GRYD Chapter 9: Sins Of The Past

Glyph struck.

In a blacked area, Glyph fought against a tall silhouetted figured. The two traded blows back and forth, the clashes and impacts echoed through the blackness of the area. With each strike though, Glyph became angrier, and angrier. His movements became more frenzied, and harmful to both sides. Eventually, Glyph teleported away, which caused the silhouette to stop.

Before the being could find Glyph, he reappeared, and struck, then vanished again. In a flurry of motion, he teleported all around the being and struck repeatedly with his escrima. This continued for several seconds until a particular strike sent the silhouette flying backwards, and skidding to a halt on the ground.

Face still full of fury, Glyph morphed his escrima into his shotgun and approached the silhouette. This time though, the being held out a hand to try and stop him.

"I...I..." the silhouette sputtered out

"You what?" bit back Glyph

"I...was trying...to help you..."

The being seemed to choke on the air it was breathing, then fell lifeless the ground. Glyph was stricken with fear. His breathing went rapid, and looked around for anyone that might have been there to help. When he couldn't see anyone, he panicked.

"No...no...NO!"

His scream filled the darkness, until even he was consumed by it.

In GRYD's room at Beacon, Glyph woke up with a start, his breathing still heavy. He leaned himself up against his bed frame, and tried to calm himself. His expression to turned to one of sadness and pain as he realized it was only a dream. After a few more deep breaths, he quietly reinserted himself into his bed and returned to sleep.

Across the room, Diana slowly rose up, and looked at Glyph with curiosity.

The next day, the students gathered for training. Lochen called many down for matches, as time went on, there was time for one final match.

"I'm feeling generous..." said Locken with a grin, "so...Randomizer!"

He motioned to the big screen in amphitheater, and the profiles of the students began to cycle through. Eventually, two names stopped, and everyone gasped in surprised. Even Lochen was taken aback.

"Wow...Primrose Madonna, vs., Elenor Rigby. Man, this in-fighting is getting out of hand."

Lochen shrugged his shoulders and proceeded back to the stage. Elenor and Primrose meanwhile rose up from their seats and proceeded down. Glyph caught a look at Elenor's face, and saw she was nervous. As they got onto the stage, a chant had started for Primrose. It was started by her fellow PRME teammates Rita and Maggie, but others join in soon as well.

Eventually, as the two prepared for combat, the chant of "Primrose! Primrose!" filled up the amphitheater. Glyph gazed at Elenor, and saw she's more distraught than ever, while Primrose curtsied to her fans. Lochen stepped off the stage and motioned the students to be quiet.

Once they were silent, Glyph stood up, "Go Elenor!"

The entire student body turned to Glyph, who was still standing. Both Primrose and Elenor looked as well. Primrose grew furious, while Elenor just looked stunned at his support. He nodded confidently to Elenor, then sat down back down, eyes of the students still glued on him.

Lochen chuckled at the turn of events, then faced the two, "Ok ladies, keep it clean. If you go Reyson on me, you'll be punished. Ok? Match begin!"

Without hesitation, Primrose rushed towards Elenor, and swung at her with her poleax. Elenor barely dodged in time, and immediately went on the defensive with her bladed Tonfa. Primrose bared her teeth as she swung viciously at her teammate.

But when an opening appeared, Elenor struck with her gun port on the end of the Tonfa, striking Primrose right on the chin, which sent her flying. The students gasped at this mostly, Glyph though just smiled.

Elenor seemed surprised by her attack, but steeled herself up as Primrose rose to her feet, "You think this is funny, don't you? You're not getting the best of me. Do you hear me?"

Primrose began to glow, her Aura manifesting. She raised her poleaxe high, eyes wild with fury, "You're...NOT!"

She slammed the axe into the ground, and a massive wave of energy shot out from it and raced towards Elenor, who looked stunned at the attack, and didn't move.

"Dodge it Elenor!" shouted Glyph

Snapping to, she dodged just in time, only for Primrose to unleash more energy waves at her. Each time she dodged, but in doing so, it allowed Primrose to get closer, and force her into a place she wanted. Once in range, she swung her axe at Elenor, and the battle again became close range. Both sides exchanged blows on the other as the pace quickened.

