[At The Caravan, Nighttime]
"They've been at it for a while. What could they be talking about?" Eugene questions, with a frown. He and the gang watch, as Adira, Rapunzel, Varian and Y/n whisper to each other, from afar. "Shh! I'm trying to eavesdrop!" Cassandra replies.
"You know I can read lips, right?" Lance boasts, then glances over at Adira. "'Follow your dust to me'." He incorrectly guesses.
"Follow our destiny? How is this supposed to tell us our destinies, if neither of us can read it? Even Varian's having a hard time with the second part." Rapunzel tells Adira, glancing down at the map in her hands. "I never said that. I said 'I'm working on it', it'll just take time." Varian points out.
"Find your next scroll piece at the Spire. And the Keeper will take you to it." Adira advises.
[The Next Morning]
So the gang does exactly that. They head to the Spire. "Is this it? The Keeper's place?" Eugene asks. "I guess there's only one way to find out." Y/n points out, before walking ahead.
"Stay together." Cassandra whispers, when Rapunzel follows after her little sister. "Well, we are on a narrow, elevated road, so I'm not seeing too many other options." Eugene points out. "It's too quiet. I don't like it." Cassandra tells the others.
A thunderous roar reverberates throughout the area and Eugene, Lance and Rapunzel jump. Y/n gasps, grabbing Varian's arm, as he looks around frantically, holding his staff in front of them.
"What is that?!" Lance exclaims, before they glance up at a mountain. Pascal squeaks, nervously. "Hang in there, buddy." Rapunzel tells him.
With a deep breath, Rapunzel approaches the supposed location of the Keeper and knocks on the door. The door slightly creaks open, and Ruddiger immediately scurries behind Varian's leg, in fear.
"Uh, hello?" Rapunzel calls, but lets out a shriek and backs away, when she and the gang are startled by dozens of moths flying out of the door. "Bugs! Moths!" Lance yelps, batting them away.
Rapunzel proceeds to the door again, but a fog of dust sends her stumbling back in surprise, as a red-haired bespectacled woman appears to them, with her face covered by her sleeve.
"H-Hi. Uhm, my name is Rapunzel, and this is my little sister, Y/n." Rapunzel introduces. Y/n gives a small finger wave. "Uhm, and I'm Lance." Lance adds, but Cassandra shushes him.
"And we're looking for the-" Rapunzel continues. "Keeper of the Spire? Look no further! I am the Keeper-" The woman interrupts, dramatically. But then, she chokes, coughs and a moth flies out of her mouth. "Swallowed a moth. Again." She grumbles, in her raspy voice, letting the gang get a clear view of what she looks like. Then she clears her throat, and approaches the gang. "Let me start over. I am the Keeper of the Spire! But you can call me Calliope." She introduces.
"Not what I expected, but okay." Eugene states.
[Inside The Keeper's Place]
"So, what can the Keeper do for you?" Calliope asks, with a smile. Rapunzel turns away from a mini statue of Zhan Tiri, that's in a glass case.
"Actually, you see.. I heard you might be able to help me.." Rapunzel replies. "As Keeper of the Spire, I have been entrusted wardship over the Spire's artifacts." Calliope declares, then frowns when Lance picks up one of the artifacts - a small pair of goggles that look exactly like Varian's. She snatches them from Lance, putting them back.
"It is my sworn duty to prevent these items from falling into the wrong hands. And to protect them from the outside world. Or in some cases, protect the outside world from them! So I'm kinda prestigious." Calliope boasts.
"Oh! Wow! That is impressive. So I heard you could help me get the third piece of a scroll." Rapunzel informs Calliope. "Which scroll? There's the Scroll of Danbury, uh.. the Pavel Scroll, the Scroll of Tannengier which isn't technically a scroll, more of a brochure." The red-haired woman points out.
"Var?" Y/n asks, nudging him. Varian nods, handing her the scroll. "This one." Y/n tells Calliope, showing her. "Oh, ho, ho, ho! That scroll. That's in the Spire's Vault." Calliope answers.
"Great! So where is the Spire's Vault?" Rapunzel asks. "Spire." Calliope repeats, slowly.
