Author's Note: This chapter was my submission for the final round. For this round, the prompt was "Destruction."

Unfortunately for me, I actually struggled to work this prompt into the story that I had been weaving as well as the last two prompts. Choice came easy considering it was initiation, Knowledge was likewise easy due to the fact Beacon was a school. Sadly, Destruction doesn't fit so readily and so I tried to go for a more mental destruction. A destruction of ideas and beliefs... that did not work and unfortunately I lost the round to Bryon Nightshade who had an excellent submission from the perspective of the God of Darkness. While I think the majority of our stories were comparable, his ending was just better.


The walk back from the outskirts of the school was slow, in no small part due to the fact that Salem didn't want to go back. She knew that, if she kept to the edge of the grounds, the odds of her running into students were significantly lowered. Even if she had rushed back, she didn't have very much to occupy her time. There would be more paperwork on her desk no doubt, but disposing of that was a simple matter, needing only a handful of spells.

She would have liked to say that she was scouting the grounds, searching for where Ozma might have hidden the Relic, but that would have been a lie. For all her flaws, Salem did not enjoy deceiving herself. She spent the next few hours looking for other signs of Ozma's handiwork. Small architectural flairs that reminded her of their old Kingdom. Designs or patterns that felt familiar, or otherwise just drew her eye. Little things, like the abundance of gardens, statues, and fountains. Things she could vaguely recall him wishing they had built more of so very long ago.

The school had been hand crafted by Ozma for centuries, and everywhere she looked, she could see his signature. It threatened to be overwhelming… but equally pleasant. That fondness was met with equal guilt however, as reality set in. She planned to destroy this school in her war against him, along with the students that inhabited it if they stood in her way.

She hadn't given that thought much attention before, but now she couldn't ignore it, and it plagued her mind as she walked the grounds of this splendid school.

Before she knew it, the sun had begun to set; the school only looked more beautiful in the waning light, but it slowly drove her towards the center of the grounds. The students would have long since finished their classes by now, and most would have either been studying or relaxing, but it came as no surprise that she wasn't the only one impressed by the beauty of the school.

Salem had intended to walk past, leaving the girl to her peace, until she realized it was the same girl from Peter's class. The one with silver eyes. It was difficult to say why, but Salem felt compelled to stay. There was something she wished to ask, something that a Silver Eyed Warrior would be uniquely qualified to answer; at least, she hoped so. It was difficult to say with one so young, but then, age hardly seemed to mean anything these days. Fifteen or fifty, the Grimm posed a threat all the same… she posed a threat. One that required sacrifices.

"Enjoying the view?" Salem asked as she approached.

"Ah!" The girl snapped up suddenly, clearly having been too absorbed in her thoughts to realize she was no longer alone. "H-Headmistress, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Salem couldn't help but chuckle softly as the young girl shuffled awkwardly, practically falling over herself to apologize for some perceived slight. "There is no need to worry-"

"Ruby Rose." Jinn said quietly from behind Salem, ever present as she was, and knowing that Salem had struggled to recall the names of the many students she had met over the last few days. Aside from that reminder however, both Jinn and Ambrosius remained silent.

"-Miss Rose." Salem finished with a smile. "I was not insulted."

"R-right, it's just, if Weiss were here, she'd probably totally freak out and I-" Ruby descended into a flurry of words that could have rivaled Bartholomew with their speed and incomprehensibility.

Salem held her hand up, drawing the student to a sudden silence.

"You are alright, no offense has been taken," Salem insisted once more, as if her first account had gone ignored. It was clear that the young girl was nervous in not only the way she spoke, but the way she held herself. Her shoulders were tense, her hands unable to remain still for very long. "Is there…" Salem hesitated for a moment, unsure of herself for a moment. "Is something the matter, Miss Rose?"

"No," She answered quickly, far too quickly. "Not at all." It took Salem a moment to remember the last time she had seen such a response. It had been so long ago now that she had forgotten it, but the familiarity brought back a distinct image of a young girl holding something behind her back as Salem spoke to her. It was a painful image, one that she quickly pushed aside with a shake of her head.

