Chapter 22: Search for Ation

"So this is it?" Jessica asked.

"Yep," Gloria said.

They all faced a large black castle with very tall towers. A few of them were hidden above the clouds. "Wow, I wonder what he uses all those towers for," Caitlin thought.

"It's time to end this madness," Jessica said. "How do we get in?"

"Well, we can just walk in there. This Ation guy is so stupid, he didn't even put guards by the entrance," stated Melissa.

"Alright, what are we waiting for?" Caitlin asked.

"Wait you guys! We should be careful," Gloria warned.

"Aw c'mon G, what can this idiot do that'll hurt us when we get there?" Jessica asked.

"Guys trust me," Gloria begged. "You never know what could happen. Maybe he wants us to do that."

"C'mon G, let's just go. I mean, he's more dimwitted than we believed," Melissa said.

"What makes you so damn sure that he's more stupid than we thought!" Gloria retorted.

"Gloria just chill," Ashley questioned.

"I'm sorry but I'm just worried. This is our final battle and we don't know whether this…asshole is smart or not," Gloria replied. "I'm just being more cautious. We don't know what we're facing besides Ation. We don't know if he has allies. We don't know what he's planning. Who knows what this guy can do, especially with me around. It's my fault that I became friends with this guy and didn't tell you. It's my fault that I betrayed him and now I'm putting you guys in danger."

"G, it's not your fault. You didn't remember and you can't blame yourself for that. This could've happened to any of us," Ashley explained. "It's ok if you're being more wary than usual, even if we know this guy is pretty brainless. Your carefulness is what led us this far, besides your plans. That's what makes you a good leader."

"Leader? You guys consider me a leader?" Gloria asked.

"Of course! I thought you knew that. You're strong, smart, wise, caring, careful, and more. You're our leader and you're the only person we all depend on for things. Sure, we depend on each other for separate things, but we depend on you a lot. If you're concerned or just anxious, it's ok. We're all nervous. We're all kinda edgy about what's going to happen. But we all have to stay strong. We have to trust each others instincts. So if you're afraid or just plain out worried and believe that we should think before we take action, then we'll do as you say," Melissa explained.

"Thanks," Gloria said with a smile.

Melissa and Ashley nodded. "Well, you heard her G! You don't feel right about just going in there, so we're with you until the end," Caitlin said, bowing.

Gloria grinned and yelled, "I have a plan." She told the others of her scheme to try to intrude into Ation's stronghold.

Up in his room, Ation watched his screen as the lone Gloria, whom he knew since childhood, come up and try to cross the cliffs. His castle was split between 2 cliffs and the only way to cross was with the bridge. He saw Gloria get ready to jump to the other side. Unknown to Ation, Gloria was able to jump far because she was a vampire. She jumped at last and was about to reach the other side when a very long serpent with long protruding, jagged teeth jumped from the water surrounding his fortress, snatched her with its teeth, and dragged her into the water below. "Yeah! Who da man? Who da man!" Ation cheered.

His chair fell back hard. He got up quickly but tripped on something else and landed on his stomach. "Ouch!" he yelped.

He was barely getting up when he smacked his head on the bottom of his large computer. Hard enough to knock him unconscious.

"You see why I thought that he couldn't be that stupid?" Gloria asked.

"So what do we do?" Ashley asked.

"Now he most likely believes that I'm dead and that you guys never came. And if we all go, he could be watching," Gloria explained.

"Well, we have to take in all probability that he will lower his defenses. That would be our only advantage. Question is how do we get in?" Melissa said.

"I know!" Caitlin exclaimed. "We can freeze that water and then bust in through the door."

"We can do that but Ation most certainly believes that Gloria is dead. So we could use this to our advantage. But what can we do?" Jessica asked.

"I got it! We can execute a sneak attack! Jessica can transport us inside and attack from the inside. Or better yet, one of us can create a diversion while everyone else sneaks in. And I think I have the perfect distraction," Melissa said, smiling a devious smile. Melissa discussed her plan with the others and they chose to try it.