While Primrose continued her frenzied strike, Elenor remained calm and patient, and waited for openings to appear.

"You got this Elenor!" Glyph blasted from the upper seating

Primrose got very agitated at his continued praise of Elenor, this lead to her striking without firm footing. Elenor saw this and capitalized. She swept the legs out from under her, and then released a flurry of strikes of Primrose, that concluded with a dual blast from her Tonfa. Primrose again skidded on the ground, but this time, didn't get up easily.

The buzzer sounded, and in surprise, Elenor looked up and saw that she had won handily. The crowd was silent, except for Glyph, who laughed silently. Clapping got the attention of all though, as Lochen approached the stage and congratulated Elenor.

"Nice job Elenor. I believe that's your first victory in one-one-one combat, am I right?" he asked

"Yes Professor," Elenor replied meekly

"Well, if you keep doing what you did here? You'll be just fine."

She smiled pleased, and Lochen nodded in appreciation of the fight, then turned to the class, "Take notes people, this is a lesson for you all. Don't underestimate your opponent. Ever. Just because they're an underdog doesn't mean they can't win."

"Especially when they have help." barked Primrose, who used her axe to again get to her feet

Lochen looked at her displeased, "What do you mean?"

"Glyph was cheering her all match! These are supposed to be silent exhibitions!"

"Oh really? When did I say they couldn't cheer during a match?"

Primrose made to speak, but Lochen's look shut her down, and she growled angrily instead.

"That's what I thought. It's true, I dim the lights so that you two won't be distracted by the crowd, but I could easily leave them on. As for cheering, who cares? He didn't give her valuable information on how to beat you. She did that all on her own."

"He should know his place and-

"You think Grimm know their place when they're trying to kill you?" roared Lochen, as he marched right up to Primrose and glared at her intensely, "Distractions happen Ms. Madonna! In the field, in schools, in life. It's how you deal with them that makes you strong. And if you think for one second, that full scale battles against Grimm aren't going to be a sensory overload? Then you better quit this school before you get killed. And that goes for all of you! Class dismissed."

Lochen stomped off the stage and left the amphitheater. Still stunned, the students waited for awhile before leaving themselves.

Out in the hallway, Glyph, Macro, and the rest of GRYD and MEAL watched as the various students left. Eventually, Glyph saw Elenor, who was desperately trying to talk to her teammates, who gave her no attention.

After they left her in the hallway, she turned and saw Glyph looking at her. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, and mouthed, "Good job".

This made Elenor smile, and she mouthed, "Thank you" to him before going after her team.

Macro laughed as he saw that encounter, "You know, I know you don't care about stuff like that. But...that's how you get girls to love you."

Glyph smiled, "I'm not worried about Elenor having feelings for me."

"Why not?"

"Because she's gay."

Macro, and some of the others, were stunned at this reveal. Glyph laughed softly at their reactions. One who didn't react to either comment was Diana, who was focused on Glyph solely.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked, eyes still on him

"Do what?"

"Root for her, encourage her during the fight?"

Glyph shrugged, "She was afraid of fighting Primrose. But for personal reasons, not battle ones. No one should live in fear like that."

"What about you? What do you fear?"

He grew tense at this, and Macro got very uneasy, "Diana..."

"I'm just asking. You've had a lot of nightmares recently, last night included. What makes Glyph Masteron afraid?"

Glyph's face twitched as he looked angrily at Diana, who gazed back at him unflinchingly. Macro tried to calm him down, "You don't-"

He held a hand up to stop him, then calmly stated, "Repeating my sins."

With that, he walked away, leaving the others curious as to what just happened. Macro sighed heavily at the encounter, "Thanks a lot Diana, now he'll be sulking the rest of the day."

"I asked a question." she stated firmly

"You asked a personal one." corrected Leilani

"A loaded one." mocked Reyson

Macro glared at her, "Worse, you asked a stupid one! You know what he thinks about a lot. Can you really not put 2 and 2 together?"

