A/N: (looks at the time since the last update) Ah yes, I remember a time where I was able to get a chapter out every 1-2 months. Real-world responsibilities take more priority, so expect this to be the norm unfortunately.

But anyway, here's chapter 14. Enjoy!

Hidden amongst the shrubbery and treetops of the forest in Vale's outskirts stood a team of five individuals, specialists in their craft. Below them at a distance stood their targets. Under any other circumstance, they would have engaged them, but this wasn't an ordinary situation.

For starters, they were expecting one NBE, not two. A human boy with them, seemingly willingly and not against his will. But the most bizarre part of this all was that all three of them were in a casual conversation. No one was close enough to hear what was being said.

This one lone, random encounter went against everything they knew about the NBEs. Before they could dwell on it, the NBEs and the boy started to part ways, one moving to another spot close by while the other and the boy took off for elsewhere. The team sent their fastest to follow the boy while they relocated.

Jaune and Arcee sped home as quickly as they could. Jaune practically jumped off of her before she came to a full stop and he hurried inside. "I'm home," he called out before rushing upstairs to put his school stuff away.

"How was school?" His mother asked as he rushed into the kitchen and put some snacks and water in his backpack. "Jaune, what's the hurry? What's up?"

'Oh you know, just my alien robot friend found more of her alien robot friends.' "I uh… forgot to mention that I was supposed to meet Arcee later… study group," Jaune lied on the spot.

"Ah. Well, don't stay out too late, it is a school night," she reminded her son.

"I will… I won't, I mean I won't," Jaune corrected himself.

"You better not."

"Ah who cares as long as he shows up to school tomorrow," his dad called out from upstairs.

"Really Jonathan? You want to encourage our son to do such behavior?"

"It was fine when I did it with you, wasn't it?"

Jaune was already outside with the front door closed as he ran back to Arcee. He really wished they'd stop assuming he was meeting a girlfriend. It just made things awkward.

"That was fast," Acree commented as Jaune approached. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Jaune got on her and they took off. "You think we'll be gone all night?"

"I hope not. I'll try and get you back before it gets late."

"Thank you. Though I had to give the excuse that I was seeing uh… human you. So, showing up late might not be as big of a deal, but still," Jaune explained.

"Oh, well that will make things a little easier today," Arcee said cheerfully.

"Yeah… for today. But what about from here on forward?" Jaune asked. Both were silent, it was a good question.

Not half an hour ago, Jaune thought Arcee was a one in a million encounter, the only alien on the planet. Now, they knew there was another, an Autobot named Longarm, which Jaune thought was a silly name. Jaune couldn't hear too much of the conversation, they kept accidentally switching between their language and his own. But from what he was able to gather, Longarm had a plan for them, perhaps a plan to get off of Remnant.

Jaune was happy for Arcee. If he was stuck on an alien world and had to go into hiding, but then found out he wasn't the only human on the planet, he too would be thrilled beyond belief that he had a shot of returning home. But, that also meant that their current formula would have to change.

Arcee would most likely have to leave and be gone for long periods of time. His motorcycle seemingly disappearing and reappearing randomly would not be a good thing and just needlessly complicate things.

"I don't know. I've been thinking about that too and… does the saying go 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'?'" She asked.

"Yes it is," Jaune smiled. "And yeah, I guess there's no need to worry about it now, we'll figure it out." The next few minutes of the ride consisted of random small talk about various things.

But then suddenly at a traffic light, Arcee took over and turned left instead of heading straight. "Arcee?" he said. "What are you doing?"

"Just be quiet for a moment and keep your head straight," Arcee said quietly and sternly. Jaune had never heard her use that tone before. It was unsettling but it told him something was wrong. He relented and let her lead. Arcee ended up diving a few blocks off course in a zigzag-like pattern before they managed to get back into the words. Arcee drove deep into the forest before she suddenly stopped.

"Get off," she ordered quickly. Jaune did so and Arcee quickly transformed, raising a blaster to where they came from. "We're being followed."

"Wait, what?" Jaune looked from her to where she was aiming in a panic. "What do you mean we're being followed?!"

