The Burning Beacon
Chapter 1: Smoldering Ember
Sixteen Years Later
Bloom Goodwitch couldn't wait for the transport ship to arrive. The day had finally come, the day she'd been waiting all her life for. She had finally earned her place at Beacon Academy after sixteen years of home training from her Mom and Mom's old friend Mr. Ozpin. She even had her own weapon now: a sleek crossbow that transformed into a sub-machine gun. She named it Artemis after a fabled goddess of the hunt. Even if the goddess Artemis only existed in stories and legends, the name was bad-ass and she was proud to call her weapon by that name.
The only worrying thing about this year was the fact that she was at least a year younger than the other entering freshmen. Skipping a grade in the public and private school systems in Vale happened only in truly unusual circumstances; it was virtually unheard of for such a young home-taught Hunter or Huntress to do so exceptionally well on the entrance exams.
Then again, her mother had been one of the most gifted Huntresses of her era, able to use her aura as a primary power source rather than Dust. Glynda proudly taught this trick to her adopted daughter, who had a strong aura of her own. However, while Glynda dealt with general shields and attack blasts, Bloom specialized in fire. That affinity helped in selecting and creating her primary weapon. Crossbow bolts easily lit and burned as they flew through the air; bullets, alas, did not. Plus, she wanted something with a bit more range than standard melee weapons, gauntlets, and scythes. Artemis gave her that.
Nervous energy buzzed through her body like electricity as the redheaded Huntress stood at the entrance to the assembly hall. She'd managed to pull her wild red hair into a slightly messy ponytail, leaving her shorter bangs dangling by her face. Her official Huntress' outfit looked more functional than fashionable, consisting of a forest green ¾ sleeve high-neck blouse under a blue camouflage-print bodysuit. A simple forest-green belt held pouches—each containing tiny vials of dust and replacement arrowheads for Artemis—across her hips so she could reach them easily during a battle and a matching quiver rested on her back. Dark green boots protected her feet and lower legs, while matching gloves guarded her hands from injury.
As the shuttle landed and the other new students began to spill onto the grounds, Bloom frowned. Some of the girls appeared to be wearing armor, but the rest…she wondered if they took their training seriously. Full skirts might be nice to move in, but they got caught on everything. She did spy one new student of interest, however—a brunette rabbit-eared Faunus. The girl seemed constantly on edge, always glancing over her shoulder or into reflective surfaces to head off prospective attacks. A group of troublesome-looking boys appeared to be discussing the new girl in earnest detail; they would probably wind up bullying her before midterm exams were over. Although, if she had anything to say about it, they would also land themselves in the infirmary with second-degree burns and/or crossbow bolts sticking out of their arms, legs, and asses. She didn't want to be popular or well-liked and certainly didn't want to be hated, but she wasn't about to let a bunch of thugs with more balls than brains dictate the school's reaction to its more unusual inhabitants.
At least now she had a valid excuse not to hold back during dueling class. If the jerks tried anything with her, they would soon live to regret it. She got into this school on her own talent, not her mother's reputation, and intended to cement herself as a Huntress worthy of this school before their first exam ended.
The next morning found Bloom and the other entering freshmen gathered on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. The redhead listened carefully to Ozpin's instructions, cyan eyes scanning the dense evergreen canopy for signs of trouble. She'd gone hunting with her mother enough to know that the forest could be deadly to a novice Huntress. Odd that the same dangerous place was where her mother found her all those years ago.
Upon hearing the words "drop in", a maniacal grin spread across her lips. She knelt into a better launching position on her platform, waiting to be shot skyward. As she went into free-fall mode, she thought about the testing groups for this year. Usually there were enough entering students to form five teams of four with one team of two or three left over, but this year only 21 students got approved for entry into Beacon Academy. There would be five teams of four, with one person left without a team until next year, when they could be paired with a group of mismatched freshmen. The chances of Bloom being the odd-person-out actually rated rather high, since she was the daughter of one of the teachers and could therefore take care of herself in the forest. She didn't mind it all that much; it would keep any of the other teams from accusing Mom or Ozpin of favoritism and prove she was capable of doing something right all by herself.
Tumbling through the tree canopy, Bloom managed to use her momentum and agility to her advantage by grabbing onto passing branches and treating them like trapeze bars. In doing this, she slowed her descent speed enough to land without creating a crater or shattering the bones in her legs upon impact with the ground. She didn't stop moving, continuing forward into the forest and closer to the temple ruins. Stopping only served to attract Grimm, and she'd rather avoid them wholesale today.
She slipped silently through the trees, venturing closer to the ruins. Sounds of the other teams fighting various Grimm echoed throughout the forest, but she ignored them. The other students were likely more focused on finding partners than their goal and were unfamiliar with the forest. While Bloom wanted to be part of a team, finishing the mission objective came first. Finally, the ruins peeked into her line of sight, and she bolted toward them. One of the teams—a pair of boys in metal armor—arrived as she entered the area. They didn't pose an immediate threat, so she paid them no mind as she grabbed one of the chess pieces sitting on the stone pillars. The boys picked up a Bishop; she opted for a pawn. The teams were determined by what pieces the pairs chose, and any idiot could see that most students would go after the more powerful pieces. Rooks, Bishops, Knights, Queens, and Kings—all those she left for the teams. Let them fight over who had the best piece; she just wanted to wrap this assignment up as fast and efficiently as possible.
