Gray had landed a few miles outside the ruins, and now he was dashing through the forest.
With Enigma and Duality in their scythe configurations, he cut through any foliage that stood in his way.
A sound made him jump, and he aimed his weapons in every direction.
Though the only thing that jumped out was a harmless bunny.
He released his breath with relief, but his relief was short-lived as a hissing sound from behind made him turn.
A large black serpent reared its head and turned red eyes on him.
Gray quickly raised his weapons and took a few shots at it, only to roll out of the way as it lunged toward him.
When he got back up, he met the Grimm's gaze, but whatever nervousness he had faded.
"This is the first time I'm fighting a King Taijitu," he spoke calmly with an almost cold stare.
The next time the Taijitu struck, he shot at one of its eyes, then switched Enigma to its scythe configuration, narrowly ducking from another lung as he brought the blade upward to slash its underbelly.
It lurched backward, hissing in pain from the injury, but even that didn't seem to do much.
"Would you mind dropping dead now," he said in an icy voice; his eyes had also gone cold.
A small part of him was subtly aware of the changes; now that he was in a combat situation, it was time to let his other side out to play.
He looked around to ensure no one else was nearby, then directed his attention at the Taijitu.
While one hand continued switching Enigma from its scythe configuration to strike the Taijitu if it got too close and switched to its gun setting to attack it from afar, his other hand went to his necktie. As he gave it a loosening his other side, his semblance began taking over.
A cruel grin crossed his lips as his body suddenly became more muscular, his short hair grew long, his fingernails sharpened into claws, and his canines elongated into visible fangs.
"Let's have some fun!" He shouted in a different, cruel voice, and his eyes went from icy blue to yellow-green.
The Taijitu hissed venomously as more additional Grimm gathered.
He switched both weapons to their scythe configurations and had a wild look of euphoria.
In a quick burst of speed, he lunged forward, cutting through the side of the oncoming Ursa, making them howl in pain, only for him to quickly bring his blades down onto their necks, severing their heads.
For the rest, he returned his weapons to their holsters then, using his claws, rammed them in a spear-like point straight into the nearest Ursa's chest just as it reared up to bring its claws down, though it had enough time to give a swipe of its claws before he pulled his hand out of its chest, black ooze dripping from his tapered claws.
It fell on its side with a thud, but a slight wound on his upper arm was its only mark.
He barely gave it any thought and then turned his attention to the Ursa, which seemed unsure about how to attack.
Rather than wait for it to figure it out, he made his way forward, quickly taking out both of his weapons then mercilessly firing shot after shot, making it rear upward, then, giving his weapons a flourish, switched them to their scythe configurations, took two swipes to its belly making black ooze spurt outward and it too fell dead.
Only the Taijitu was left, though it took advantage of his blind spot and coiled around him, attempting to constrict him.
It hissed angrily, glaring at him with its one remaining eye.
Gray grinned with a savage smile that only a maniac would employ.
"Not bad, you oversized leech," he said in a haughty tone.
As it prepared to crush him, he'd managed to rip one of his arms out, which held Duality, then aimed it at its one remaining eye, and with a precise aim, it exploded in a gush of black ooze.
It was enough to loosen its grip and, having both weapons ready in their scythe configurations, deftly severed the Grimm's head.
Though the fight wasn't over, even in his current state, he knew that a King Taijitu had a second head that would strike if the other fell.
With a quick leap backward, the ghostly white visage of the Taijitu's second head struck outward.
He turned to face the Grimm when the slain head began to regenerate, as did the wounds Gray had made.
Now, he was facing the Taijitu with both of its heads poised to strike.
For a Taijitu to truly be killed, both heads had to be slain.
Gray licked his lips, "Two against two, now these are even odds," he said in his new menacing voice.
Both of its heads hissed threateningly, but Gray grinned wickedly as he dragged the curved blades of his weapons upon the ground; then, he stopped with only a few feet between himself and the Taijitu, letting the anticipation build.
Not waiting any longer, both heads lunged forward, their fangs poised to strike.
In a swift motion, Gray brought his weapons to the ready.
In equal measure, he began to slash at its eyes as they came upon him, then jumped upward with his weapons at a crossed angle, then with a twist, the blades started glowing as red dust flowed into them, and in a quick thrust, sent a flaming X downward which severed both heads and began burning the body which started to dissolve.
He landed on his feet, breathing heavily, gazing at his weapons which still had faint traces of the black ooze burning away.
"More," he said, almost gleefully.
"I want to rip apart everything!"
His face took on an almost angered look when the voice in his head began to speak.
"You've done enough, Hyde," Gray's voice said.
Hyde, the personality currently in control of his body, growled, "You never let me enjoy myself!"
"The enemy has been destroyed; there's no need for further violence," Gray's voice said rationally.
"We need to stay focused."
The Hyde personality seemed insistent on remaining in control, "You need to stop pretending like your a timid pup, don't lose sight of what we were meant to do."
Gray's voice never waivered, "Their time will come, but not now," he said.
Almost reluctantly, Gray straightened his tie, and he was once again himself, though the sight of the destruction he left behind made him sigh, "Why does this always happen?"
Hyde was the name of his semblance which let him turn his inner evil into a manifestation to fight against the Grimm.
However, due to an experiment performed by his father, his semblance had become a different personality which made it dangerous to use unless he had no other choice.
He clenched his fist, he spat out the word father; it was thanks to him that they ended up in a slum in Mantle and why Gray's mother was no longer alive.
Still, he had a separate debt to repay, and he would do his part without question.
Returning his weapons to their holsters, a disturbing thought crept into his mind; Ozpin had said that defenses were placed to ensure the Grimm couldn't get in, yet the Ursa and the King Taijitu had managed to do so.
Either Ozpin had been lying, or, more likely, the defenses had somehow failed.
If the latter were the case, this would be the worst time to have Grimm out with fellow students.
Belatedly, he remembered that Jacen and Rowan were in the forest too, hopefully, they didn't try killing each other.
He reached the point where he finally reached the opening leading to the ruins.
He stopped when he saw the familiar shapes of Rowan, Jacen, and his little astromech approaching the ruins, "What's this?" Gray asked in wonderment.
They actually weren't fighting each other!?
He marked that as fortunate, but then he heard a loud scream from the forest that sounded like Jaune.
Gray wanted to help, but he was still too battered from his earlier fight, and he knew he needed to collect his Relic.
The sound of gunfire could be heard, followed by the sound of small explosions, and he had time to turn his head to see Rouge Nightshade locked in a battle with a smaller-sized Nevermore.
She was fighting with the fury of a beast then something happened during the fight, which Gray couldn't turn his gaze away from.
Rouge had grabbed the Nevermore by one of its wings and then slammed it into the ground.
However, as he got closer, he noticed that her mouth was wide open with visibly sharp fangs aimed directly toward the Nevermore's throat.
Was she insane? Not many huntsmen or huntresses would be willing to take a bite out of a Grimm; it was usually the other way around.
He stared in morbid disbelief as she ripped out a sizable chunk of the Nevermore's throat.
Then she plunged her hand, which was in a spearheaded formation, through the Nevermore's back, and it exited from its chest where its heart might have been.
He watched as the very dead Nevermore dropped to the ground and began to dissolve.
A Jedi, a member of the Cú Warriors, and now, whatever Rouge was.
He made a point to add entries to his historical journal.
Afterward, he began making his way discreetly toward the gathered group, unaware that a large black feather had fallen behind him.
END