"Wow, you really can think," Ashley commented.

"Shut up!" Melissa cried.

"Well, let's begin shall we?" Gloria asked.

Ation finally got up and checked his computer. He saw a young female outside his castle and she appeared to be waiting for the bridge to be lowered. She wore a blue shirt with a black vest, red pants, and a red bandana. She also had a belt on with a sword in its sheath. He eyed her suspiciously, but turned his attention back into his arenas. He had expected Gloria to come with her friends, but she was foolish enough to under-estimate him and fight him herself. He knew she would be stupid enough to even test his power. He had expected a fight with her to get his revenge but it ended too soon. He was still leaning on the desk and tried to push himself up. But the desk was a bit slippery and he fell again, knocking him unconscious…again.

Without Ation's order, the guards opened the gate, alert and ready to fight if they needed to. They held their weapons out and the leading one yelled, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Aye, I am—I am…I am Vaec—Vaecitor—" the female stuttered.

She raised her arm as if to stretch and looked at her right hand. "My name is Vaectorfinyairuxo," she pronounced slowly.

"Damn girl, what name did you give Caitlin?" Gloria whispered.

Melissa was hanging on to the wall above the entrance outside with her claws. She was in her 2nd form and she was invisible along with Jessica, Gloria, and Ashley. They kept their voices down. "Hey, it's a name right?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah but you could've chose Sandra or Sara or Amanda not Vaector—Vaerctor—whatever!" Gloria cried.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Ashley asked.

"Hey, it's like in the movies," Melissa said.

"But that's a movie for heaven's sake!" Jessica yelled.

"Just shut up and watch. If it doesn't work you can kill me later!"

They stayed silent. "What's your name?" the guard asked.

"I just said god darn it!" Caitlin shouted. "Me name is Vaectorfinyairuxo." She said her name slowly again.

"Well, what do you want?" the guard asked.

"I am here to—to—do a show lad," Caitlin answered.

"Really?" the guard asked suspiciously. "What kind of show?"

"You think they suspect something already?" Melissa whispered.

"I'll try to tell her to do something different," Jessica said.

She activated her metamorphosis spell and became a bee. She flew around Caitlin's head. Caitlin tried to smack the bug, unaware that it was Jessica. But when she saw the bee she screamed and yelled, "Oh my God! It's a bee!"

"It's me, Jessica!" Jessica yelled in a squeaky voice.

The guards watched Caitlin with strange looks. "Caitlin, we think they're up to something. You'd better do something about this," Jessica explained.

"Ok," Caitlin said.

She caught the guards gazing at her in confusion. Caitlin tried to think of a lie. "Did you know that people inside my head talk to me?" she admitted.

The guards exchanged puzzled looks. "Answer my question…what did you say your name was?" the guard asked yet again. Apparently they forgot again or they didn't hear.

"Mary…Stuart…Baxter," Caitlin replied slowly.

The guard raised a brow. "Why did she change her name?" Melissa asked.

Jessica became invisible again and replied, "Well, she's probably planning to do something more than pretend to do a show."

"When should we sneak in?" Ashley asked.

"We'll give Cait a little more time," Gloria said.

"Didn't you have a long name?" the guard asked.

"No," Caitlin responded.

"So…what are you here for again Ms. Bax—Baxton?" the guard questioned.

"Baxter not Baxton," Caitlin corrected.

"Baxter, what are you here for again?" the guard asked again.

"I don't know."

The guard gave her a confused look. "So what do you want!" he asked.

"I'm…looking for Salad Fingers."

"Salad Fingers? Who's Salad Fingers?"

"A friend."

"Okaaaay. So you're here to find a salad fingers?"

"No, I'm looking for my man."

"Your man? And who is your man?"

"Haku."

