The following hours were rough. Grimm attacks increased along the borders of vale, and the many students of Shade stranded at beacon tried contacting their families to no avail. Aurum and Neo had made plans to return to shade as soon as possible, and Aurum had gone to the extent of commandeering an airship from Ironwood.

Aurum had extended an invite to the students of shade that were stuck at beacon, a chance to return the Vacuo to see what was left, or they could stay. After seeing what had happened to Vacuo, only a few students had wanted to join, including Neo there were 3 students who wanted to come back.

Aurum and her daughter, along with the two other students departed for Vacuo around 2 and a half hours after the ceremony was over. Taking the fastest airship they could find straight to the sandy city.

As the city came into view, Aurum's eyes glistened, her home was in flames, and her friends and loved ones were present for the entire thing. The city looked just like it did over the camera, however the biggest difference was the massive form of the CCT tower laid on it's side, a massive chunk having been bitten out of it.

Aurum had Neo take the wheel as they grew closer, and she went out to the side of the airship they had taken.

Steeling herself, Aurum focused her attention on the Grimm Worm protruding out of the side of Shade academy. Aurum allowed her thoughts to wander, and continued to stare at the massive Grimm. Then, Aurum's daughter came into view in her mind space, and the Kingdom of Vacuo was bathed in a warm silver light.

As the light washed over Vacuo most of the small Grimm that rampaged the streets simply dissolved, and several of the larger Grimm found themselves encased in stone.

It was then that Aurum decided to bring out the big guns, her focus intensified, and out of her eyes, the silver wings that spanned the entire kingdom were joined by silver flames. Suddenly every Major Grimm in the city began to dissolve, with only the stampeding goliaths and the truly massive worm still standing, though encased in a hefty amount of stone.

Once satisfied, Aurum intensified her glare, directing it straight at the massive worm. Instantly the effect could be seen, as the worm began to shrink away from the silver light that washed over it.

After nearly a minute of pure concentration, the Worm stopped moving all together, turned to stone all the way through. As the silver light stopped, and her maiden powers deactivated, Aurum fell to her knees, gasping for air. Her students rushed to her side and asked questions, but Aurum couldn't answer, she was too busy recovering from the monumental feat she had just accomplished.

Aurum had single-handedly halted the attack on Vacuo... But how much devastation had occurred because of her leaving in the first place. Tears came to Aurum's eyes as she looked up at her once beautiful but fierce home, now laid in ruin and flames.

Aurum stood, shrugging off the screaming pain in her entire body, and the exhaustion that ran through her core. Her sheer force of will urged her to see who had survived. Making her way to the cockpit, she asked Neo to land. Neo did so, taking the airship down to Shade, staring in awe as she landed at the massive stone Grimm stuck to the side of the school.

Aurum left the airship and made her way through the school, ignoring the pangs in her heart she felt as she passed the corpses of her students, all four years of students had been killed in the attack, right in the halls of shade. Approaching the courtyard, she saw the results of a truly devastating fight, cracks covered the ground, scorch marks littered the pavement, and massive chunks of the ground were missing in a massive circle, and in the center of all the destruction, laid two corpses.

One, the esteemed headmaster of Shade, an XX rated huntsman, and a true friend.

The other... a Silver eyed warrior... The Hound.

Tears freely flowed out of Ruby's eyes as she knelt at Theodore's side. The headmaster had a fierce expression frozen on his face, his last moments no doubt in defiance fighting against his fate until the end.

Ruby moved her hand over his face, closing his eyes.

After a brief moment of silence, Ruby stood from her place at Theodore's side. Ruby continued into the school, towards the teacher's lounge. As Ruby approached, she saw golden items strewn about, Some of the wall turned gold, a golden Grimm mask, a golden knife.

Once she reached the teacher's lounge, she saw that the door had been turned to solid gold, likely a last ditch effort to keep out the Grimm by Rumpole. Ruby sighed and drew her trusty companion.

Slicing the door open, Ruby entered the the teacher's lounge to the sound of Rumpole pleading in a hoarse voice, "Please! Just KILL ME already! P-please!"

Ruby rushed to the sound of Rumpole's voice, and was greeted with the sight of her best friend and former lover, Rumpole was not in a good state, her left arm was gone, along with that her whole body was bruised and battered. A large purple bloodstain sat on her chest. As soon as she noticed it, Ruby became alert, drawing her scythe and spinning it to block an attack from the side.

"Ru-Aurum!"

