Chapter One: That Will Be The Day

June 1st proved to be a fine start to the English summer of 1965, with a whole day of uninterrupted sun warming the temperate country. And for that reason, Sun Wukong, Scarlet David, Sage Ayana and Neptune Vasilias were taking the time to stroll to the nearby golf green for a morning of leisure. This was unusual for them, given that fame as the Yeatles had made them wary of going anywhere with excesses of people, but Sage had just acquired a farm northeast of Liverpool, which enabled them to rehearse and write without annoying neighbours or attract unwanted attention whenever they walked around.

"So yeah," Sun was saying as the band approached the golf course that bordered the M58, "the Rolling Stones were pretty damned impressive the other night."

"I'm sure they were," Neptune agreed as he caught up to the pack.

"Hang about," Scarlet said as he moved forward to the fence, "what's this flyer posted here?"

The lead guitarist removed the flyer in question, and brought it back to the other band members to read. It advertised a new, London-based band called RWBY, who were set to play at the Empire on Lime Street the following weekend.

"What sort of a band name is RWBY?", Neptune asked.

"I dunno," Scarlet replied, "but the flyer's promising a night of auditory fireworks, and apparently the Pacemakers are supporting them."

"What?!", Sage exclaimed.

"Gerry and his guys are backing them?!", Sun incredulously added. "They must be something special."

"Should we go down there to see this next weekend?", Scarlet asked.

"Man, if the Pacemakers are supporting them, we've got to," Neptune averred.

"Fair enough," the redhead conceded. "Now, shall we head inside the course and tee off?"

"Lets."

Finally, the weekend in question arrived. At the stroke of six on the 5th of June, four moustachioed men in black tie and fedora hats entered the Empire, swiftly paying for their admission to the doorman before finding a spot in the upper tier, away from prying eyes. Scarlet had sneaked in some chicken and watercress sandwiches, and gave two each to his bandmates for a light dinner with no-one else around.

"Can't believe that flyer was a misprint," Sun groaned. "Of course RWBY were backing the Pacemakers; I probably wouldn't have come had I known that."

"That may be true," Neptune allowed, "but it will be interesting to see what this new band can do."

Sun nodded resignedly. "Perhaps."

"Besides," Scarlet added, "it's been a while since we've seen the Pacemakers, so it'll be good to catch up with them."

"True, true," Sage echoed, before taking another bite of his sandwich.

The four men chatted away as they whittled their sandwiches down over the course of two hours. Eventually, the bottom tier of seats were filled to capacity by the time the clock struck eight. Fortunately, there was no need to open up extra seating, so the Yeatles got the whole of the top tier to themselves. As the curtains lifted, the four young musicians were treated to a sight beyond all expectations as RWBY walked on stage from the wings and picked up their instruments. Much to the audience's surprise, RWBY were an honest-to-gods girl group.

Stage left was the domain of the band's guitarist. The sultry vixen's hazel eyes glowed like gold on the stage, and her smile was faint, and yet entrancing. Sun didn't feel like his body was electrified at the sight of an attractive girl, which was a first for him. Instead, five and a half feet of raven-haired Mediterranean beauty draped in a purple striped dress with black tights and go-go boots caused a smouldering, viscous river of lust to surge through his veins. But once the music started, Sun's emotional state flipped between enamoured and amazed; this was due to the twenty-three year old playing guitar better than Sun ever could. Not that Sun was surprised at that, being a singer first and foremost, but this woman had skill.

And she'd cultivated a unique sound, Sun also noted. The guitarist had a pair of black Rickenbacker 360 guitars – one with six-strings, and one with twelve. Her amp of choice was the trusty Vox AC30, solely using the high-gain pair of channels; the six-string guitar went into a Maestro FZ-1 fuzz pedal and an Echoplex before hitting the normal channel, whilst the twelve-string was piped into the top-boost channel. That meant that she could mimic an acoustic guitar on the softer songs with the twelve-string, yet give Scarlet a run for his money when the six-string was in her hands.

At centre stage stood the bassist, a second woman who didn't look older than nineteen years of age. Her grey eyes seemed to exude a sense of innocence and purity, and Scarlet found that aura inviting and pleasant, despite his usual reticence towards the fairer sex. She was wreathed in a tasselled summer dress that was a couple of shades brighter than her dark auburn hair, with the same tights and footwear that the guitarist sported. When the music started, Scarlet was astounded at the sight of the 5'2'' Acton native playing a full-length cherry Rickenbacker 4001, which had been wired with separate outputs for the two pick-ups. The instrument was a beast to handle, as Neptune averred, yet the girl's fingers were nimble enough to go bonkers on it.