"Not when I don't know the details!" Diana shouted angrily, "I get it, I was in Atlas when that thing with Glyph happened. But all I've heard since I got here is conflicting stories about what he did! I've asked the Lovers what happened, they wouldn't tell me."

"Don't put your failed pining attempt on us," Aaron noted bitterly

"And it's our place to tell you what happened," added Erin with a shake of her head

Diana scoffed and looked to Macro, "How about you? Why don't you tell those of us not in the know?"

Macro made to speak, but held back his tongue. Diana got closer to him, and made Macro look at her.

"Look, I know I rub you all the wrong way sometimes, even Glyph, but there's one thing none of you can deny: I'm his partner. And we will be for the next few years. Despite what you all think, I wasn't teasing him, or trying to connect with him with that question, I just wanted to know. Because my partner is a mystery to me in many ways, and that might get us killed later on! So tell me what happened Macro! I deserve to know!"

"That's not your call," Yasmine stated, "you may be his partner, but that doesn't mean-"

"Wait...wait..." said Macro, making them all turn to him, "She's right. You deserve to know the truth. The REAL truth, not some facsimile. You too Yasmine and Leilani, Reyson, I know you've wondered about it too."

Reyson laughed mockingly, "I never really cared. I like knowing my leader has a dark side."

Leilani played with her ears nervously, " I wondered, just out of curiosity."

"It was a tale that even reached our village," revealed Yasmine, "it's impossible not to be curious about what happened."

Macro laughed bitterly, "Yeah, well, I'm sure by the time it got there it was distorted heavily. Look, I'll tell you. But not now, wait until after classes, then meet me under the big tree outside, I'll tell you there. But not a word to Glyph beforehand or I'll stay silent."

"Done." said Diana quickly

"Good. Let's go to class."

He headed off without waiting for them, Diana followed next, then the others joined them. Hours passed, and the classes continued. Both teams focused on what was being talked about, except for Diana, who continually looked at the clock, waiting for the classes to be over so she could hear what Glyph did.

Eventually, the final class ended, and Diana raced out to the tree Macro said to meet him under. The others trickled in one by one. Macro brought up the rear, his face conflicted as to whether he should tell Glyph's tale or not.

Diana caught on that he was feeling this, and wagged a finger warningly, "Don't back out now Macro."

"I'm not! I'm not...I just haven't told this story in a while."

"Who'd you tell last?" asked Leilani curious

"My father. He needed to know. Know that Glyph wasn't a threat, to me anyway."

"Because you supported him afterwards?" wondered Yasmine

"Yes, one of the few."

Diana got more impatient, "Enough stalling! Get on with it!"

This made Macro angry, "Calm down, or I leave."

Diana bit her tongue, and slowly lowered herself to the ground and sat. The others did the same. Macro pulled out his E-Tool and plunged it into the ground before sitting.

He tapped the hilt of the tool, "Funnily enough, this weapon is how me and Glyph met. It's the true beginning of the story."

Years previous, at Signal Academy, young students were at work benches. Each student was surrounded by tools, and were working hard to forge their signature weapons. A young Macro is hard at work, and raced through production of what will become his E-Tool. He carefully sculpted the head of the shovel. Then practiced folding it into his machine gun. Once content, he reverted it back to his E-Tool and slammed it into the table, not unlike what the older Macro had just done before starting the story.

As he enjoyed his moment of bliss, he noticed that a student hadn't even begun work on his. It was Glyph. Though younger, his hair and face were very much the same as he was now. The only difference being a look of sadness upon his face. He simply stared at the table he was at, not moving an inch.

Curious, Macro went over to him, and snapped his fingers in front of Glyph's face to get his attention, "Hey."

Glyph snapped to, and looked at Macro concerned, "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Why haven't you started making your weapon?"

"I...I don't know what to make."

Macro shook his head in disbelief, "You want to be a Huntsman, and don't know what weapon you want to wield?"

"No. I don't."

"Wow."

Glyph looked back at the table for a bit, then turned to Macro shyly, "How did you know what you wanted?"