Crazed laughter left Tyrian's mouth as he retreated, "Ah the golden girl of Vacuo! How wonderful! This one has been pleading for you since I put her in her place, Well... that and death. How delightful! My Goddess will be so pleased when I deliver your corpse to her!"

Tyrian flew towards Ruby in a crazed state. Swinging at her with seemingly reckless abandon, however his moves were all intended to throw Ruby off, he moved erratically, striking from multiple angles, but Ruby deftly repelled all his attacks.

Ruby's muscles ached as she fought, her stamina was waning, her attacks were lethargic and sluggish compared to normal, but she still defended all of Tyrian's attacks. Chipping him down until his aura flickered, then with a swipe of her weapon, she cut diagonally, slicing off Tyrian's left arm at the elbow, "AAGH, YOU BITCH!"

Ruby capitalized and went for another strike, only to reel as she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. Tyrian's stinger had pierced her arm. Ruby activated her maiden powers and went on an intense attack, she attacked until Tyrian was pushed into a corner, and then, with one final swipe, Tyrian was no more. Quickly, Ruby dug into her belt, and brought out a small vial of liquid... Scorpion antivenom, her only dose... Ruby looked to Rumpole, and moved to her, kneeling at her side, Ruby affixed the needle to the antivenom, but Rumpole grabbed her arm firmly.

"Rubes... You take it, You're-" Rumpole coughed up some purple blood, "...You're far more important than me... I... I'm sorry I got so mad at you for wanting to go to beacon... I should have known, Hehe"

Rumpole relaxed, and chuckled softly, "I'm sorry Petal... I... lov-"

As Rumpole spoke, she moved her hand to link with Ruby's and looked into her eyes as the light faded from them. Ruby had broken out in tears, they freely fell as Ruby held Rumpole in her arms, her sobbing lasting until the pain in her arm became unbearable. Ruby took the syringe she had in her hand, and stuck herself with it, sighing slightly as the pain subsided. Ruby sobbed further, hugging Rumpole's body, she sat there until Rumpole's body became cold.

Ruby stood and collected herself, her cloak was covered in blood on one side, along with the left half of her outfit. Ruby simply ignored the sticky feeling of her clothes and moved further through the school.

Coming to her apartment, Ruby sighed, written in scratch marks on her door was scrawny writing that read, 'You Left Them'. Ruby pushed her door open to find her apartment exactly how she left it. She walked into her room and changed, donning the same outfit but clean. Once she had gotten clean, she grabbed her weapon and left, heading to the headmaster's room.

Once in the room, she pulled out a small memento that Theodore had given her before she left for Beacon. A small gold coin. Ruby chuckled, How ironic.

Ruby tossed the coin up in the air, and had it land on heads. Behind Theodore's desk, a single light lit up. Ruby smiled softly, and continued flipping the coin, one by one, lights across the room lit up in sequence. Until 25 lights all around the room were glowing a bright yellow. Then, all the lights turned a deep blue, and in the center of the marble floor a large circle of the smooth stone dropped.

The circle then split down the middle to reveal a spiral staircase. Putting the coin away, Ruby descended down the steps, flinching slightly as the groaning of stone split the silence. The entrance sealed behind her, Ruby continued deeper until the staircase ended, opening up to a large cavernous room, with a massive glowing ball of plasma in it, and a large oasis. In the center of the oasis was a small pool, with a free standing golden door resting in the center.

Ruby took in a deep breath, and steeled herself. "It's okay Rube, You're only the first maiden to enter the vault of destruction since it was used in the great war... no pressure."

Ruby walked towards the golden door, eyeing the pool of water as she approached it, she marveled as her feet simply didn't sink into the water. Making her way to the gilded door, Ruby brought her hand up to it, but stopped short.

She looked up at the massive door, It had several sections, all styled in the shape of sand dunes, like a cascading image of a desert. Ruby then pressed her hand to the door, and her maiden powers flared on their own. The door began to glow with a golden light, and the large ball of plasma above it suddenly bloomed, with it now outputting heat along with light.

The oasis was now just as sweltering as the city outside normally was, Ruby's attention turned to the door, as the dunes at the top began to slide away, recessing into the frame of the door, revealing a bright blue sky, and a small forest of multicolored trees. The trees were all different shades of red and amber, signifying the season of fall.

Ruby waited for the door to open fully, before stepping into the vault, shivering at the rush of cool air she felt upon entering the strange dimension. Ruby walked the eerily familiar stone path, and came to rest at the pedestal where the sword lay.