However, the advantage Rickenbacker basses had over their competitors was their stereo output feature – and the bassist had taken full advantage of that. The neck pick-up was sent to a clean Bluesbreaker, whilst the bridge pick-up was fed through a Maestro fuzz to a bright Bluesbreaker. This, along with the use of a green Dunlop Tortex pick, created a distinctive "tonal sandwich" that she used on the harder songs, while softer songs saw her turning the bridge pick-up down for a cleaner sound.

On a riser behind the bassist sat the band's drum set, which was played by a tall, brown-eyed blonde of twenty-one. Sage was enthralled by the sheer power of her playing style; this drummer hit harder than many drummers that he'd seen and shared gigs with over the last five years. Additionally, Sage was a leftie who'd learned to play a right-handed drum set; this made for a style that was inimitable, yet flawed in that he led fills with his left hand and grooves with his right. The woman clearly didn't have that background, and therefore Sage easily conceded that she'd likely be a better drummer for it, but he was still surprised at how thoroughly he was outclassed – especially since she wore a yellow floral frock with white go-go boots and tights.

As a fellow Gretsch devotee, Sage also enjoyed the sound of the champagne sparkle Ludwig Super Classic kit that was getting hammered on. The drummer used a 20''x16'' kick drum, 14''x14'' and 16''x16'' floor toms on her right side, and 12''x8'' and 13''x9'' tom-toms with a 14''x5.5'' Ludwig Acrolite snare drum. The two smaller toms were hung over the kick drum from a pair of cymbal stands; these stands held two crashes – a 16'' on her left, and an 18'' on her right. To her left were a pair of 14'' hi-hats that sat below a 10'' splash, and a 22'' inch ride on her right side was housed beneath a 20'' swish cymbal. Sage was slightly miffed to note that all of these were Zildjian A Medium cymbals, being a Paiste fan. Despite that, Sage admitted that these paired well with the kit to make an explosive and powerful sound.

And stage right was home to a pale, petite woman of both Prussian and English descent that tickled three sets of ivory keys. Despite being his band's bassist, Neptune was a gifted pianist himself and sometimes added this aspect into the Yeatles. In contrast to his experimental approach to keyboard sounds in the studio, Neptune routinely used the Vox Continental organ and whatever grand piano the venue had on site for live performances. Simple and sweet, as he always said. Therefore, Neptune was quite surprised to see a grey Farfisa Compact Duo organ sitting beneath a white Hohner Clavinet, while a white Wurlitzer 100 electric piano stood off to the left and faced the rest of the band. That all three instruments were in mint condition was what made Neptune realise that the twenty-year-old woman before him was worthy of admiration. Her style of keyboard playing was versatile and well-developed too, Neptune realised as the music started, incorporating classical technique, jazz theory and rock tones in a blend as beautiful as the blue-eyed girl in an azure mini-dress was.

The Farfisa was a magnificent machine, being able to mimic the sound of instruments in a way that sat between the pipe organs of yore and the real deal. The keyboardist had the left and middle tabs engaged on the lower manual for a quasi-string sound, while the upper manual's white tabs were all on – providing the warm and buzzy tone that was unique to transistor organs. The vibrato circuit was set to a light depth and fast speed, giving a subtle inflection to the upper manual's sound.

By contrast, the Clavinet was a clavichord that had a few pick ups fitted underneath the strings; this made for an instrument that could provide a guitar-like ballast to the guitar parts, as well as enable the keyboardist to play solos with equal ferocity. The Wurlitzer possessed a rounder sound, using metal reeds instead of strings, and was there for softer numbers that would've been best driven by a grand piano. It also had a sustain pedal attached via a Bowden cable, which the keyboardist was forever grateful for.

The Farfisa had a multi-pin connector that carried power and output, with the latter going to a box that harboured a spring reverb tank and a twin-band EQ, and then to a Binson Echorec delay unit. The other two keyboards were both painted white, and the clavinet was piped through a Maestro fuzz as well. All three then got sent into a pair of Leslie 122 speakers, through the use of a small mixing desk that had been built by hand, along with special-made cables for the unit. Soldering the particular pair of 6-pin female to ¼-inch males would've been excruciating to do, Neptune realised, and it made him respect this girl all the more. Hard as it was for Neptune to admit, her skill on the ivories surpassed his by a country mile.

