Emerald Forest Pt. 2

3rd PoV

"HEADS UP!!" Ruby Rose shouted from the top of her lungs to grab their attention and she successfully did, Matthew looks at the Young Rose with disappointment before he steps forward ahead of Yang and Blake.

"We need to help her!" Yang said.

"Don't worry, I'll do it. Besides, wanna see something cool?" The Sorcerer boasted, and Yang Xiao Long nods in curiosity.

Matthew lifts the hand which had the Sling Ring and he opens up a portal beneath the descending Ruby Rose and another portal next to Yang as an exit.

Ruby falls over the portal and rolled next to Yang, her face looking surprised because of it.

"Ruby!"

"Yang!"

"Thanks, Matthew!" The sisters said in unison.

"Your most welcome, and--oh, we got one more flying individual going on in here and he's flying towards-- there he is!"

Matthew senses the screaming Jaune Arc flying in the air coming at them and Matthew uses the opportunity to open another portal in the direction in which Jaune is flying, and another portal next to them as the exit point.

"AHHH!!! HELP MEE--!! OOF!"

Jaune crash-landed on the ground with a loud thud and it made the others wince in pain.

"My face!" Jaune's voice is muffled while he is still on the ground.

"You're welcome."

In a surprise, Ruby disappeared in a trail of rose petals and materialized in front of Matthew with stars in her eyes, chibi form.

"ISTHATYOURSEMBLANCE?!"

"HOWMUCHYOUCANDOMOREWITHIT?"

"CANYOUOPENAPORTALANYWHEREINREMNANT?!"

"OH!!IBETYOUCOULDTEACHMETHAT!!"

"PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE??"

"Hey, hey, hey. Settle down, Gremlin. You're talking so quickly that I can't understand a word you are saying. I don't have a Ruby Rose-inator device to translate your speed-talking."

Ruby calmed down and poofs back into her normal self while being held back by Yang that is pulling her hood.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

"She-"

Yang was rudely interrupted by some loud crackling noises from the other side of the treeline. It reveals a gnawing Ursa, roaring until it fell to the ground with a pink energy blast acted responsible for its death.

"YEE-HAWW!" The energetic female voice cried out as the Grimm Ursa crashes down.

"I should've known..." Matthew remarked with a sigh as the individual was revealed as Nora, riding from the back of the Grimm.

She gets up from the dead Grimm with a sad look and pouts. "Aww... It's broken."

While Nora is busy looking at the dead Grimm, Ren appeared from the back, and he is catching his breath.

"Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again."

"Whaddup, Ren." Matthew greets Nora's companion with a nod. "How's Nora?"

"Nora's... Been Nora I guess."

Then Ren realized that Nora was not near him and they all searched for the Valkyrie, only for Matthew to jump in surprise to see her beside him holding a golden rook piece.

"Gah! How did you get here?!"

Nora ignores him and hums to a happy tune while balancing the rook above her head.

"I'm the queen of the castle~! I'm the queen of the castle~!"

"Nora!" A warning yell from Ren stops her from singing and snaps her back to reality.

Nora meanwhile, returns her reply with a salute while the rook piece slides down from her head to her hand. "Coming, Ren~!"

The Valkyrie skips cheerfully back to Ren.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake questions.

"I--"

Before Yang could answer, she WAS rudely interrupted for a second time when they all heard loud screeching from the front and through the thick trees.

Ruby saw the red-haired Spartan running away from the Deathstalker Grimm, a kind of scorpion-like creature and it is chasing Pyrrha before it hit a score on her and was thrown to the team, only to be caught by Matthew's portal to safely land her on the ground.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, Pyrrha." Matthew quickly answered back.

"Did that girl just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?"

"Ha! Good pun, Blake."

"Huh? What pun?"

"Y'know the time you said "tail" and the Deathstalker?"

With a confused look, Blake slowly shakes her head.

"I... I don't get it."

"Are you serious?"

Blake simply deadpans at him and this makes Matthew scratch his head. Meanwhile, Yang got aggravated, activating her semblance as she yelled;

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! COULD EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS BEFORE SOMETHING CRAZY COULD HAPPEN AGAIN?!"

Matthew with all of the noise around him heard an eagle-like screech up in the sky. As he stares at the Nevermore Grimm hovering above them, he chuckles softly when he noticed what's or who's on the Grimm's talons.

"Something crazy, you say?" Matthew calls out to Yang in which the angry Xiao Long glares at him, with a triggered semblance.

The sorcerer simply points out the Nevermore Grimm as the others lifted their heads to look up. "Whoever planned THAT was crazy."

"And you are the only one who fell from the sky, Gremlin." Matthew turns and glances at Ruby with a disappointed look.

"But I said her to 'jump'."

This caused him to lift an eyebrow.

"Are you saying that on above 3000 feet with no parachutes or flying semblance, you told her to 'jump'? That's genius, Ruby."