"Me? I'm a soldier, or I will be one day. So I knew my weapon had to reflect that. I've always been fond of machine guns, so that was easy. Just needed to decide what to have for my melee weapon. Soliders should be versatile, be ready for any situation. My dad has an E-Tool I always admired, so I made that."

"You're so certain, I'm jealous."

"Ok, back up!" proclaimed Diana in the present, "Glyph cannot have been that meek."

"Oh really?" laughed Macro, "What, you think he was born tough and broken? Not everyone is like Reyson."

Reyson smiled, not caring about the insult, "I'm one of a kind."

"Thank goodness." noted Yasmine bluntly

The two glared at one another, while The Lovers laughed at their renewed rivalry. Macro cleared his throat to get their attention, "Anyway, yes, he was that way. And not everything changed after what happened. He always tried to talk in 10 words or less if he could help it. That he was born with."

Diana smiled at the reveal, "I can see that."

"So, Glyph was struggling with what to make, so..."

Back in the past, Macro strummed the table Glyph was at, looking at him in contemplation. Glyph got uncomfortable at this, "Please stop doing that."

"I'm trying to help you." stated Macro

"How?"

"By figuring out what weapon you should have. Let's start with basics. What's your Semblance?"

"Teleportation."

"Really? That's cool! What's your range?"

"Right now? Couple of feet. Teachers think I could extend that with practice."

"Makes sense. I say your weapons should reflect that. Couple of feet range...I say you'd be a good close range threat. How about a sword? Or swords?"

Glyph thought about it, then shook his head, "I never really liked blades. Easy to hurt people unintentionally."

Macro nodded in appreciation of the sentiment, "I can appreciate that. Alright, blunt weapon then. I like the idea of you being a dual wielder for some reason. Something...unique. Oh! How about some escrima?"

"What's that?"

"They're like batons, blunt on both ends, which means the only way people can get hurt is if you put force behind them.

The idea intrigued Glyph, and for the first time he smiled, "That sounds cool."

"Awesome. Let's start there then. Where's your graph paper, let's design this out."

Glyph and Macro poured over the design paper, and blueprinted his weapon. Eventually, they worked out the schematics, and both nodded in approval at them.

Then, together, they started to create them. Macro took lead, but Glyph helped any way he could. They started with the base baton, then worked outward on the design to include the gun ports, and the combination into the shotgun. They had to make changes at times to help Glyph, but eventually, they had them finished.

Glyph stood up to wield his escrima for the first time. He swung them around in simple patterns to test them out, until he was content with how they felt. With a nod to Macro, he felt they were finished.

Macro smiled, "Oh yeah, that suits you. Now you just need to name them."

Glyph again became uncomfortable as he mulled over names. He used his arms to see the escrima collapse on the gun port, then looked back at Macro, "How about, the Impact Escrima?"

Macro showed his approval, with a clap and a laugh, "That's epic. And you said you weren't creative."

"I'm not. Really. I don't even know how I would use these in battle."

"Well then, stick with me. My dad taught me how to fight, and how to train others. If you let me, I'll start you off. The teachers will help too no doubt."

"I'd like that."

With a nod, Macro extended his hand, "Macro Camof".

Glyph smiled and shook his hand happily, "Glyph Masterson".

Returning to the present, Macro paused at this part of the story. The others took in the initial meeting of the two.

"So you bonded over weapons? I approve!" teased Reyson

"It's always the simple things that bring people together."

"We can attest to that," said Aaron with a loving look to Erin, who smiled and hugged him in appreciation

"Moving on," said Diana aloud, "what happened next?"

Macro shrugged, "I trained him, as best I could anyway, to get him started. Despite what he said, Macro was a natural, he just needed a push. Between me and the teachers, we gave him that push."

"So was he like a prodigy?" asked Yasmine

He mulled this over, then shook, "No, he struggled at times. Extending the reach of his Semblance was a problem for a while, he still struggles with that. But combat wise? He was gifted. It only got better as time went on and the teachers taught him how to think more creatively in battle. Unfortunately, that's where the problems started."