Melissa and Ashley started laughing but tried to stay quiet. Gloria and Jessica looked at them weird. Haku was a character from an anime movie called "Spirited Away." He was able to turn into a dragon and Caitlin liked him because he was mysterious, but she liked him as a character. She was playing around when she said he was her "man." "Maybe we should get going," Melissa said, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, let's try now," Gloria said.

Melissa at long last moved but very slowly and as quietly as possible. Pieces of black brick fell down the wall. Some hit one of the guards. Melissa stopped in her tracks. The guard looked up but didn't see anything. He turned his attention back to Caitlin. The guards looked like they were irritated by Caitlin's confusing answers. Melissa continued and finally reached the inside of the castle. She held on to the ceiling. Nobody was in the room. "Ok, let's try to get Caitlin," Gloria whispered. "Can you use your tail?"

"I don't think it's that long," Melissa said. The ceiling was very high up.

"Your tail is like a 30 ft whip," Gloria said in a soft voice. "How can you not reach her!"

"Fine, why don't you get your ass off and I'll try!" Melissa yelled but not loud.

Gloria, Ashley, and Jessica got off and hid near the entrance. Then Melissa slowly exited the room, still invisible, and tried to grab Caitlin, but then stopped. She went back in. "What the hell are you doing?" Ashley demanded.

"I can't do that. Then she'll be floating in mid-air and the guards will alert others," Melissa explained. Then she was visible again. She quickly hid behind the wall. "Damn. The invisibility spell has worn out. What are we going to do?"

"Use your tail to make a signal," Gloria said.

"Why the hell do you want to use my tail? You can use—" Melissa continued before Gloria butt in.

"Would you just do it!"

"Alright, alright hold your horses."

She held out her tail and motioned Caitlin to come. Caitlin saw it and lied, "Oh my God, is that a—a—a red dragon!" She pointed up.

The guards looked to where she was pointing. They looked for a red dragon in the sky. Caitlin saw her chance. She quickly ran into the castle and Gloria, Ashley, Jessica, and Melissa closed the door. The guards weren't on the bridge when they raised it. They were on the other side and were surprised to find the bridge rise. Once they saw the girls, they tried to get back on. But were too late. The bridge was all the way up and the door was closed.

"Those guards were more dimwitted than Ation," Caitlin noted.

"Let's just get started," Gloria said.

They quietly walked into another room but found nobody in it. Ashley observed, "Man, this guy has no guards."

"Which makes it even easier for us," Gloria added.

They continued on with their mission, hoping that wherever Ation was, they would find him and bring an end to this long nightmare.

Ation woke up and felt dizzy at first. But then he felt normal again. He sat down on his chair for a while and felt like taking a nap when suddenly a guard burst through the door and yelled, "Ation, we're being attacked!"

"What? By who!" Ation demanded.

"By Gloria and her friends!" the guard replied.

"What!" Ation yelled. "Get them. Lead them to the battle arena immediately!"

"Yes sir," the guard said.

The guard quickly left to do Ation's bidding. Ation was furious and also confused. He could've sworn that he saw Gloria jump the crevice and get eaten by his sea serpent. He couldn't understand how she got in without him knowing. Then again he was unconscious. But it still didn't explain how she had somehow survived the attack of the sea serpent. It would've taken her forever to climb up the crevice. He watched his screen intently, watching for any signs of Gloria's friends or Gloria herself.

"Damn, I'm too goddamn tired to continue," Melissa whined.

"We have to," Gloria said. "Even if it takes all day, we have to continue looking for this guy."

"Dude, do you know how long we've been fighting! We've been fighting our asses off for what's felt like 10 hours! We haven't found anything that could lead us to him! We can't go on like this!" Melissa shouted at the top of her lungs.

"You give up too easily. We have to continue," Gloria said.

"Dude, do you have any idea how big this goddamn place is? Those damn towers are like…150 ft tall. There are like 1000 towers and there could be a million rooms in this place. And you expect us to check this place out? Do you know how long it'll take to check this entire place! Only God knows whether we'll find this bastard or not!" Melissa explained.