"Excuse me?" Rapunzel questions, confused. "It's pronounced 'Spire'. It comes from 'Speira'. It's Latin, which is another language that I actually speak." Calliope boasts. "Oh! Yeah! Got it. Where is the 'Spire's' Vault?" Rapunzel asks. Calliope shakes her head, displeased. "No, no, no. Spy-err! Do you hear the difference?" She asks.
"Spy-your." Rapunzel attempts.
"Spy-err." Calliope corrects.
"Spy-your!" Rapunzel repeats.
Frustrated, Calliope grabs Rapunzel's face and stares into her bright green eyes, ignoring Eugene's dark glare. "Like this! Spy-your! Spy-your-" She corrects. "DO YOU HAVE THE SCROLL OR NOT?!" Cassandra demands, grabbing Calliope by her collar, exasperated by how long it's taking.
"Cass, please!" Rapunzel says, pulling her away. "No, I get it. Moms can be impatient." Calliope remarks, brushing her jacket. "MOM?!" Cassandra questions, now fuming, as she stands in front of the princesses. "I'm FOUR YEARS OLDER than her!" She points out, gesturing to Rapunzel. "And NINE YEARS OLDER, than her baby sister!" She adds, gesturing to Y/n, who crosses her arms with an adorably childish pout. "I'm not a baby.." She mutters.
"Oh. I saw the crow's feet, and I just assumed." Calliope replies, with a shrug. Lance laughs, before he starts coughing. "Swallowed a moth." He adds, in a strained voice. "At least your head isn't as weird as his." Calliope remarks, to Cassandra. Eugene and Lance immediately glare at her.
"Hey, slowpokes, let's go!" Calliope insists, as Lance insecurely puts his hands on his head. Calliope then chokes and coughs. "Another moth! I'm fine! Nobody worry!" She replies.
Calliope clears her throat and leads the gang elsewhere. "This is the library! And yes, I've read all these books, if you're wondering. I just have to grab the Vault's map." She tells them. Y/n glances around the large library. "Hmm. Not much different from the castle's library, but still interesting." She tells Varian, who nods in agreement.
"The Spire's Vault holds hundreds of the rarest, most abstruse artifacts from all over the globe." Calliope adds, after finding the map.
"What are these for?" Y/n asks, curiously, pointing at two linked hoops, hanging on the wall by a nail. Grinning with a gasp, Calliope heads over. "I noticed you were eying my linking rings. I am something of a master illusionist!" She exclaims, twirling them, before they disappear in a puff of smoke. "Ta-da!" She desclares, but Y/n frowns in disappointed, seeing the rings dangling from the sleeve of Calliope's jacket. Rapunzel slowly claps, while everybody else remains unimpressed.
"Uh, no." Eugene states, bluntly.
"Thank you! Did I hear someone say encore?" Calliope asks, with a bow, pulling out long multicoloured scarves that are tied together. "You most certainly did not." Cassandra states, crossing her arms. "Cass! It's just one more trick. What's the harm?" Rapunzel points out.
[Several Hours Later]
However, this one more trick becomes a lot more and Y/n has now lost count of the amount of failed magic tricks. With a sigh, she leans against Varian, who looks incredibly frustrated with the red-haired woman, who is even shorter than them. Not only are they wasting time, but the young alchemist is forced to watch embarrassingly pathetic tricks that make his fabulous alchemy seem like a big joke!
"Behold! The magic of flight! Yes! And now, for my next trick-" Calliope declares, grinning proudly. "NO! No more tricks!" Eugene snaps, understandably fed up with her. "Uh.. no more tricks, because these tricks blew my mind. We need some time to process all the spectacle and wonderment." He lies, as everybody gets up.
"Yes! Yes, in fact, princesses, would you care to join us in processing? Outside? Now!" Cassandra states, through a forced smile.
[Outside, A Minute Later]
"Make her give us the scroll, and let's get out of here. She's the most annoying person I've ever met, and look who I am friends with!" Cassandra snaps, as Lance tries on the goggles he took from the Keeper's place. "Wait, we're friends?" He asks.
"Cassandra, relax. Now, I know Calliope is insanely irritating, but we're talking about Rapunzel here. She doesn't even know how to get annoyed with people. I mean, look at that fa- oh, no, she's annoying you, isn't she?" Eugene asks, turning to Rapunzel, who is trying but failing to show a positive smile. And her right eye twitches.