"Wha- I thought you and Weiss are like frenemies?"

"I have no comment on that question, Yang."

The group continues to watch the stuck Weiss Schnee on the Nevermore's talons, hanging for her life.

"She gonna fall..." Blake commented.

"She'll be fine," Ruby reassured.

"Can I just watch her go splat on the ground?" Matthew added.

"That's rude," Ren answered back.

"Or... You could help her." Yang suggested to Matthew.

Matthew thinks about Yang's idea and he smirks evilly.

"Yes, yes... I like that. She'll be indebted to me after this." He murmurs, then he steps ahead of everyone else while his hands glow in runic Eldritch Magic.

"Do you guys want to know my semblance?" Matthew said to the rest and smiles. "Watch."

They saw the Schnee slips her hand from the talon, falling with a horrified look.

With this, the sorcerer claps his hands and quickly did some hand-whirling motions before he activated the WINDS OF WATOOMB to slow Weiss's descent from the air.

And with his quick action, Matthew opens up a portal under the falling Weiss Schnee and another portal above the clearing as Weiss fell on the ground, face-first.

"Oooh... That's dirty..." Yang grimaced as they heard a loud thud after Weiss crashed on the ground.

Matthew walked next to the fallen Schnee with a smug look. While the pristine gaze from Weiss makes the SDC heiress growl in anger.

"No 'thank yous' or kind appreciation from me, Fraulein?" The young Strange mocks her with his arms crossed. "I could've watched you turn into a bean paste if I did not help."

"I don't need your help nor to give you my thanks!" Weiss sneers in a low growl.

"Oh...? I swear that I heard you screaming above earlier for help. Or my ears heard more specifically that you're asking for... my help?" Matthew replied with a Cheshire grin.

Weiss was furious like a volcano ready to explode anytime, her hands are clenching but she stayed collected to not embarrass herself.

"You blockhead! Y-You and your foolish s-slurs! How dare you say so wrong and uninformative about me?!" Weiss shouted while angrily pointing her finger at him and Matthew is... ignoring her rambling.

"Great..." Yang said in a sarcastic tone. "The gang's all here and now we can all die together!"

"Nice encouragement, Yang. We're hyped up and our morale rose thanks to your sarcasm." Matthew replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm glad that someone gets my point."

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby threw herself into the conversation before she screams a battle cry and charges straight into the Deathstalker. "HYAAAAHHH!"

"WAIT! What is she doing?!" Matthew yelled.

Ruby unholsters her Crescent Rose, firing a shot at the back to push herself in a short duration and with the curved blade aiming for the Deathstalker's head.

The creature, however, saw this frontal attack and swiped Ruby with the blunt part of its claws. This move caused Ruby to be knocked far from the Deathstalker as she struggles to get up.

"Aah!" Ruby cried out after she was knocked back.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled with a worried look.

Ruby gets up, although very slowly, she looks back at the group with a reassuring face.

"D-Don't w-worry!" Ruby grunted. "T-Totally fine!"

Ruby turns around slowly only to see the Deathstalker crawling near and in front of her, shadowing its height over Ruby's.

She shrieks for a brief moment before firing a shot from her Crescent Rose to catch some distance from the Grimm.

She decided to run back to the group, holstering Crescent Rose while she dodges the Deathstalker's charge.

"Aren't you going to help my sister, Matthew?!" Yang angrily glared at him but the sorcerer just stares at Ruby in silence. "Fine, if you're not going to help, then I will!"

"YANG, WAI--! Oh, for fuck's sake...!" Matthew rambles while he slaps his forehead in frustration.

"I think Yang is right, we need to help her sister." Blake pointed out.

"I know! I'm going to, but how am I going to help if another Grimm is chasing them? I was quiet seconds ago because I'm thinking to deal with them in a single move!" Matthew explains in frustration.

True to his words, the Nevermore Grimm catches Ruby's attention due to her red color and her negative emotions. The Nevermore banks to the left and turns straight at the retreating Ruby Rose.

The Grimm stops mid-flight and flaps its dark wings, firing a hail of sharp feathers toward Ruby.

One of the giant feathers pins down Ruby's long cape, immobilizing her and the wall of feathers stopped Yang from reaching her sister.

Matthew sighs as he growls due to their lack of professionalism.

"And so I believed that Ruby was promising in dealing with Grimms..." He muttered.

But he had no choice but to turn his head to Weiss.

"Hey, Ms. Schnee," Matthew calls Weiss at the back of the group. "Care to help me on apprehending that Deathstalker?"

"Hmph. You? Helping? Not a chance." Weiss replied with a snort.

"Fine then... I'll add up the terms for you. I'm going to serve you for a month as your butler. Is that fair enough?"

Weiss raises her eyebrow and considered his proposal. Before her expression switched into a smirk.

"Deal, and that's final."

"Good, now what is your semblance again?"

"It's called "Glyph" and I can-- Hold on a second, you don't even know my semblance?"