"How so?" asked Leilani

"Well..."

Macro flashed back to training with Glyph. The two would battle back and forth, using their abilities, and even their Semblances to try and outdo the other. The scenes would change to include other opponents for Glyph, from students, to teachers.

"The more Glyph learned, the more he realized just how good he was. He beat everyone at the school, as you might have heard from Lochen that one time. He didn't lose. This got people's attention. Including the Headmaster."

During a certain training session, Glyph used a flurry of teleportation strikes to beat Macro. Once Macro admitted he was beat, he helped him up. The two laughed at the battle.

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now." joked Macro

"You learning nothing in victory, remember?" said Glyph sagely

"You can't use that on me, I taught you that one!"

They again laughed, but the sound of clapping made them stop. They turned to see a man approaching them. He had on a button up suit, but one that was clearly flexible. He had short, choppy dirty blonde hair. with shining blue eyes.

Both Glyph and Macro went to an attention pose as he approached, and bowed to him, "Headmaster."

The Headmaster laughed, "At ease boys, at ease, I was just enjoying the show. You two are quite a team, though I guess I should expect no less from my top two students."

"You honor us sir." said Macro with another bow

"I don't know if we're the best..." admitted Glyph shyly

This made the Headmaster laugh heartily, "Not the best? Glyph, you are by far the greatest fighter I've seen in regards to students. Heck, I know certain Huntsman and Huntresses who would be very challenged by you."

Glyph became flustered at this, "I...I..."

"Peace, just take the compliment. I meant it. You two keep being great, and you'll be the shining examples of the next generations of Huntsman. Have a good day boys."

With a nod to them both, he left. Both Macro and Glyph waited for him to leave before reacting to what had happened.

Macro was the first to drop his guard, "That was awesome! Headmaster Radian praising us like that? So cool."

"I don't know what to say."

"How about...'Rematch'?"

He held up his E-Tool as a challenge, Glyph smiled and knocked his escrima against it, "You're on."

The two backed up from the other, then readied for battle. Once good, they lunged at the other to start anew.

"I still don't get what tripped him," noted DIana in the present, more confused than ever, "was Glyph not used to being praised?"

"Not like that," said Macro with a shake of the head, "Glyph never really talked about his childhood, but from I gathered, he was always average in what he did. Which was fine, but, he didn't know how to take the praise he got. And that's when it went downhill."

Yasmine's eyes went wide with realization, "He got complacent."

Macro pointed to her in acknowledgement, Reyson made a noise of understanding at this, "Yeah, he said that, when we had that impromptu meeting. I didn't know what he meant though."

"He said it had to do with his Semblance," reminded Diana with a look to them both before fixing her gaze at Macro, "but how does that lead to what happened?"

Macro rubbed his head in frustration, "You have to understand, when you're good at something? It can make you do things unintentionally. If you're smart, you always strive for the best score. If you're strong? You try to prove you're the strongest all the time."

"And if you're a great fighter?" posed Reyson

"You know the answer to that."

Reyson thought about it, then sighed heavily, "You want competition."

"Exactly. For Glyph, he wanted to keep being the best fighter. The problem was, he had no competition, not even with me. He wasn't shy about using his Semblance back then. And when he harnessed it to its full potential? He was unstoppable. He could beat people in seconds flat, me included. Because of that, he got an unintentional thought in his head."

Leilani shifted in her place as she waited for him to continue, "What thought?"

"If I'm this good, do I need to train anymore?

"Oh." said Diana, now understanding where this was going

Macro nodded when he saw she understand, "Yeah. It wasn't wrong to think that in a way, he was that good at Signal, and you know how good he is without his Semblance, as he's proved here. But, some didn't take too kindly to that line of thinking. One in particular."

"The Headmaster." revealed Aaron, Erin nodding in agreement

"The Headmaster."

Back at Signal. Glyph and Macro talked under a tree between classes. Soon, an attendant came up to them.

"Excuse me, Glyph? said the attendant, Glyph turned his attention to them, "The Headmaster would like to see you in his office."

"Ok." responded Glyph, and he got up to follow the attendant, "I'll be back."