"No! No, she's not annoying, she's just different. Besides, doesn't matter what I think, she's gonna give us the scroll soon and we will be on our way." Rapunzel says, optimistically.
"Uhh.. actually, sis-" Y/n chimes in, pointing to her twitchy eye. "Okay! We're all set! I can get you that third piece." Calliope interrupts, from her bedroom window, with an apple in her hand.
"Great! So, where's the-" Rapunzel asks. "Well, bon soir!" Calliope says, waving to them. "What now?" Varian asks. "It's French. It means, 'I'm off to bed'." Calliope replies. "But I thought we were gonna get the scroll from the vault." Rapunzel reminds her.
Calliope laughs. "Oh, no, silly girl! It's all the way on top of a mountain, in a vault called 'The Spire'." She points out. "But then, we'll-" Rapunzel states. "It's a full day climb. I'll need a good night's rest, before I take that on. Hence, bon soir!" Calliope remarks. "No, we really weren't expecting to-" Rapunzel objects, but Calliope shuts her window.
"Hmm, okay! So I guess we'll just camp out here! Without a caravan, or a tent." Rapunzel suggests. "Still don't think she's annoying?" Eugene asks her, before a large thunderclap is heard.
Y/n blinks at the sudden feeling of a raindrop upon her nose. She holds the palm of her hand out and feels more raindrops drip upon it. "Uh-oh, it's raining.." She identifies, with a frown. "We literally just wasted a day watching a small woman turn science into a joke by putting on a failed performance." Varian grumbles, crossing his arms.
"How 'bout now?" Eugene asks Rapunzel, who narrows her eyebrows and pouts in response.
[The Next Morning]
"Come on, come on, come on, come on! Like this! Left, right, left, right! Left, right! If we're gonna get to the top of that Spire, we have to pick up the pace! Let's go! We're burning daylight, people!" Calliope urges, jogging ahead of the others.
Already halfway up the mountain, Calliope quickly gets on everybody's nerves. Even though Rapunzel won't admit it. Eugene and Lance groan. "You guys go ahead. I'm.. I'm gonna stay here for a while." Lance replies. "Come on, guys! It's a new day! Let's give Calliope a chance." Rapunzel encourages.
"LET'S GO, MAGGOTS!" Calliope yells. Rapunzel chuckles awkwardly, then walks ahead, until Eugene stops her. "Listen, Blondie, why don't you hang in the back of the group? Let Cass and me be your irritation buffer. We've got more experience being annoyed with people." He points out. "I have experience being annoyed with you. And the goggle-wearing criminal." Cassandra remarks.
"For the last time, I'm not annoyed with her! I'm just.. getting to know her. 'Cause I'm sure behind her eccentric, somewhat pretentious, clearly inconsiderate know-it-all, and thinks she's so much better than everybody else exterior, there has to be some shred of human decency, right? But I am NOT annoyed with her." Rapunzel states, with a forced smile of positivity. "Uhh, tell that to your twitchy eye. When you aren't in a good mood, that often happens." Y/n points out.
Rapunzel turns around, to protest, when Lance approaches her. "Hold up, hold up. Hold up, princess. I think I got something that just might help. This is Socky. My stress reliever. Whenever I feel pressure, I just squeeze old Socky, and woop! Cool as a cucumber." He advises, handing her the blue sock-like stress reliever.
"Does it really work?" Rapunzel asks. "It's why you see this free and easy spirit standing before you today." Lance assures her, proudly.
"Well, thank you, Lance. But, uh.. I don't think I'm gonna need this." Rapunzel states. "WHERE'S MY HUSTLE, PEOPLE?!" Calliope yells. Varian rolls his eyes. "Yeah.. you're going to need it, princess." He remarks, before he and Y/n walk ahead, hand in hand, followed by the others. Rapunzel then starts squeezing Socky, before following the others.
Since she gave it to her earlier, Y/n uses Cassandra's sword to cut through some thorns blocking their path. Calliope rolls her eyes, and snatches it from the youngest princess. "Here. You're doing it wrong." She scolds, but the sword flies out of her hands and off of the mountain, much to the dismay of Cassandra. "My sword!" She exclaims, then glares at Calliope.