"Of course, I don't. Heck, I didn't even see you fight except for the sisters and Blake over there."

"You absolute dolt!"

"Yes, yes. Now I'm a dolt." Matthew replied sarcastically. "But first, let's help Ruby, yeah? I'll handle the main body, you go for the stinger."

"Fine..." Weiss scoffs, unsheathing her Myrtlenaster while Matthew stares at her for a brief moment.

Weiss stood next to Matthew and the sorcerer cast a Tao Mandala in his left hand, prepared to move.

"Ready? I'll boost you after I open up a portal."

The two nods to each other and Weiss activated her glyph as a springboard, boosting herself in a quick way that she disappeared in a white blur.

Before the stinger would hit the trapped Ruby Rose, a portal opened in the stinger's way and its attack ricocheted back to its owner, striking its own body and this resulted in the Deathstalker shrieking and shivering in pain.

Weiss appeared in front of Ruby and traps the whole tail in ice except for its body which was immobilized by Matthew's MANACLES OF MOKARR, an advanced magic spell used to restrain certain targets in a form of mystical blueish thick ropes.

"You are so childish." Weiss's voice rang in Ruby's ears.

And when Ruby opens her eyes, she saw two individuals in front of her. Weiss is pointing the tip of Myrtlenaster at the Grimm, and Matthew with his raised fist and the other lowered hand protecting Ruby with the help of the SHIELD OF SERAPHIM, encasing her in a protective dome.

"W-Weiss? Matthew?"

"Unprofessional..."

"-and dimwitted, and hyperactive," Weiss adds through Matthew's comment. "And don't get me even started on your fighting style."

"For once, I could agree with her." Matthew nodded as he continue.

"Listen, Ruby, I know to myself that you are a gifted person when you are fighting alone. But-- now, you need to learn how to fight and learn to move not as a lone wolf, but as a part of a group."

"I suppose I could be a bit... difficult-" Weiss admitted

"Hah! She's right about that." Matthew interrupted with a chuckle.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss shouted.

"As I was saying, if we were going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off... I'll be... nicer."

"B-But, I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know that I can do this-"

"Alone?" Matthew cut in, Ruby gulps before answering honestly.

"Yes..."

Weiss perks up a smile and so as Matthew to calm Ruby down.

"You're fine..." Weiss stated.

Matthew smiles as Weiss left her. He went near her and pats her head as she took a deep breath before he let the shield go and focused back on guarding the trapped Deathstalker.

"Hahh... Normal knees..." Ruby whispered.

•••

•••

She stood up from the ground and decided to inspect the work of Matthew and Weiss.

"Whoaa...!" Ruby gasps with wide eyes over the large chunk of ice and the thick blue ropes ensnaring the Deathstalker. "You both did that?" Ruby said to Matthew, watching the Deathstalker wriggling as it shrieks.

"Yeah. Had to compromise with her to change the terms of our bet." Matthew stated with a calm face.

"Ruby!" Yang called out from behind and Matthew gave way for Yang to rush her in a bear hug. "So happy that you're okay!"

"And Matthew?" Yang looks at him with a grateful smile. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier."

"It's okay. I'm not that mad anyways." Matthew replied.

The Nevermore above screeches, causing them to look up and stare at the giant bird.

"Guys, that thing is circling back." Jaune reminded the group in worry. "What are we gonna do?"

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss added, before they all looks over the chess pieces at the temple.

"She's right." Ruby seconded. "Our mission is to grab an artifact, and make it back to the cliffs."

Weiss nods in agreement as Matthew spoke.

"Go and get your relics, I'll watch this Deathstalker. Oh, and Ruby--" Matthew looks at her, and gave a thumbs-up. "-Lead them."

"Wait, but what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, I can catch up with you guys later. I just need to stall this scorpion for the meantime."

"So, run and live? That is an idea I can get behind." Jaune interjected.

"It's called tactical retreat, Jaune." Matthew corrected. "Now, go. Before the other Grimms would come here."

The group picks their relics before Matthew warns them again.

"Hurry up! The Deathstalker is freeing itself!" Matthew yells.

"Time we left." Ren stated.

"RIGHT! Let's go!" The group followed Ruby towards the cliffs and before they could leave, Yang turns around to check Matthew, only to see the sorcerer giving her a smirk in reassurance.

"Be careful, Matthew."

"Same to you, guys."

Yang jumps down with Blake to follow the others. Matthew is seen facing the now freed Deathstalker and a dozen of Ursas appeared from the forest, growling and staring at him.

"I knew it... You guys patiently waited for them to leave, right?"

The Ursas growled in response and Matthew changes the Cloak's appearance to its original blue cloak. He decided not to bring out his Staff and to use his magic instead.

"Don't worry, though. Because this place will be your graves, and I'm the sepulcher." Matthew stated as he did some hand gestures and activating his Tao Mandalas.

"Let's have some fun, yes?"