"We'll meet up in the mess hall," Macro said with a wave, "it's almost dinner time."

Glyph followed the attendant until they reached the office. Headmaster Radian was there at a large desk, he remained sitting as Glyph walked in. He then motioned the attendant away, "We'll be fine, thank you."

With a bow, the attendant left, and the two then sat in silence just looking at each other. Glyph got more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

"May I be honest Glyph?" asked Radian

"I wouldn't know what else to expect from you Headmaster, " admitted Glyph

"I'm very worried about you."

"Sir?"

"You're doing fine grades wise, you're still the best in the school. It's just...I worry about your combat training."

"How so? Am I faltering in my technique?"

Headmaster Radian exhaled sharply as he tried to put together the right words, "This life Glyph, is a hard one, and because of that, we must never stop evolving as Huntsman and Huntresses. But...you have. You've stopped trying to grow as a fighter."

"I know." said Glyph without flinching, taking the headmaster aback

"You know?"

"Yes Headmaster."

"May I ask why?"

"Because while it's true every fighter should continue to evolve, eventually, they hit a plateau. I've hit mine."

"You think so?"

Glyph's face became confused at the continued questions, "It's like you said, I'm the best fighter in the school. I've beaten everyone, even the teachers! Yes, Grimm are different, far different. But I know my capabilities so well, I should be able to adapt very quickly. To any Grimm, regardless of number or situation. Isn't that good?"

Radian just looked at Glyph intently, then shook his head sadly and looked away, "You don't understand, not yet. I hope you do someday. You're dismissed."

"But Headmaster-"

"Dismissed Glyph. Think about what I've said."

Glyph looked at Headmaster Radian in severe confusion and disbelief, but eventually rose and left. Radian went into deep thought after Glyph was gone, his face intense, yet worried.

As Macro thought over this, the others tried to take in what was said.

"Glyph told you all that, right?" asked Diana

"Word for word, he always had a good memory in situations like that. Ones that affected him deeply."

"How did he take it though?"

"Not well."

"How bad?" wondered Reyson, a small smile growing on his face

Macro chuckled, "Think about how Yasmine reacted to Glyph being leader, and then getting "outshined" by Glyph. Multiple by that by your rage Reyson in regards to your family, then add two months of stewing."

Leilani shuddered at the thought, "Oh my gosh."

"Yeah. At first, he did try to understand..."

The young Glyph sat alone in his room at Signal, he stared at the ceiling, desperately wondering what Radian meant. Memories continued on, Glyph reflected on this in classes, in training, in his down time, his thoughts focused on that conversation.

"...but he couldn't find the answer, and it drove him mad. And I mean that literally. It became his obsession. He either had to find the answer, or prove Radian wrong in his proclamation. And since the first wasn't happening..."

"He did the second. He fought Radian." pieced together Yasmine with a stern look to Macro

He put a hand up in surrender, "I didn't know, he went really quiet after that meeting. I tried to help, he wouldn't let me. But yeah, he did, but it was how he did it that became legend."

"I'm confused about that to be honest," admitted Leilani, "how did Glyph get in a fight with the Headmaster, and no one stop him?"

"Because he used tradition against Radian," revealed Erin with a sad smile

Aaron nodded and leaned in so that all could hear him, "At Signal, there's a tradition that's been around for about a decade, the top ranked student would get a chance to show off their skills against an opponent of their choice, no turndowns. Before this, students usually challenged teachers, or dear friends so that they could put on a show. But not Glyph...he chose a more personal vendetta..."

At Signal, the entire student body gathered in a large gymnasium like area. One filled with rows of seats and bleachers, yet had a massive battle area. One much larger than the one at Beacon. In the center of this arena was Headmaster Radian, who happily greeted the students before he raised a microphone to his lips.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the celebration ceremony, where we honor the best and brightest of our senior class. As per usual, we start with the combat competition!"

The students cheered, including Macro and the Lovers. Radian waved them down eventually.

"It's no surprise the student who is on the top of the "leaderboard", he is an immensely strong fighter, and one that has conquered all here. Please welcome, Glyph Masterson!"