Calliope immediately turns to Y/n, putting all of the blame on her. "Rapunzel's sister's palm sweat made it slippery! Nice job, princess!" She remarks.
Y/n glances down at her hands, which aren't even warm, as Varian glares at the red-haired woman, pulling Y/n into a comforting hug. "You were the one who took it from her!" He snaps. Calliope rolls her eyes at the young alchemist. "She was using it wrong! Still her fault!" She remarks.
Rapunzel grips Socky, before squeezing the blue stress reliever quite a bit. It deflates a little.
[A Little Later]
The gang uses Rapunzel's hair to climb up a cliff, but Varian and Y/n use Y/n's golden hair streak, to give her older sister a little break. "Whoa! Hey, watch it up there, you ding dongs!" Calliope snaps, when Eugene and Lance slip.
"Please tell me we're near the top of the spire." Rapunzel pleads. "Spy-err." Calliope corrects. Pascal squeaks angrily, then squeezes Socky.
[A Little Later]
When they make it to the top, Rapunzel goes to grab some leaves, but then she stops, wide eyed. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! That looks like Poison Elm. We should probably go around." She tells Calliope.
"I'm sure if there was Poison Elm on this spire, I'd know." Calliope states, before Lance begins running through the leaves , with red blotches all over his skin. "Itchy! Why?! Why? Why?!" He cries, frantically. "And there it is." Cassandra states.
"Now, can we just go around? Like I suggested, before 'Palm Sweat's sister got involved?" Calliope remarks. Pascal hands Socky to Rapunzel, who squeezes it several times, until it pops, much to Lance's horror. "Socky! No!" He exclaims, emerging from some leaves. "Sorry." Rapunzel apologises.
[A Little Later]
"Oh, come on!" Lance groans, as they make their way up the mountain. The path seems thinner. "There had to be a safer way up this thing!"
*ROARS*
Y/n lets out a sharp gasp, startled by the noise of what sounds like a ferocious beast they definitely shouldn't encounter. Beside her, the ground begins to crumble and Varian's foot slips off the mountain's path. He lets out a yelp, as Y/n manages to pull him away from the edge. Varian puts a gloved hand over his chest. "Thanks." He tells Y/n, almost out of breath. She nods, in response.
"I don't know what that was, but I don't wanna run into it." Lance comments, referring to the loud roar. "Almost there!" Rapunzel assures him, but pauses when Cassandra and Eugene are glaring at Calliope, who stands still, looking quite disturbed.
"Uhm Calliope? Is something wrong?" Rapunzel asks. "No! No! I just, uhm.." Calliope answers. "..went the wrong way." She mumbles, unheard by everybody else. "What was that?" Y/n asks. "I said this is the wrong way." Calliope remarks.
Varian, with a furious glare, opens his mouth to lose his patience, but Cassandra beats the young alchemist to it. "You took us the wrong way?" She snaps, through gritted teeth. "No! No! It wasn't my fault! There were-" Calliope lies.
*ROARS*
Everybody's eyes widen, as Bucky hides in the pocket of Y/n's blue jacket. "What is that?" Eugene asks, as everybody turns around, to hear footsteps approaching them. "It's real! The Protector of the Spire! The Kirlok." Calliope gasps.
"Uh, Calliope? What do we do?" Rapunzel asks. Calliope stutters for a solution, as the Kirlok reveals himself, looking like a large red bear, but with horns at the top of his head. "I'm gonna go with.. RUN!" Eugene suggests, as the Kirlok rears up and lets out another thunderous roar.
Holding Ruddiger under one arm, Varian quickly grabs Y/n's hand and the two terrified young teens run. "Calliope, come on!" Rapunzel insists, grabbing Calliope. "Go away!" She yells, at the Kirlok. "I don't think he's listening!" Rapunzel says.
"This way!" Eugene says, pointing over to a narrow cave. Y/n screams, running into Varian's arms, as the large red bear-like beast roars again. They all sigh in relief, when it seems like the Kirlok can't reach them. "That was a close one! Huh, guys?" Calliope chuckles nervously, earning enraged glares from Eugene, Cassandra and Varian.
