You ever just get sick, and wonder, F*** Why does my everything hurt. Why does it hurt to read, why is thinking unallowed.

I have. That's my explanation for the chapter being a day late.

Sorry

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As the airship landed, Neo looked over to her mother. She had fallen asleep on the flight over, the emotional toll of the day finally catching up to her about halfway through the flight, though the relic influencing her didn't help.

Neo sighed, Always fighting mom, even when it hurts...that relic is gonna eat her alive...

Neo shook her mother awake and powered down the bullhead, waiting for her mother to finish rousing to ask her a question, "Mom, How are you gonna explain why you got out the relic to Oz?"

Aurum, still drowsy, replied while stretching, "I'm gonna hnnnn threaten him if he questions me... Ahhhh"

Neo rolled her eyes and exited the cockpit of the bullhead. Greeted with the sight of the two students that accompanied them, Neo spoke in a firm tone, "You guys wont say anything about what my mom did in Vacuo, Not until it goes public. And also, nothing about the sword, kay?"

The two students were about to object, but Aurum exited the cockpit behind Neo, and gave a firm glare, Shocking both the students still.

"Y-yes Ma'am!" "You G-got it M-ma'am!"

Neo smiled softly, "Good."

Neo turned on her heel and pressed a button on the wall. As the doors on the side of the bullhead opened, the four of them were met with the sight of Ozpin and Glynda waiting for them, Ozpin had a stern look on his face, it contrasted with his normally aloof stature sharply. His stern look was matched by Glynda's, who looked as if she wanted to rip Aurum a new rear end right then and there, not that she could... Meeting Ozpin's glare, Aurum shivered as the relic of destruction attempted to compound her disdain.

Not now... Think Aurum... Ren. Take your emotions, And let them flow like water. Aurum closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose, and exhaled slowly out her mouth, allowing all the tension to leave her body. Be calm, Like a pond undisturbed. Aurum relaxed and cleared her mind. I am calm, I will not allow my emotions to run wild, I am the master of Me.

Opening her eyes once more, Aurum met Ozpin's glare with a cool calculating gaze, uncaring for his obvious disapproval. Walking down the ramp, Aurum suppressed a chuckle as Ozpin's eyes met the sword in her hand, and then had to pause when he met her eyes and realized what she had done.

Aurum nearly lost her cool when Ozpin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of Aurum's new eye color. Glynda looked over to her boss and gained a curious look as she saw Ozpin's expression. Aurum and Neo reached the two, and Aurum said with slight mirth, "Are we gonna do this here? Or in your office?"

Ozpin wiped the dumbfounded look off his face and schooled himself, "My office, Lets... Go to my office." Ozpin said slowly, his face still with a faint look of disbelief.

The four walked in silence to the elevator, and as soon as they exited into the confines of Ozpin's office, Glynda exploded, "What on Remnant were you thinking, just gallivanting off to Vacuo after the kingdom was laid to ruin. And taking Students with you!? Are you out of your mind! I know you're powerful but you cannot possibly be so full of yourself so as to think you could possibly even begi-"

"Silence yourself Goodwitch" Aurum cut in with a death glare, Interrupting Glynda before she could finish berating her.

"One, I Obliterated Every Grimm within 20 miles of Vacuo, Including the massive Worm. You're welcome. Two."

Aurum activated her maiden powers, and her whole body shivered as the Relic of Destruction empowered her, expanding the flames coming out of her eyes from just a few inches in length, to several feet wide. The flames were tinged blue near her eyes, but as they reached further out they changed into a brilliant silver.

Coming to rest floating a foot and a half off the ground, with a small flame below her, Aurum spoke with a harsh glare, "My kingdom was destroyed. My friends dead. My house, defiled. My Home Burnt to ashes. You dare tell me I'm in the wrong for salvaging what little I have left? You forget Glynda, that not only can I kick your ass with a hand behind my back, I am the Summer maiden, And now, I am the wielder of the Relic of Destruction. You would do well to know your place."

Aurum would have kept going, fueled by the Relic of Destruction's power to keep her upset, but Neo had come and laid a hand on her hip, making Aurum look down at her daughter with an intense glare, "Who da- oh... I..." Aurum blinked upon meeting Neo's eyes, the soft look in which made her think about her actions. "I... Sorry... It's..."

"The relic. I know. Come on mom, calm down, remember Lotus's lessons."

Aurum looked confused for a brief second, lotus? Who... oh. Ren. Right.

Aurum lowered herself to the ground, taking a deep breath once again and calming herself, "Sorry Glynda, It's just a side effect of this thing, Yes it was irresponsible to just run off with no warning, but I had to. My friends... were counting on me."

Aurum grimaced as she remembered her former lover's demise. "If I had not gone, it would have been far worse for them. I'm glad I stopped her suffering." Aurum finally settled on a small smile, remembering to keep positive so that the relic did not make her go off once more.

Glynda, who had gone white with terror, but had since recovered slightly, spoke in response, "I-i... I guess th-that's fair... What's the side effect you're speaking of exactly?"