A shared glance during the last chorus of the instrumental opener left no doubt in the minds of the band as to their next course of action. We will be signing them to our label, their eyes seemed to say. Once the applause started, Neptune and Sun both bounded down the stairs, stampeding towards the sound man as they removed the fake moustaches.

"Who are these girls?", Sun asked over the noise.

The sound man looked up, recognised the men standing next to him, and promptly answered. "You planning on signing them up?"

"You bet," Scarlet admitted.

"Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee – the drummer and keyboardist respectively – are the two you'll need to speak to. They handle the managerial side of things."

"Thanks. What about the other two?", Neptune asked.

"Blake Belladonna's the guitarist, while Ruby Rose is the bassist."

"Thanks mate," Sun cheered before sprinting upstairs with Neptune as Yang counted in the next number with her sticks.

As the songs roared into life one after the other, all four men realised what made this band special; all four of the girls in the band sang with equal competence. Each of their voices were different, yet they blended well together.

Blake's voice was the lowest of the four, possessing a rich, clear alto that didn't lose power until the D below middle C; this perfectly suited her lead vocal work on the band's ballads, and anchored the band's harmonies. Weiss had a full and smoky mezzo-soprano voice, which suited her soul-tinged pop songs and added girth to the vocal blend. Yang's voice was the highest of the group; hers was a steely and soaring soprano, and her pitch control and coloratura in the upper registers gave Brian Wilson a run for his money.

However, it was young Ruby that was the go-to lead singer in the band. Her powerful voice was also a mezzo-soprano, but her range sat between those of Weiss and Yang. Her blues shout was the loudest of all the girls, and lent itself well to the rockier numbers the band was getting renowned for in London. In an ironic twist, Ruby tended to write the band's ballads even though Blake sung those; in similar fashion, Blake wrote the hard-hitting songs that Ruby hollered on.

With everyone in the band singing, each of the girls used a Sennheiser MD421 microphone, with Blake and Ruby mounting them on straight stands, Weiss placing hers on a boom stand that stood where the two halves of her keyboard array met, and Yang hoisting her mic on a boom stand over her left shoulder. The four microphones were piped into the venue's PA system; thankfully, the venue had a second PA to let bands hear themselves. As such, a fifteen-inch speaker sat between Ruby and Blake, while a pair of linked ten-inch speakers sat on Weiss and Yang's right sides. Weiss's Leslie speakers sat behind her, and were aimed towards Blake, while Blake's AC30 was behind her left side and aimed at Ruby. As for Ruby's Bluesbreakers, they sat parallel with Yang's drums and were aimed at Weiss.

When the set finally finished, the Yeatles found themselves astounded at the sheer quality of the songs they'd heard RWBY play. "Shine" and "Dream Come True" were Weiss's stand-out numbers, getting the crowd dancing readily as she sang over the Motown-inspired grooves. Blake's efforts on "Wings" and "Home" got the crowd teary-eyed with sentiment, while Yang's lone lead vocal on the Latin-tinged "Not Fall In Love" was nothing short of electrifying. As for Ruby, she had a quartet of songs that went down well – "This Will Be The Day" and "Red Like Roses" were the undeniable favourites, while both "I Burn" and "Let's Just Live" received the polite applause reserved for songs that were ahead of their time.

While their sheer musical mastery was in the forefront of the collective mind of the Yeatles's minds, it was impossible for any of the men to deny that they found themselves attracted to each of the girls. However, they'd worked with Cinder Black and many other women in the business over the years, and therefore knew to put business before pleasure. As the curtain was lowered and the audience swanned out to the bar, the Yeatles made their approach towards the stage, ditching the hats and fake moustaches as they crept beneath the curtain. Blake was the first to hear them as she finished placing the microphones and guitars in their cases, and her jaw dropped as she turned and saw the most famous band in the world mere metres away from her.

"Need a hand?", Sun asked, gesturing towards the equipment as Blake staved off the onset of shock.

"That would be most helpful, Sun," Blake replied, with her sultry contralto voice denoting an upbringing in the West End of London. Turning her head towards the wings, she called out to her bandmates. "Finished changing back there?"