"What the heck was that thing?!" Cassandra demands. "The Kirlok. You have to pay attention." Calliope slowly enunciates, but the glares are still there. Calliope then clears her throat. "Well, then. The Keeper of the Spire needs to, uh.. recollect her thoughts, and strategize our next move." She tells them, twirling her rings, before accidentally hitting herself in the head with them. "Ow." She adds.
Varian shakes his head. "No. No, do it again. Whatever gets your brain to start working. If you have one." He remarks, with an eye roll.
Giggling awkwardly, Y/n pushes him away from Calliope, while Cassandra huddles the others into a private conversation circle. "We have to get rid of her. She has no idea what she's doing." Cassandra points out. "Yeah, and uh.. something tells me she's not a the actual Keeper of the Spire. She nearly got us killed out there!" Varian states.
"Well, I doubt the Kirlok coming was her fault. But, we do still need her help." Y/n says. Rapunzel nods. "Y/n's right. We need her to get into the vault!" She adds. "Your call, ladies." Eugene obliges.
Across the cave, Lance has been itching against the rocks, to soothe the sore spots of the Poison Elm. But the rocks he leans against crack and he looks at a sun beam shining through, to find a way out.
"Calliope has gotten us this far." Rapunzel says.
"Shorty could've gotten us this far." Cassandra states. Y/n frowns a little. "But-" She pipes up.
The sounds of crashing rocks and Lance grunting gains everybody's attention. They soon catch up to Lance, to find him. "Lance! You've done it again!" He declares, showing them he managed to make an exit by pushing some rocks out of the way. "Good job, buddy!" Eugene praises. "Well, you know. I just put my back into it, and it just magically appeared." Lance jokes.
"Oh-ho! Great! Looks like I found a way out of here." Calliope boasts, ignoring the glares.
After Cassandra, Pascal and Rapunzel start to climb, Ruddiger scurries up. "Wait a minute. We made it! This is the top of the spire!" Rapunzel says, popping her head out of the cave's exit.
"It IS?!" Calliope exclaims, almost knocking Varian back down. Y/n pulls him up, as the young alchemist glares at Calliope. "I mean, of course it is. And I got us here." She declares, proudly. "Yeah, you sure did(!)" Rapunzel remarks, bluntly.
[A Few Minutes Later]
The Spire is a tall building that looks like it can touch the clouds. Calliope grabs her ring of keys and fiddles with them. "Let me just find that key, and we'll get that scroll." She tells them.
Calliope sticks the first key into the keyhole of the Spire's front door, but nothing happens. This makes her groan. "It's never the first one you try! Or second, or third. Oh, these must've gotten rearranged when I was fending off Kirlok." She lies.
"And by 'Fending off', you mean 'Wailing like a child, while being carried by Rapunzel', right?" Varian remarks. Y/n lightly slaps his shoulder, silently telling him to just let her find the right key.
"Uh, speaking of the Kirlok.." Rapunzel says, noticing a large footprint behind them. Eugene parts some bushes and they share worried expressions. "I don't like the looks of that!" Eugene says. "Oh, that's bad." Lance adds.
"Ohh, this is his home." Y/n mutters, worriedly. Then they hear a familiar earsplitting roar.
"Uh, you think?!" Cassandra remarks.
"Calliope?! Now would be a great time to get that door open!" Eugene yelps, as they see the Kirlok. "I'm trying! Oh, come on! Come on, key. I'm trying!" Calliope frantically replies, struggling through.
"Socky! I need you!" Lance shrieks, when the beast charges at them. "Open the door! NOW!" Cassandra snaps, grabbing Calliope. "I-I don't know which is the right key!" She whimpers.
"Watch out!" Rapunzel tells, as the Kirlok almost tackles them. Varian grabs Y/n and the two tumble out of the way, as do Calliope, Cassandra and Rapunzel, and Eugene and Lance.
"What do you mean?! You're the Keeper of the Spire! How could you not know which is the right key?!" Rapunzel yells. "Because I.. I'm not the real Keeper of the Spire." Calliope admits.
"Are.. you.. kidding me?! What do you mean you're not the Keeper?" Rapunzel snaps. The Kirlok breaks free from the door and Y/n screams. "Uh, R-Rapunzel, I think you-" She says, anxiously. Rapunzel turns to her little sister, with a furious glare. "STAY OUT OF THIS, Y/N!!" Rapunzel snaps.