Aurum looked down at the sword on her hip, she had just slipped it in between the loops of her belt, letting the blade hand free just so she didn't have to carry it in her hands. Aurum opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Ozpin, who had been silent until now, "The relic amplifies the user. Everything about them is turned to the maximum, compounded until the limit of human emotion, It takes immense self control to not go mad with power. Your thoughts and emotions are intensified, making the faintest high into euphoria, and the slightest bad mood into severe depression. Slight annoyance can turn into blinding rage. You made her slightly angry, and she was nearly ready to kill you."

Aurum sighed dejectedly, "Yeah... That about sums it up. I mostly have control over my ego and happiness, along with my anger, but sadness usually gets me. It's a really strange feeling."

Ozpin's face darkened, "I'm well aware. There is a reason that the last king of vale slew over ten thousand soldiers single-handedly in the final battle of the great war."

Aurum grimaced, "I know the feeling Oz, believe me."

Ozpin gained a curious look on his face, "Aurum... How did you know her name?"

Glynda looked confused and spoke up, "Know who's name?"

Neo answered, "The Spirit within the relic, Every relic has a spirit inside it that has to be called out by it's name to use the relic's power."

Ozpin looked at the girl curiously, "Where did you hear that Neo?"

Neo gave Ozpin a deadpan look and pointed her her mother, "Where I learned all of the other secrets you guys keep from the world. My Mom."

Ozpin then asked Aurum the same question, to which Aurum lied with practiced ease, "Jinn. She's got one question left Oz."

Ozpin's eyes widened, "You... Wha... Ho...Who is the Spring Maiden?"

Aurum rolled her eyes, "Raven Branwen, the bandit queen of Mistral."

Ozpin once again had a dumbfounded look on his face, this time it was so funny that Neo actually snapped a photo of it with her scroll while Ozpin processed that information, Glynda had a small chuckle at the look, but also was contemplative about the news.

"So Jinn is the spirit in the relic of Knowledge I presume? Who is the spirit in Destruction?"

Aurum Quickly asked the spirits in her head what the name of the spirit in the relic of Choice was, and then replied, "The spirit's names are Hel for Destruction, Ambrosius for Creation, Jinn for Knowledge, and Etienne for Choice. Hel and Jinn are Female, Ambrosius and Etienne are Male. The spirits are big blue people with pointed ears and superiority complexes."

We are literally holier than thou Ruby. Aurum internally glared at her spiritual companions, and told them to shut up. Rose responded with, Okay Ruby, whatever you say In a sarcastic tone, while Hel remained headstrong, No, I mean, Literally it is objective fact that we are superior to you. Aurum sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose speaking aloud, "Hel I swear to the gods... please just shut the F*** Up."

The room fell silent, and after a few seconds Neo asked, "Mom? Did you mean to say that out loud?"

Aurum looked up and blinked, "Uh... No. No I did not."

Neo then asked another question, "Is... That the first time I've heard you curse?"

Aurum chuckled at Neo's question, before breaking out into laughter, strangely, as she descended into her mirth, she never felt the shivering feeling of the Relic of Destruction's power. Instead, she just laughed, doubling over at the absurdity of Neo asking that question during a conversation about the gods and magical relics.

When Aurum finished laughing, Neo gasped upon seeing her mother's eyes. Once more they were a brilliant silver.

Upon pointing out this fact, Aurum gasped. Hel? Aurum was met only with the voice of Rose, I am alone in your head once more, I believe you dismissed Hel by speaking her name aloud in direct reference. Aurum groaned, "I think I accidentally dismissed her by referring to her directly by name. One sec."

Aurum internally spoke to Rose, Rose, I'm going to summon you, I want you to freeze time for just me and Neo, don't include Oz or Glynda or anyone else. Rose.

Rose quickly left her relic after freezing time, joining Aurum and Neo in Ozpin's office. Ruby then intoned, "Hel"

Blue smoke filtered out of the relic of destruction, and once Hel was fully summoned she met the gaze of Ruby and declared, "Ruby Rose, you have previously wielded the Relic of destruction, and have dismissed me, You must wait until another has claimed my power before you are capable of wielding it once more."

Ruby was Outraged, and exploded, "WHAT!? YOU DIDN'T MENTION THAT PART!" Ruby said while glaring daggers at Hel. Hel shrugged off her angered look and replied, "You never asked, So I didn't say."

Rose spoke, "Kind of a D*** move sister."

Hel chuckled lightly, "Yes I know, I'm diabolical." Her face returned to deadpan, "Only one human is here to be capable of Wielding my blade, Once again, I know not if you would be capable sister."

Ruby spoke to Rose, "Let's keep that in reserve for now."

Turning to her daughter, Ruby laid a hand on Neo's shoulder, "Neo, I... If you want, You can wield the relic. It will make you probably as good a fighter as Me, but it'll mess with you, just like it did to me. Also, The test to wield it is painful... so much so that I couldn't describe it in words."

Neo thought for a second, and then replied with steel in her eyes, "I'll do it."