"I happened to notice something in town. It was too fast for me to get a good look at, but I was seeing it everywhere we went," Arcee explained as she scanned her surroundings. "It followed us all the way here but I lost sight of it again." Jaune started looking around sporadically. "You think it's a Grimm?"

"I… don't know," he admitted. "But if it is a Grimm, there's no way it got that deep into the town without anyone noticing. It's impossible."

"...you're right. What else could it be though? Could it be a..." she tried to remember the word, "a huntsman?"

"I… it could be? But, how and why would one be following us? How would they even know of you? We were so careful" Jaune thought hard but couldn't think of any way they've been careless about this.

"I don't know eit-" Arcee paused and snapped her blaster right in front of her. "I think I see them." She took a few cautionary steps forward and Jaune moved behind her. Before Jaune could ask what she saw, Jaune heard a loud metallic impact and a felt gust of wind as Arcee dropped to one knee as she shocked gasped.

"What the-AHH!" Arcee was hit again in the back of her leg, making her fall to the ground. This time, Jaune saw a blur run past him.

"Arcee-OOF!" He reached for her but soon had the wind knocked out of him and found himself pressed against a tree. His assailant was a dark-skinned woman with blonde and brown hair and dark pink eyes.

"If you know what's good for you, stay here," she sneered, shoving the teenager against the tree before running away so fast he thought she teleported. Jaune fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. That was definitely a huntress.

"Oh no," Jaune said between gasps as he pushed himself back to his feet. He was wobbly at first but managed to start running to the sounds of battle. "How far did she take me?!" He hoped there weren't any Grimm nearby.

Meanwhile, Arcee was starting to struggle against her opponent. If this wasn't an alien planet she would have sworn she was fighting a sparkling version of Blurr. Whoever this was was really fast, the only visuals she had was some sort of after-trail this person left as they ran. She only managed to successfully dodge whoever this was a few times and was hit many times more in return.

She knew this was a human huntsman or huntress which was why she put her blaster away in exchange for an arm blade, using that to deflect some of the strikes that came her way. Trying to attack was pointless, the target would be long gone by the time the strike would connect. She was purely on the defensive.

She was hit again, this time in the lower chest, and was forced to her hands and knees. "Damn it," She grunted and got up to one knee.

"Arcee!" Her head snapped up to see Jaune running towards her. She was about to call out to him but paused as her optics widened at a sudden realization. The human attacking her went out of his or her way to remove Jaune from the fight. Now that he'd return, the human would try and move him back again. And from the angle she was just attacked from…

Arcee quickly swift kicked to the side, and with a great stroke of luck her leg connected with her target mid-swing. The force of the kick sent her target flying and made Arcee spin around in the dirt.

"Holy crap," Jaune said. Regaining her senses, Arcee had to agree with him. She didn't think she'd do that much damage.

The closest tree had a large portion of its trunk taken out to where it was timbering over. The tree further behind it had a lot of bark torn off but it was still standing as if the human ricocheted off it. A third tree off to the side had a large dent in its trunk, and at its base lay a motionless human. Jaune and Arcee rushed to her. He couched to her side and checked her over while Arcee stood over them.

"I... I didn't kill her, did I?" Arcee hesitantly asked with worry.

Jaune didn't respond for a few moments. "No, she's alive," he said as he lifted her. "She's breathing, she's just unconscious."

"Oh thank Primus," she sighed in relief. "Is she ok?"

"I think so? I didn't feel any broken bones or anything on her," Jaune replied. "But uh… there's also something else."

"What?"

"It's what she's wearing," Jaune gestured to the unconscious woman. "This looks like a military uniform, from Atlas."

It took Arcee a few moments to process that. Now that she observed further, despite a hue of blue, that uniform was similar to the specialist's one from Rorke's drift. "Oh… oh, that's not good."

Jaune and Arcee drove through the forest. It was an uncomfortable ride for Jaune, but he couldn't mind it too much. Arcee was in her vehicle form, but her arms were still in their normal state, much like how she carried him to safety at Rorke's Drift, so they could carry the soldier huntress. They couldn't just leave her alone in the middle of the forest. In fact, that very thought never crossed either of their minds.

They finally reached the area where Longarm was. Jaune hopped off and Arcee transformed, careful of the woman's unconscious body.

