can't write for several weeks due to excessive schoolwork or family committments.