"You have to admit G, she has a point. We've looked in about 50 rooms and haven't found him or anything that could guide us to him. We're tired G. I know you are too and we can't continue," uttered Caitlin.

"We can continue but we can't go far," Jessica corrected.

"Then we'll try to get info from guards. It should save us some time," Gloria suggested.

"Fine," Melissa agreed.

They fought yet another pack of guards but this time made each and every one of them tell them where Ation was. One of them finally confessed and told them that Ation was in the battle dome, waiting for them to arrive. They received directions and quickly took off. They soon reached their destination and looked for Ation. He was nowhere to be found. "What the hell? The guard told us that Ation was going to be here. Why the hell ain't he here?" Melissa questioned.

"I'm tired," Caitlin admitted.

"So am I," said Ashley.

"G, we can't go on," Jessica said. "We have to rest."

"Let's rest here," Gloria advised.

They sat down on the floor and relaxed for a bit. But then they heard something mechanical rising. They quickly got up and saw a pillar ascend from the ground. A man was standing on the peak. He was wearing a gray sweater with a red shirt on top and brown shorts. He had dark brown hair, but put into six ponytails. They hung on the side of his head. "Man, talk about ugly," Melissa observed. "He looks gay…..Well not that I have a problem with gay people."

"Yeah," Jessica concurred.

"Hello, hello, hello," the man said repeatedly. "I am the beloved Ation."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Caitlin said. "You are not the beloved Ation. People don't even like you."

"He stole that line from 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' but changed it by 2 words," Ashley muttered to herself.

Gloria ignored them and said, "And I am Gloria, but you should know that already. Now Ation, it's time for you to die. You've caused havoc in our home city and caused much pain for others. We will not allow you to continue."

"Oh really?" Ation snickered. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you this but you are the ones to die today. You can't stop me. I'm unbeatable. I'm the best. I am unbeatable!"

"You said unbeatable twice dumbass!" Melissa declared.

Gloria sighed loudly, clearly sick of everyone pointing out stupid things and yelled, "Man can we get to the point! Look Ation, you either surrender or fight!"

"If you want to fight me, you will fight my monsters," Ation explained.

"And what will you do if we refuse?" Caitlin asked.

"If you refuse, I will destroy your precious city," responded Ation.

"And you plan on destroying our city…how?" Jessica asked.

"Thanks to you, I have had time to perfect my master plan and with it, I will destroy your city!" Ation declared.

"And you're thanking us because?" Ashley pursued.

"Because you spent your time doing other things than trying to stop me. So I have had the time to perfect my master plan and with it, I will destroy your city!" Ation declared.

"You just said that," Melissa reminded him.

"My God, we'll fight you! Just get to it already will ya!" Gloria demanded.

"Alright. First…the girl," Ation said.

Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, Jessica, and Melissa gave him a strange look. "We're all girls weirdo," Ashley reminded him.

"Well I mean you," Ation corrected.

"Well, be more specific then," Ashley advised.

"Ash, be careful. We don't know what this guy is capable of, despite his stupidity," Gloria warned in a soft voice.

Ashley nodded and walked on the left side of the large field where they were. A hole on the right side opened up and they could hear a platform escalating to the top. Once it reached the top, a monster walked off. It had eight legs, eight red eyes, two large fangs, was grayish black, and was very hairy like a tarantula. It was a large venomous spider. Ashley felt her heart stop. "I know what he's doing!" Gloria announced, once she had figured out Ation's intentions were for these fights. "He's having us fight our biggest fears!"

"That's right!" Ation yelled.

"Who ever thought an idiot would know someone's fears. But how do you know our fears?" Caitlin asked.

"I have my ways," Ation replied. "And I'm not an idiot!"

Gloria and the others turned their attention back to Ashley. "Start the fight!" Ation commanded.