Halfway back to the rally point, she felt something huge ping off her aura. Like a large Dust explosion…or a portal. Could one of the other students have run into trouble? Shaking her head, Bloom turned and ran in the direction of the disturbance. As she got closer, she felt rather than saw the bursts of magic ahead of her. She caught a fleeting glimpse of blonde hair and an orange outfit and for a split second thought it was that chick with the shotgun arm gauntlets. Once she got closer, however, she realized that this girl was not Yang Xiao Long.
She stood tall on heeled knee-high orange boots, a silver staff in her dainty hands. Her long, sleek golden hair was pulled back into low pigtails and blue wings sprouted from her back. Bloom felt her breath hitch. It had been decades since a Fae had been recorded in or around Vale. Faunus they had in spades, but Fae? Not in a very, very long time. And the creatures trying to attack her (a group of lesser Helspawn and what appeared to be a standard Woodland Ogre) weren't native to this area either. Could she have been the one to open the portal?
"Hand over the staff, little fairy!" The Ogre ordered.
"Never!" The blonde Fae cried defiantly. "I am Princess Stella Luna Solis of Solaria, and I would rather die than hand over the Scepter of Solaria to a thug like you!" Warm energy radiated from her thin frame. She didn't look very powerful, but her aura said otherwise. The girl had power and a rough idea of how to use it, but remained pitifully outnumbered in this match.
So, a robbery gone bad, was it? Bloom narrowed her eyes, carefully pulling Artemis into firing position and readying a bolt. She watched the exchange, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.
"My master wants that staff, and they're gonna get it!" The Ogre roared. "Get her!" The Helspawn jumped at Stella, but the girl admirably fended the pesky creatures off by blasting yellow-tinted energy at them. Enraged, the ogre growled and began to walk toward the young fairy.
That was all the opening Bloom needed. A quick spell ignited the bolt as she fired Artemis, the arrow sailing through the gap between the trees and striking the ogre in the shoulder. She swiftly shot two more bolts, this time without the flames. By then, the ogre was well and truly pissed off, and Bloom decided it was safe to reveal herself.
"Who's there?" the beast shouted. He stared in dumbfounded shock when she suddenly appeared from out of the forest, Artemis—now in gun form—trained on him.
"I am, ugly." Mom was probably going to kill her for baiting an ogre, but Bloom honestly didn't care as much about that as she did protecting Stella. "Go back to the world you came from now or you won't live long enough to regret it."
The Ogre looked dumbstruck (not a hard accomplishment, in her opinion). She knew he could feel her aura pulsing wildly, waiting for a moment of release. She wasn't sure if that or the gun terrified him more. "What's a fairy doing on Earth?"
"This isn't Earth, you dimwit." She tried her best not to laugh at his stupidity. Yes, both realms had evergreen forests, but Earth lacked Grimm and Dust-based weaponry. "Welcome to Remnant's Emerald Forest, home to Hunters, Grimm, and a few brave Faunus. Now go back where you came from and leave the Fae alone before this Huntress puts a bullet between your eyes."
The mustard-yellow creature seemed to consider his options for a moment before growling and stuffing his right hand into the pocket of his overalls. "This isn't over, brat." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever, make with the gone already." She kept her weapon trained on him as he glared at the Helspawn.
"Retreat!" He called out, activating some kind of portal device. Most of the lesser Helspawn reluctantly followed him through it, but a handful of less intelligent pack members stayed behind and tried to rush her and Stella. Only a few different types of fire worked on Helspawn and without knowing which one she possessed, Bloom opted for the 'safe' option and peppered them with red Dust bullets while Stella blasted energy at them. Her attack energy, Bloom noticed, felt similar to sunlight and did wonders against the Helspawn. The stragglers let out an otherworldly shriek as they died; she winced at the volume of the noise. That kind of ruckus would attract a Grimm in no time flat.
"Wow!" Stella looked at her with an awed expression. The blonde looked ready to jump up and down in excitement despite the fact that her Fae form just flickered 'off' and left her in an orange dress that more readily fit the image of 'princess' than a pair of shorts and a crop-top. The scepter shrunk down into a ring that she quickly slid onto her right hand. Her amber eyes shone with excitement even as her knees began to buckle beneath her. "That was awesome! I didn't know this world had any fairies, but you've totally changed my mind!" She smiled, took a step forward…and promptly passed out on the forest floor.
"Stella!" All thoughts of stealth and silence left her mind as she watched the taller girl fall. Bloom dove to catch her, but got there a smidge too late to be of use. "Oh gods, this is so not good." She groaned as she knelt at the fallen Fae's side. The girl's breathing sounded normal and her heart beat strongly, but her aura felt incredibly faint. The fight must have used up her magical reserves, Bloom realized, and the best recovery method was rest. But she couldn't just leave the girl here to sleep it off; too many things here would eat her. "Hang on, I'll get you back to…" She gasped halfway through that sentence as a roar sounded from somewhere nearby and branches snapped in quick succession. "Oh, this is gonna suck..." she lamented as a rather large Ursa burst out of the foliage and into the clearing.
"Change of plans—I'll get you to the rendezvous point after I get rid of the giant Ursa that wants to eat you."