"I am your Headmistress," Salem said sternly. "It is unwise to lie to me."

Ruby hesitated for a moment, poking her fingers together in front of her as she looked anywhere but directly at her. "I-it's noth-"

"Miss Rose," Salem said, softening her tone and trying for a relaxing smile. "I am… here to help." It was her duty as Headmistress… and it was clear Ruby was upset about something. She couldn't leave it be now, not without having helped.

Slowly, Ruby looked up to her, silver eyes locking with blue.

"I… I don't think I'm a very good leader."

Salem blinked slowly. Was that all?

"Is that truly what is bothering you?" Despite herself, she could not stop a small, amused smile from working its way onto her lips. "Allow me to help put your worries to rest. No one is a good leader to start with." Her mind, so freshly moved by memories of the past, easily recalled several moments of struggle between her and Ozma in the early days of their adventures. Even he, the legendary hero, hadn't been perfect. Learning to live and fight beside one another was challenging, no matter who you were. "Being a good leader is something that you learn as time goes on."

"But… I've never been taught about it before," Ruby shrugged softly. "Weiss, my partner, has been. I'm… just a kid." The girl paused to rub a hand against the back of her neck. "She… she said some things that I haven't been able to stop thinking about."

"Oh?" Salem asked dangerously. Though she did not know this Weiss, if she were treating her partner, her leader poorly, than Salem would need to speak with Glynda about it.

"It wasn't anything bad!" Ruby quickly defended her partner. "And she apologized after having a conversation with Professor Port." The fact he had managed something so efficiently stunned Salem, even if it shouldn't have. He was a professor after all. Still… Peter had helped? "It's just.. She had a point. Weiss was trained by some of the best in Atlas. She's smarter than me, older, and more experienced… how am I supposed to lead her?"

"By growing," Salem simply answered. "This is a school, you will learn, and in time, you will know how to lead." That was the purpose of such an institution, to impart wisdom on those that lacked it. At least, that was how it had been in her own time. She didn't imagine that it could have changed all that much in the last few thousand years or so.

"But… What if I make mistakes?" Ruby asked quietly. "What if I get someone hurt?"

"You will make mistakes, there is no stopping that," She replied easily. She knew that more than anyone, even Ozma. She had made so many mistakes in her life, a fact only made all the more clear now that she had been given this opportunity. "But you will learn from them, and you will grow stronger because of it. That is life."

Ruby seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "So it's okay to mess up?"

"It is expected," Salem said with a smile. "Nobody is perfect, not you, not me, and certainly not any stuck-up idiot Gods. All that will be asked is that you learn from your mistakes." She paused for a moment to let it sink in. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "I think it does."

"Good." Salem smiled happily, nodding before moving on to other matters. "I will admit, I did not approach for purely altruistic reasons, I wondered if I might ask a question of you, Ruby."

"Oh, of course," Ruby smiled brightly. "How can I help?"

"I have been trying to figure out why nobody accepted my offer of withdrawal." Salem said.

Ruby looked confused, as if the question did not make sense. "Beacon is the best Academy in the world, why would anybody give that up?"

So they don't die, Salem wanted to say, but she couldn't, not to someone so young; it felt too cruel. "To live a peaceful life for one."

Still, Ruby did not seem to understand.

"Why did you not accept?" Salem asked more directly. "Why do you insist on attending Beacon?"

"Well… it's what I've always wanted." Ruby replied easily, honestly, and with a simplistic view that should have ran counter to such a heavy decision.

"But why?" Salem asked desperately. If she could figure out why people wanted to attend the school, be it some kind of financial benefit or social status, she could find a way to limit it. She could remove it, and spare so many of them the danger to come. "Why do you, Ruby Rose, wish to attend Beacon?"

Humans were selfish at heart. That was a fact that Salem had long taken advantage of. From her current followers and their desires for power or revenge, all the way back to the foolish monarchs she had led against the gods in the name of immortality. Humans were greedy creatures that only cared for themselves, and she was no different. That's what she had told herself for centuries, it was what had allowed her to wage a war against people that had no hand in her curse. It was that belief that allowed her to convince herself that her war was somehow acceptable.