Ruby reached out, and grabbed the sword by its hilt, inspecting it closely. She then asked her companion, Do you know it's name? Let me see... ah, Her name is Hel. Ah, okay then... I'd like you to be here for this. "Rose"

Rose quickly left her relic, sighing in content at the feeling of freedom. "Thank you Ruby, Now, Let's meet my sister."

Ruby brought the sword out in front of her, and once again spoke, "Hel"

The sword began to emit smoke, the blue haze pouring off of it and gathering in the air in front of the duo, the sword formed a woman not dissimilar to Jinn, though she had armor on, rather than chains. "Greetings, I am Hel, a being created by the Gods of Destruction and Light to aid Humanity in it's quest for destruction. I... You, are not him but are... similar. And you... Are like me. What is this?"

Rose laughed gaily, "Hello Sister, It's wonderful to meet you, I'm Rose, A being created by the brother gods to aid Ruby Rose and her trusted few on their quest to defeat Salem and unite humanity. We are in need of your assistance, sister."

"I... Hold on a minute... what? The brothers intervened? I thought... Never mind. Whosoever wields my blade, if they know my name, shall fight at their prime, all of your aspects, be they good or evil will be amplified in compound. If you hold malcontent, I suggest you drop my blade and leave it be. Sister, I know not what will happen if you were to wield my blade, You are likely the first of us to walk the lands in any capacity, I know of the yearning for our housing relic, but I have no clue what might happen if one of us were amplified by my power."

"Now, Ruby Rose. Do you wish to wield my blade?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then Speak my name once more, and if you survive, you will know destructive force like no other."

Ruby looked to Rose, and met the Silver eyes that reflected her own soul back at her. Ruby drew a deep breath and relaxed her muscles, finally, Ruby muttered lightly, "Hel"

Agony, Raw Pain, It felt like her soul was tearing in two, her entire being shuddered as she felt her Aura shatter over and over, regenerating only to break instantly once again. Ruby's soul pounded as the relic tested her, Her mind nearly broke from the force of the pain, It was as if she was being pulled apart by the seams of her molecules, and simultaneously crushed under the weight of Remnant itself.

And then... It was over.

Ruby opened her eyes to find that she had fallen to her knees, Her throat felt sore, but she found it quickly mended itself.

Ruby felt the pain of the relic's test subside, her aura filling up at an unnatural rate. Hel was nowhere to be found, but Rose was still there holding her while patting her back, Ruby smiled and looked up to Rose, who gasped, "Ruby! Your eyes, they've changed, They're still blue, but... deeper."

Ruby gave rose a confused look, and walked out to where the open vault door lay, looking down into the pool of water that surrounded the vault door, Ruby's eyes widened at what she saw, her eyes had become a deep blue, amplified further by her contacts. Ruby quickly removed her colored contacts, and was surprised to find that her eyes were now naturally blue, the same hue as the Spirit of Destruction's eyes.

Ruby blinked, and instead of her own reflection, she stared into the eyes of Hel instead.

Hello, Ruby Rose. You are the second in the history of Remnant to pass my test, Congratulations. You are now blessed with the power of Destruction. Use it wisely.

Ruby furrowed her brow, "I had silver eyes, am I still able to use the light?"

You Tell Me.

Ruby focused on her daughter, and found that her power was overflowing, she felt as though she could perform her previous feat ten times over and still have power to spare.

Ruby smiled, and dismissed Rose, Who simply nodded and returned to the dormant weapon that rested on the small of Ruby's back.

Hey! You Didn't tell me she was in here too! Rose said in an indignant tone, Hel responded, You Should have known, I am a spirit of a weapon just as you are, we reside in the mind of our wielder so they may use our power in battle. It is simply the way we are. Both of you shut it, I had enough trouble focusing in fights with rose going on about chance, now you're telling me I have to deal with two of you in a fight? Rude Both spirits said at the same time, but they complied

Ruby sighed and left the vault, touching her hand to the door to close it once again.

Ruby Rose walked out of the Vault of destruction with purpose, muttering to herself as she left, "No more, I won't let history repeat itself."

Author's note for Crimson Mist, Who made quite a few key story decisions that he didn't know about
Number one was if Aurum/Ruby went to Vacuo in the first place.
Number two was who Ruby found bleeding out before her fight with Tyrian
Toast's 1-3 was whether she went alone, brought just Neo, or Neo and some random Students
Number 3 was If Ruby got the Relic of Destruction
Toasts second 1-3 was to determine who killed Theodore
Plus there was another coin flip to determine whether Ruby had one or two vials of antivenom