"Ah, Arcee, Jaune, I was about to start thinking you got lost-" he greeted and stepped towards them but paused when he saw the huntress in Arcee's arms. "Who is that?" he asked as he pointed to her.

"We don't know, but we figured she was some kind of soldier, or a huntress," Arcee explained.

"I think they're called Specialists, huntsmen who are soldiers," Jaune chimed in. "I think, I don't know too much about Atlas's military."

"Atlas's..." Longarm moved forward and got a good look at the unconscious specialist in her arms. "Oh dear," he said and looked up at her, "I apologize but this is probably- no, it is my fault."

"Your fault?" Arcee questioned.

"Yes. When I ended up on this world, one of my first directives was to find out more about my surroundings. Call it an old habit of a security officer," Longarm explained. Arcee nodded to show she was following. "Well, my attempt to access this world's extranet data sources didn't go unnoticed and I went for more than I could handle."

"You tried hacking into Atlas's military," Jaune concluded.

"I can't say that was a smart move," Arcee said.

"A logical move at the time, only proven illogical since I was caught. The response was almost immediate, and hostile, so I've been mostly hiding since then. When I'm found or think I have been, I stick to a crowded population center." He put his hands up when Arcee's optics narrowed. "I know I know, but what else was I supposed to do? I was desperate and they always backed off."

Arcee sighed and shook her head. "Stupid, I don't blame you. If we get off Remnant, don't let Zeta Prime hear you did that, or Primus forbid, Optimus."

"Oh trust me, I won't. They'll never let me hear the end of it."

"You got that right."

"You said your hideout was near Vale, correct?" Jaune asked.

"Relatively, yes," Longarm responded. "It would still be a long trek, but your ship should get us there in no time."

Arcee's pace stuttered. "Uh… that would be a problem."

"A problem? Why?" Longarm asked as the whole group stopped walking.

Arcee groaned. "Slag, I was so happy to see another Autobot that it just slipped my mind. My ship is heavily damaged and can't fly."

"It is ?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah it's a mess, but we're fixing it," Jaune chimed in. "Me and Arcee actually fixed one of the engines just under a week ago."

"I think we could get the other engine working in a week or two, and then just a few months until we can get the ship space worthy," Arcee explained.

"That is incredible but still unfortunate that it's nonfunctional. Oh well, we'll just have to do plan B," Longarm said. Only Jaune seemed to notice Longarm rubbing a finger where its ear would be. Could they get itchy? Maybe his head bumped a branch while he wasn't looking and a leaf got stuck.

"Plan B?" Arcee questioned.

"Well… remember how I found you because my computer detected the brief signal from your ship? Well, in theory, your ship's computer should be able to detect mine so I can give you the coordinates of my camp for later."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea," Arcee hummed.

"Would we still be able to keep our cover, or is it too far away for a day trip?" Jaune asked.

"Oh I don't think that would be necessary, it-" Longarm's response was interrupted when they heard groaning.

All eyes and optics turned to the woman in Arcee's arms. Her droopy eyes struggled to open as she tried to lean up, one hand on the side of her head and the other on her stomach. Everyone remained still, unsure of what to do or say since they didn't expect her to wake up so soon. The woman's senses came back faster than they thought as well. She let out a terrified gasp and escaped Arcee's grasp, falling to the ground despite her attempts to catch her, a pink hue overtook her on the impact.

"Wait!" Jaune tried to grab her to try and calm her down and explain she wasn't in danger, but it was no use. One moment she was there and the next she wasn't. A gust of wind making the plants sway was the only sign of her departure. Everyone could only stare at where she went. "Oh…"

"I didn't think she'd wake and recover that fast," Arcee said after several moments of stunned silence.

"You learn fast that humans are durable and remarkable creatures," Longarm replied. "We need to move, we can't catch her and she'll surely call for help."

Arcee's thoughts went back to the specialist when she tried to rescue Jaune. Though her ability was different than this human's super speed, it was still combat effective. If she called for help, no doubt other soldiers, all with different abilities, would come here. She didn't like their odds.

"We need to move fast then. If we hurry, we'd be long gone before they get here," she said.