"Because I want to help people." Ruby said with an awkward smile.

Salem's belief shattered in the face of such innocence. Destroyed by a child's honest smile.

"T-that will be all, Miss Rose," Salem said quickly. "You should get back to your team."

"Oh, right!" Ruby said as she stepped back, blissfully ignorant of the impact of her words on Salem. "Thank you Headmistress! I'll remember what you said, I promise! And I'll become the most awesome leader ever!"

"And I shall remember your words…" Salem whispered softly to herself.

The Silver Eyed… no, Ruby, ran off to rejoin her friends, a confidence in her step that hadn't been there before Salem stepped in. She had done that, helped a young girl get over her worries… and for what?

Looking down at her hand, Salem tried to place her motivation. She had approached Ruby to ask a question, but when she saw just how upset the girl was… she hadn't been able to leave things be. She couldn't place the emotion she had felt, it was familiar to her, but only recently. It was the feeling she had gotten while teaching about the Grimm in Peter's class. A desire to help, but she couldn't place any other motive for it. She couldn't tell why she had done it…

It was the same question she had asked Ruby, and Salem suspected it might have a similar answer.

Shaking her head, Salem sighed, and looked out over the campus grounds. Beacon Academy wasn't what she had thought it would be… Humanity wasn't what she thought it was. Despite their flaws, she wasn't so certain that they deserved to die. Making her way back towards her private room, Salem considered what that meant for her future. Despite her lifetime of experience, she didn't know, but her plans were ruined. Destroyed in the face of such simple innocence as Ruby Rose.

As she finally crossed the threshold into her room, closing the door softly behind her, she turned to regard the two otherworldly creatures that had been her persistent companions these last few days.

"I'm ready." Salem said softly.

Jinn and Ambrosius shared a look between each other for a moment, words going unspoken yet clearly still being understood. Turning back to regard her, Jinn spoke in a confused tone.

"Ready for what?"

"To go back," Salem blinked owlishly. "I'm pretty sure I've learned whatever lesson I was supposed to."

"Uh, about that…" Jinn awkwardly rubbed her hands together for a moment.

"Yeah, no… there isn't a timer on this." Ambrosius said simply.

"Huh?" Confused, Salem shook her head to try and clear the fog that had descended as her worldview came crashing down around her. "Wait, you mean to tell me we can't leave yet?"

Jinn and Ambrosius both shook their heads softly. "Well, how long am I supposed to be here?"

The two remained silent for a long moment before shrugging softly.

"What?!" Salem shouted. "You mean you don't know?!" She focused solely on Jinn for a moment. "You are the embodiment of Knowledge, and you don't know?!"

Jinn at least had the courtesy to look incredibly awkward as she shook her head. "Sorry."

"For now, you're stuck as the Headmistress of Beacon Academy," Ambrosius said. "But don't worry, we're stuck here with you!"

Salem fell to her knees. "But… all that paperwork…"

"Yeah, you're gonna have to start actually doing that by the way," Ambrosius said. "At this rate, the school will be out of food by Friday."

Jinn nodded. "Especially once they do the food fight."

Salem hardly registered the words, the world around her growing quiet as all she could hear was the beating of her own heart.

"Uh, should we do something?" Ambrosius asked.

"No," Jinn said with a sigh. "It'll wear off in ten or fifteen minutes. Ozma was much the same when he realized paperwork wasn't some kind of fad that was going to go away in time."

"But… I don't want to…" Salem cried.

Jinn turned to her brother, ignoring the woman in crisis. "Want to watch a movie while we wait?"

"Sure, but I get to pick this time."


Author's Note: And that's the story. I don't at this time have any intention to continue it, as I am trying to work more on commission works at the moment, but if it gets a solid amount of support I may consider it.

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed reading my first attempt at a comedy story and be sure to leave a review to let me know what you think.

Sincerely, SardonicEffigy