Radian motioned to his right, and from a doorway came Glyph. His expression was blank, and marched right up to Radian without so much as blinking. Not perturbed by this, Radian motioned to Glyph, and got another applause out of the student body.

"Now Glyph, as tradition states, you may challenge anyone here, no turndowns. But I do ask that you give us a good show with your opponent. No 5 second matches please!"

He laughed, and the students joined with him, only Glyph remained silent. Radian handed him the microphone. Glyph looked at it, then took it, and looked straight at Radian.

"I can challenge...anyone here? Here in the gym? No refusals?"

"Yes!" proclaimed Radian happily with a smile to the students

Glyph seemed to shake, but with what emotion was unclear, "I challenge you, Headmaster."

He dropped the microphone, and the whole room went silent. No one was sure what was happening. Radian's face became very serious, and he looked at Glyph sternly, "Glyph, this is not what I meant..."

"No turndowns," said Glyph through clenched teeth, "you said that, twice."

Radian fidgeted in place, desperate for a way out of this situation. Glyph kept his glare focused on the Headmaster, eager to start the fight. After a few more moments, Radian picked up the microphone, and looked at Glyph.

"I accept your challenge. Attendant, fetch me my weapon."

Glyph smiled evilly then walked to his start area for the battle, and stretched out to make sure he was ready. Radian watched him the whole time, right up until his weapon, a dual ended short scythe, was brought to him.

With it in hand, he headed to the combat area, unbuttoned his suit jacket, then tossed it aside, "It doesn't have to be this way Glyph."

Glyph's glare grew more venomous, "Yes. It. Does."

Silence enveloped the room, until a buzzer sounded and the match began. Uncharacteristically, Glyph rushed right at Radian, who prepared to attack. Once in range, he swung one end of his scythe, but just before contacting Glyph, he vanished. Radian looked around for him, but there was no trace.

Glyph suddenly reappeared behind him, and swept out his legs, then vanished again, then appeared right next to him, and slammed him down with his escrima's gun ports, unloading two massive rounds into his aura. Radian literally bounced off the ground, while Glyph teleported back to the start.

He patiently waited for Radian rise up to his feet. The Headmaster did so, then snapped his weapon in half and tossed it to his side. Where suddenly another Radian stood, an exact copy of the original. The two squared off against Glyph, who smirked at the turn of events.

He again rushed them, and just like before, he vanished just before reaching them. This time though, he reappeared in the exact spot he left from, and did battle head-on with the two. Copies. His focus split, the odds were not with him, but Glyph held his own, and then some. He used his Semblance to repeatedly trip up the Radians, and then gain the upper hand.

After a particular flurry, Glyph saw the copy beginning to fade. He quickly formed his shotgun and blasted it point blank in the head, which caused it to vanish completely.

Re-energized, Glyph vanished, then reappeared behind Radian and began picking him apart piece by piece. He didn't, and wouldn't, let up. Every hit was more personal than the last one, each one with more fury and intensity.

Seeing the end in sight, Glyph let lose a blinding fury of strikes from his escrima, until he again stabbed the gun port ends into Radians chest, which sent him skidding along the floor.

With a desire to hear the words he longed for, Glyph reformed his shotgun and approached Radian, who was only barely conscious. He held out his hand to Glyph to try and stop him.

"I...I..." he sputtered out

"You what?" bit back Glyph

"I...was trying...to help you..."

"What?" asked Glyph, now afraid

"I...was trying...to help you...survive..."

Coughing heavily, Radian eventually passed out from the pain. Glyph was horrified, only now realizing what he had done. He looked to the student body, who was more afraid than he was. His shotgun fell to the floor, and with tears in his eyes, Glyph teleported away.

In the present, Yasmine, Leilani, Reyson, and Diana were all dumbstruck, but for different reasons. The actions of Glyph, their friend, their leader, seemed impossible. Even when he had righteous anger, he never caused pain like that, and yet, he apparently did.

Diana was the first to recover, though her face still wore the expression of disbelief, "Where...where did he go after that?"