"Good thinking," Longarm complimented. "Lead the wa-" He paused when a loud cracking sound echoed in the air, like a thick branch breaking. He and Arcee snapped to the direction the sound came from.

"What was that?" Jaune asked as he put Arcee's leg between him and where the sound came from.

"A Grimm most likely, a big one," Arcee procured her weapons, one arm blade and one blaster. "I got this, give me a moment." She started walking forward, keeping a close eye out for the beast. She made it about a dozen paces out before the sounds of straining bark and rustling leaves reached her audio receptors. However, it didn't come from in front of her, it came from above.

Her head shot up and she had just enough time to gasp before jumping back, just barely dodging that attack. She landed on one knee and raised her gun at her attacker. The Grimm landed on all eight of its legs and slowly raised its head, eight eyes stared at her as menacing hiss escaped its mandibles.

The Grimm's mandibles seemed to perk up in a wicked smile. It was a look that Arcee's mind screamed that she saw before but couldn't recall when and where, and it made her hesitate for a brief second, costing her the initiative. The Grimm moved first, running parallel to the group. Arcee traced it with her blaster but every shot came short of the target. Longarm procured his own blaster but his shots went wide as well.

The Grimm fleed for cover behind a thick set of trees, Longarm charged forward in pursuit. Arcee rushed to where he stood to cover Jaune. "You ok?"

"Really wish I had dad's sword right now," Jaune looked up to her. "Doubt it'd do anything but I'd feel safer."

"Don't worry about it, we got your back," Jaune smiled back in reassurance as Arcee looked back up. She was about to call out to Longarm to come back so they could force the Grimm out in the open, but before she could something big and fast hit Longarm, pinning him to a large tree.

"Long-" Arcee gasped before the Grimm burst from the treetop and lunged for her. Her blaster morphed into a blade and she held them in front of her in a cross, blocking the attack before lashing out in retaliation. The Grimm blocked them with its armored legs but was forced several steps back.

"Jaune, run!" Arcee shouted, blocking strikes from the Grimm. Jaune immediately turned around and started running as fast as he could. Arcee continued to trade blows with the Grimm. No hit from either party connected, they were all either dodged or blocked. For a Grimm to be able to keep up with her like this, especially when she killed so many before… it didn't make any sense.

The Grimm took a step back. Arcee braced for another strike, but it didn't come. Instead, the Grimm leaned slightly to the side and Arcee realized it was looking behind her, at Jaune. The Grimm leaped up high trying to get over her, but Arcee managed to bring her blade up in time to get a deep and long cut in the monster's unarmored underside. The Grimm howled in pain and tumbled on the ground a good distance away from Arcee. When it finally stopped, the Grimm lay limp on its chest.

"Arcee!" Jaune ran up to her from the side. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she kneeled down to him. "How about you?"

"I'm fine, thanks," he offered a smile.

Arcee matched it, but her optics widened as she stood up. "Wait, Longarm!"

"Don't fret I'm fine too," Longarm emerged from a set of trees. "Though to require some assistance. The Grimm hit me with some kind of webbing." He held his arm up to show it was glued to a large piece of torn bark.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Arcee went up to him and started to pull at the bark. It took some effort but Arcee finally managed to pull it off.

"Thanks," Longarm rubbed his arm.

"Anytime," Arcee replied. She then noticed that some of the webbing stuck to the bark. Curiosity took hold and she picked off a small piece of substance. As she played with it with her fingers for a few seconds, her face took a somber tone. The webbing from the Grimm felt very, very familiar. A feeling of dread crept up as her mind screamed that she felt this substance before.

"Uh, why isn't the Grimm disappearing?" Jaune asked. Arcee's head snapped to the side and saw that the Grimm's corpse was still there with no signs of decomposition.

"That's because it's not a Grimm," Longarm said in a cold tone. Arcee didn't have time to turn to him. The moment those words left his vocal processor, Arcee fell to the ground screaming, her body and limbs twitching from electrocution. She managed to force an optic open and saw Jaune being dragged away screaming. His legs were encased in the webbing and he clawed at the ground trying to get free as the Grimm dragged him towards it.

A/N: Oh dear, it seems Jaune and Arcee are in a not so favorable situation.

Thanks again for your patience and thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Have a great day :)