Ruby smiled, though it was bitter sweet. She handed her daughter the Sword, and waited.

"Neopolitan Rose. Do you wish to wield my blade?"

"I... I do."

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

Neo hesitantly looked at the sword, and gulped, "Hel"

Instantly, Neo fell to her knees screaming, Her mind felt like it was breaking, her whole body was in agony, after two seconds her aura broke, Then it crackled around her, flaring back to life, before breaking once more, repeating until her aura was breaking several times a second. Tears came to her eyes, and her throat began to become hoarse. After roughly 15 seconds of the worst torture Neo had ever experienced, it was over. And she stopped screaming.

Neo's tears fell freely as she panted, her body ached, and her head felt like she had ten migraines all at once. But she had lived, and her mind was intact. Struggling to her feet, Neo glared defiantly at the spirit, "I Passed?"

Hel smiled, "Oh, I like your fire. Yes, Congratulations, You're the Third person in history to pass, after the old man and your adoptive mother. I have the feeling you will be much harder to mess with, Your mother's mind is a mess."

Neo continued glaring, "Give it your all Spirit, I'm strong in ways you can't imagine."

Chuckling, Hel responded, "Wow! I really like you, you've got spirit, I think we'll get along nicely." Hel then retreated into the sword once more, and then Ruby dismissed Rose, allowing time to start once more.

To everyone else in the room, it looked as though both of them had teleported, with Aurum moving several feet to her left, closer to Neo, and Neo moving towards Aurum a few feet. The other noticeable change was that Neo now held the relic.

Neo stood silently, staring at the relic in her right hand with a contemplative look on her face.

Huh, Doesn't feel much different than normal Neo was then spooked slightly by the voice of Hel, That Is because you are of stronger will than your mother. She is a Simple Soul, easily swayed by magic, but of one goal, of singular ambition. You however have many wants, your goals plentiful. Your subconscious is far harder to influence, because it is not sure what it wants. Ruby simply wants to protect all life. So I can nudge her in any way I choose, so long as I promise her soul that it will help her achieve her dream.

Neo furrowed her brow, So... My mom is actually the worst possible candidate for you?

Yes, her mind, though calm, is easily pushed one way or another. The only thing I couldn't push her towards was violence, she is peaceful at heart. But her life's goal is far to simple. I suppose that's why the brothers chose her. She wants not but the protection of others.

Neo slipped the relic into her belt, and looked up to her mother with a fierce look, "I'm good Mom, I figured out why you were having such a rough time. I'll tell you later."

Aurum Nodded, and said, "Got it Kiddo, By the way, you might want to fix the eyes, I like your normal ones better."

Neo blinked in confusion, and her eyes changed color, they were blue, just like Aurum's had been, but upon blinking, her left eye was replaced with a dull pink color. Her right eye was still a godly blue.

Aurum sighed, "Neo one of your eye colors got replaced, blink a few more times."

Neo did so, and after 5 blinks, Aurum said stop, "Alright, Your left eye has no white, and your right has no brown. So I guess you have four eye colors now."

Neo blinked and then shrugged, her eye color switching to blue and brown as she did so.

"Huh, Guess I do."

"Can one of you please explain what just happened?" Glnyda cut in.

Aurum and Neo met eyes, and then looked at Glynda, In Sync they said, "The spirit in the Relic of Destruction is an A**hole"

Gylnda pinched the bridge of her nose, "Elaborate please?"

Aurum continued, "Because I said her name in direct reference, she unbound me. Then she told me that apparently the same person cant wield the relic twice in a row. So now Neo has it."

Glynda sighed, "And why, may I ask, did you choose the 17 year old girl who is still in training to wield it, and not one of our trusted group?"

Aurum raised an eyebrow, "Because I trust her more than you?"

Glynda blinked, "Excuse me?"

Aurum gave her a deadpan stare and sarcastically said, "Oh jeez Glynda, a woman who is loyal to nobody but the immortal reincarnating wizard, or the girl I call daughter, whom I raised all on my own and love with all my heart. Gee whiz, I wonder why I trust her more, Could it be that nearly two decades of love and affection is worth more than 12 years of on and off camaraderie? I Can't believe it. Oh wow. The betrayal. How can I ever make this up to you. Oh no. Can our friendship be repaired? Will you ever forgi-"

Glynda had started blushing as Aurum went on, her blush growing as Aurum continued to point out why she trusted Neo more, eventually cutting Aurum off with an indignant, "Okay! Enough! I get it! Gods, you don't have to rub it in."

Aurum just continued her deadpan stare.

"Yeah. Anyways, Oz, I am tired as all hell, so I'm going to take a nap. I'm taking my daughter with me."

Ozpin, who had been silent for the entire second half of the conversation, just nodded, continuing to look introspectively at the floor. Aurum headed for the Elevator, Neo in tow.

As the door shut, Aurum turned to Neo, "Hey kiddo, When I get up from my nap, Wanna spar?" Aurum asked with a grin on her face.

Neo matched her mother's grin, her eyes gaining a dangerous glint to them,

"You're On."