"Guys, watch out!" Cassandra tells, pulling Calliope and Rapunzel out of the way. "You know, for a two thousand pound flesh eater he is quite nimble!" Eugene points out, as they all run for it.
"Guys! The trees." Rapunzel suggests, and they all start climbing for their lives. Eugene and Lance help Varian and Y/n up one tree, before they follow them up. A familiar chittering sound from afar makes Varian's eyes widen in realisation. "RUDDIGER!!" He exclaims, worriedly.
The four of them glance down to see Ruddiger scurrying towards the tree they're up, with the Kirlok not too far behind. Y/n lowers her golden hair streak when the raccoon finds them. "Grab on, buddy!" She tells him, but sighs when he picks up an apple from the ground. Varian facepalms.
"Leave the apple, already! Just grab onto the hair, Ruddiger!" Varian urges. Putting his dietary needs on the same level of importance as his own life, Ruddiger holds the apple in his mouth, then wraps himself around Y/n's hair streak and the four manage to pull the little raccoon up to safety.
[Meanwhile]
Rapunzel uses her hair to swing herself and Calliope to safety. "We made it!" Calliope laughs triumphantly, but her smile drops at the sight of the cold glares of Pascal and Rapunzel.
"Oh, right. Uh, I lied to you. Now, I can explain." Calliope replies. "Yeah, I'm sure you can(!) In twelve languages, no doubt(!) Listen, I don't know who you are, but I trusted you! And I had to endure your condescension, and.. and your insults, and I went against my better judgement, all because you said that you were the Keeper of the Spire!" Rapunzel yells. "It's Spy-err." Calliope corrects, softly.
"Ughh!!" Rapunzel groans, frustrated. "Sorry." Calliope whispers. "Who are you?" Rapunzel asks. "I'm the Keeper's assistant. Or at least, I used to be. Before that, I was just an incredibly talented street magician. I would perform my tricks in front of hundreds of people. Eh, not really. It wasn't always appreciated. Then one day, the Keeper, the real Keeper came up to me, out of the blue, and asked me to be his apprentice. I had purpose, and I didn't want to mess it up. I wanted to learn everything I could about the Spire. I had to. It was going well, or at least, I thought it was. But a few months ago, the Keeper just disappeared. And once again, I had no purpose. That is, until you came along. Seeing you, someone with such a clear purpose, inspired me. Maybe I could be the Keeper. Maybe I could help you get that scroll." Calliope explains.
"Why didn't you just tell us you weren't the Keeper?" Rapunzel questions, curiously. "Would you have accepted help from an apprentice? Especially if you knew she was abandoned by her own master?" Calliope asks. "I don't know, but we probably wouldn't be up this tree right now." Rapunzel points out. Calliope can't help, but agree. "That's actually a really good point." She admits.
"Calliope.. I still need that scroll piece, so Varian can translate it for me." Rapunzel replies. Calliope smiles, before pulling one more key out. "And I still have one key I haven't tried." She realises.
"GREAT! That's great news! Why don't you use it to unlock the door before that thing comes back?!" Eugene snaps, as he, Cassandra, Lance, Varian and Y/n stand beside him, on the ground.
[A Minute Later]
The gang runs to the Spire's front door as fast as they can, but the Kirlok beats them to it, standing in front of it protectively, roaring. "I specifically said 'before the thing comes back'!" Eugene snaps.
"Gotta give it points for persistence." Cassandra adds. "I'll give it more points for letting us go nice and easy." Lance replies, but the beast lunges at them and they run. "That's a lot of points you just lost!" Lance yells, as to the trees near the Spire.
"We have to get it away from the door. Ideas, anybody?" Rapunzel asks, as Cassandra turns to Varian. "Wait, what about that serum you made for your raccoon? Do you have that?" She asks.
Varian looks understandably surprised. "You want me to use that? Won't you think I'll, I don't know-" He replies, with a shrug. "Will you?" Cassandra asks, emphatically. The young alchemist shakes his head immediately. "No, course not! I was just making a point, but.. I can't." He replies.