Macro shook his head sadly, "I don't know. Truly. He left for a week, a whole week. Gone. Some wondered if he would ever come back. He did. But when he did? He was like you see him now. Distant, closed off, and desperate to atone."

The group again went silent, all reacting in their own unique way. This time, Reyson was the first to recover, "One thing I don't get? It was a beatdown for sure, but the stories I heard? Were more...bloody. Like he beat him to a bulb instead of just schooling him like you said he did."

"We heard that the Headmaster had to be taken to the hospital for immediate surgery," noted Leilani sadly, "and that he was in a coma for many days."

Macro laughed bitterly, his face now incensed, "You can thank Primrose for that. Her dad is a media magnate, and has reach all over Remnant. She saw this as an opportunity to get back at Glyph for all the stuff he stopped her from doing at Signal. She was a bully back then too, only Glyph and I stood up to her. She saw a chance for payback, so she used her dads connections, and some elongated truths, to paint Glyph as a monster. It got real bad once he came back, some parents were even asking for him to be expelled, or even arrested, but Radian wouldn't let that happen."

"Why not?" asked Reyson, which caused the others to turn at him in shock, "I'm not being mean, I'm asking honestly! I only got away with my brutality because of my family connections, Glyph didn't have that."

"You're right, he didn't, but he had Radian. Radian knew that this was his fault as much as it was Glyph's. If he didn't have that conversation? It wouldn't have happened. He knew that, and it didn't hurt that Glyph begged for forgiveness the moment he returned. I hear he teleported right into his office and dropped to his knees in a sign of humility."

"Wow." remarked Diana with a shake of her head

"Yeah. Radian forgave him, but not a lot of others did. I'm not stretching the truth by saying I was his anchor for a while. I kept him going, got him through classes, through the looks that many gave him, etc. He still graduated top of the class. But it didn't matter to him, he knew his purpose lied elsewhere."

"But why continue school? Why come here?"

He thought about it, then shook his head, "Not sure. I didn't know he was coming until I met him on the airship. Best guess? Radian probably asked him to come. Or maybe, he felt this place had the answer."

"The answer?"

"To what Radian meant about him growing. Maybe he thought he could find it here. I'm certain that he's better here than he is out there."

"Why?" asked Yasmine

"Because he has us," he said with a smile and a look to them all, "now yeah, he's still not the Glyph that I knew from Signal. But he's more than the guy I knew in that last month from Signal. Much more. You should all be grateful for that. Anyway, I'm done talking. That's the whole story, the whole truth. Do with it what you will."

Macro rose, picked up his E-Tool, and left. Leaving the others to think about the story they had heard, and wonder what they should do with what they now knew.

As Macro entered the doorway to Signal, Glyph appeared behind him, "You told them?"

"Yeah."

"The whole truth? Nothing but?"

"I taught you that line too, remember?" teased Macro turning to Glyph

"I remember."

"And yes, I did. Are you mad?"

Glyph paused and looked away for a moment, then turned back, "No."

"Good, because I don't regret telling them."

"Good. Because I wouldn't have been able to tell it."

With a sad smile he vanished, Macro got his own sad smile and walked away as well. Later that night, Glyph stood at the window in GRYD's room and looked out the window. The door opened, and Diana walked in. She looked at Glyph for a while, then walked up beside him.

She waited for him to say something, but he didn't. So she turned to face him and looked right into his eyes. He eventually did the same for her. And to his surprise, she hugged him, in a most sincere way. After a few seconds she let him go and looked at him with kindness.

"Why did you do that?" he asked confused

"Because you needed it."

"And why did I need it?"

"Because you needed to know someone cares, even though they know the truth. Someone not named Macro."

She tried to hide a smile but failed, which caused Glyph to smile and shake his head in response. Content at what she did, Diana headed for the door.

Glyph meanwhile faced the window again, but paused and looked down, "Diana?"

She stopped and looked back at him, to which he looked to her and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, partner."

She eyed him playfully and have him a finger wave before departing. Glyph laughed and returned to the view outside of his window.

*credits*