"Can't, or won't?" Cassandra remarks. "Cass!" Rapunzel scolds, then turns to Varian. "Why can't you?" She asks. "Well, with the Drexis'.. Ruddiger must have drank it by accident." Varian points out, getting the green serum out and holding it. "I won't give this to him myself. I don't want him to be harmed." He tells them, with a frown.
"Yet, that didn't matter when your little buddy tried to kill us all in Corona. That's some flawed logic, right there." Lance states, crossing his arms.
"Lance.." Y/n sighs, then turns to Varian and holds his hands comfortingly. "Look, Ruddiger won't have to do it all. He just needs to distract the Kirlok from the door for just a few minutes. Besides, that serum is really strong!" She tells him, optimistically. Varian smiles at Y/n a little. She smiles back, as Varian looks down at Ruddiger and shrugs again. "I don't know.." He mutters.
Losing her patience, Cassandra snatches the serum from Varian's gloved hand. "Well, I do! And we need to hurry!" She insists, emphatically. "Hey!" Varian snaps, reaching to take the vial back.
"Cassie!" Y/n says, as Cassandra grabs the raccoon by the back of his neck and makes him drink some of the monster serum. "Well, too late now." Eugene says, with a shrug. "Eugene!" Rapunzel scolds.
Ruddiger's eyes turn white and he immediately runs out, despite Varian's protests, and everybody watches as the tiny raccoon grows into the same size as the Kirlok - maybe even bigger!
"Whoa, what? What is that?" Calliope asks. "It's a serum Varian invented." Y/n answers. "Wow! You know magic, too?" Calliope asks. Varian facepalms. "Alchemy." He corrects, through gritted teeth.
Y/n's eyes widen as Monster-Ruddiger manages to get the attention of the Kirlok. He lets out a thunderous growl, which is returned by the red bear-like beast. As planned, the monster-raccoon drives the Kirlok away from the door. It's when the Kirlok manages to fight back that the young alchemist panics. "Ruddiger!!" He yells, worriedly.
Calliope distracts the Kirlok from Monster-Ruddiger by throwing a sort of smoke bomb and disappearing from it. "I've got an idea! Get them through the woods!" Rapunzel yells, running to the trees with Cassandra, Eugene and Lance. Varian nods and climbs onto the monster-raccoon's back when the Kirlok prepares to charge at the duo.
"What are you doing?" Y/n asks, worriedly, when Varian guides Ruddiger towards the trees, with the Kirlok charging after them. "Trust me!" Varian replies, extending his arm out to her. Exhaling deeply, Y/n climbs on and sits behind Varian, as Monster-Ruddiger charges through the woods.
"Ahh.. boop." Calliope says, pulling a coin out for the Kirlok to see, before booping his nose. "Calliope!" Y/n says, tossing her golden streak down. Calliope grabs it and climbs up, sitting behind her and Varian as the monster-raccoon charges through the woods, followed by the Kirlok.
"Now!" Rapunzel tells Cassandra, Eugene and Lance when Monster-Ruddiger runs past them. Cassandra and the two former thieves pull on Rapunzel's hair to use as a trip rope. After the monster-raccoon runs over it, the Kirlok trips and falls head first into a valley that's full of Poison Elm.
"Try not to scratch! You'll regret it." Lance jokes.
"Nice job facing the Kirlok, Calliope. And those tricks weren't so bad, either." Rapunzel says. "Oh! There's more where that came from-" Calliope says. "Uh, yeah. Maybe save it for later." Varian says, as Rapunzel helps Calliope down. She nods.
"Are you okay?" Varian asks, after he and Y/n get their breath back eventually. Y/n nods. "That was intense." She replies, in an out of breath whisper.
Varian chuckles, sliding down from the back of the monster-raccoon. Y/n follows, to be caught in bridal style by her alchemist best friend. "Thanks. Now, come on. Let's go and get that scroll." She replies. Varian nods, and they run after the others.
When they make it to the door, Ruddiger turns back into his tiny adorable self and Calliope uses the final key to try and unlock the Spire's door.
It opens!
Calliope, Rapunzel, Y/n and Varian step inside and their eyes widen. The inside of the Spire is huge, and there's a large pillar in the center, with a staircase, that consists of a wide variety of fascinating relics, all the way to the top. Amazing! Or, as Varian would probably say, spellbinding!
They climb the large staircase, and when they reach the top, they find what looks like- "The third scroll piece!" Rapunzel breathes out, holding it in her hands in amazement. "..and you got us here. You did it!" She tells Calliope, who smiles proudly, when they're at the bottom of the Spire again.
"And I couldn't be more proud." A voice tells Calliope. The front doors open and a shadow is seen in the doorway. Calliope gasps. "Keeper!" She exclaims, then runs into his arms, where they hug.
"Calliope, you are now the Keeper of the Spire. You passed my test! Congratulations!" The Keeper tells Calliope, giving her a playful noogie. "Test?" Y/n and Varian question, simultaneously.
"Wha-What? I don't understand." Calliope says. "I'm sorry for leaving you, but I had to remind you why I chose you in the first place." The Keeper replies. "Why did you choose me?" Calliope asks. "Your perseverance." The Keeper answers, making Calliope gasp. "This is the skill a Keeper of such great artifacts must call upon in the face of adversity. And you did it! Not only with the Kirlok, but when you performed in front of a.. aggressively indifferent crowd." He adds. "Mmm, their minds were too blown to clap. That's all." Calliope lies.
"And I was too busy worrying over my friend, who did most of the work.." Varian mutters, under his breath, as Ruddiger snuggles against his leg.
"Hm, that's true. I've never seen such impressive alchemical skills from someone of such a young age." The Keeper states. Varian chuckles, awkwardly, hiding his embarrassed flushing.
"You would make an acceptable Keeper's assistant." The Keeper tells Varian, whose eyes widen. Y/n and Rapunzel look surprised, too. "Heh, yeah.. me, being an assistant in a place like this." Varian chuckles, looking at the Spire's enormous interior, rubbing the back of his neck.
"If that's an offer, I'm going to decline. As a man of science, I prefer to take charge of my own projects instead of assisting with others." Varian states. The Keeper nods. "Even though you're helping us, with the third scroll." Y/n jokes quietly, earning a nudge from the young alchemist. Everybody knows why Varian is helping with the scrolls, of course.
"You persevered, Calliope." The Keeper says. "Wait. There had to be an easier way to teach her that lesson. That beast thing almost killed us." Rapunzel points out. "Yeah, why?" Varian asks. The Keeper laughs. "The Kirlok? He's actually a loyal pet. As you will see, when you train your own." He states.
A baby Kirlok then emerges from a small pet doorway. Calliope quietly gasps in awe, as Y/n smiles at the tiny bear cub. It looks adorable!
"Aw!" Calliope says, as it climbs on her. "Do keep him away from the furniture." The Keeper says.
[Outside Of The Spire]
"Thank you, Rapunzel. Thank you for everything." Calliope says. "I'm glad you found what you were looking for." Rapunzel replies.
"Too bad you couldn't find my sword." Cassandra mutters. "Oh, didn't I?" Calliope declares, smugly. Cassandra glances over at her shoulder, believing that Calliope managed to return it. She didn't!
"Made you look! Oh, you should see the expression on your face right now!" Calliope says, laughing.
It takes a lot, to stop Cassandra from strangling Calliope. "Cassie!" Y/n says, cautiously, as Eugene and Rapunzel grab the black-haired warrior. "And when she's making that expression, it means we should go." Eugene points out, walking away.
"Goodbye, Calliope!" Y/n calls, waving to her. "Take care, now! Thanks again!" Varian adds, with a small two-finger salute. "Goodbye, and good luck with the scroll!" Calliope says, waving back.
[At The Caravan, Nighttime]
Rapunzel pulls the scroll out of her bag. "We went through a lot of trouble for this." She points out. "It better be one amazing scroll. That's all I gotta say." Lance states, as he, Cassandra and Eugene sit by the campfire, with Rapunzel, Varian and Y/n.
"Let's see what we got." Rapunzel replies, then unrolls the scroll. "A guy in a hood? All of this for a guy in a hood?!" Eugene questions. "Who do you think he is?" Cassandra asks. "And, will he be on our side?" Y/n adds. "I'm not sure. But I have a feeling we're going to find out." Rapunzel declares.
Question Of The Chapter!
Calliope - love her, or hate her?
My Answer: She becomes bearable at the end
(no pun intended) but she's up there with Nigel.
Your Answer?