"Just about," Yang called back. "Only need to change my shoes, and Weiss and Ruby are throwing on their street clothes as we speak."

"No worries then," Blake replied, before turning to the band. "If you could give Yang and the others a hand while I change out of this getup and move our vans around, I'd be most grateful."

"You got it," Sun assured, him becoming even more amorous at the soothing voice Blake had.

Blake nodded with a slight smile, before picking up all three of the guitars and striding off stage towards the change rooms. As the Yeatles got up on stage, Yang walked out in jeans, tennis shoes and a tan blouse, her hair now in a low ponytail as opposed to the bouffant she'd sported on stage. Her expression almost matched that of Blake's in terms of surprise when she spotted her newest fans, before recognition surged through her mind.

"Well, I'll be damned," she said quickly. "Anyone want to help take my drums off stage for packing up?"

"I'll give you a hand," Sage volunteered, still amazed at the fact Yang's speaking voice was much lower than her singing voice.

"Glad to hear it," Yang replied with a bright smile, before opening her cymbal bag. No sooner had Sage and Yang started to dismantle the drum set than the last two members of the band emerged from the changing rooms in the wings. Like before, Weiss had her waist-length alabaster locks parted in the centre and pulled behind her back in a high ponytail, but now wore a white skirt suit with brown boots as she pushed up the first of three large flight cases for the band's equipment.

As for Ruby, she now wore a red sweater and denim overalls over her canvas shoes, her auburn hair cut just above the chin and parted down her left side. She managed to push the other two cases out by herself, her strength belying her size considerably as she came to a stop. Invariably, she and Weiss both did a double take as they spotted the Yeatles, and both reacted predictably. Ruby smiled widely as she came over, while Weiss mischievously batted her eyelashes at Neptune as she followed her bandmate.

"Fans of ours, I take it?", Scarlet soothingly started.

"You bet we are!", Ruby chirped, her Estuary accent matching her sister's in every regard except pitch. "It's great to meet you all!"

"The feeling's mutual," Neptune replied as he shook Weiss's hand. "I especially like your choice of keyboards, Weiss."

"Why thanks, Neptune," the svelte keyboardist replied in Queen's English with a coquettish smile. "And speaking of, would you like to help me pack them up?".

"Of course, Weiss," Neptune averred as the two of them approached the gantry of noise-making machines. Scarlet and Sun, meanwhile, packed down the band's coterie of amplifiers with Ruby, placing them in their foam slots within one of the flight cases. The second case saw a flurry of activity as Sage and Yang placed the latter's drum set within it, while the third harboured the Leslie speakers and mixing equipment Weiss had used, with the keyboards having individualised cases that sat in the wings next to Weiss's space.

In the space of ten minutes, the stage had been cleared, and both the Yeatles and RWBY were pushing their gear towards the loading bay. Awaiting them outside was a purple Ford Econoline Club Wagon, sitting next to a blue Ford Thames 400E van. Blake snapped to attention as her bandmates and idols arrived, and opened the rear doors of the two vans. Sun was stunned to see Blake's legs encased in jeans and black boots, with the purple turtleneck sweater setting off her own bouffant. Before Sun started to drool, Neptune took the lead.

"How do we load up these vans, Blake?", Neptune asked politely.

"Drums and guitar stuff goes in my van, along with the wardrobe," Blake responded while tapping the purple van, "while everything else goes in Weiss's van."

"Got it," Neptune avowed, before he and the others began to load up the vans. Two minutes later, RWBY's involvement with the gig had finally ceased. As soon as the vans were closed, Sun spoke up.

"How long have you four been a band?"

"For two years," Ruby piped up, "but we only started gigging ten months ago."

"Unsigned?"

"Unfortunately," Yang admitted, "though we've started to play gigs where talent scouts have begun to approach us for deals. Our music's a bit ahead of the times, though, and record executives aren't fond of that."

"Fortunately for you, we are," Neptune confidently affirmed. "We'd dearly love to have you ladies come in to do a recording session or two under our watch. We can convince our label to sign you up if we have something concrete to show them."

All four of the ladies exchanged wild, disbelieving glances, before Blake regained her composure and stood forward.

"We'll take you up on that offer," she said with her hand extended.

Sun shook it. "Glad to hear it. Would next Saturday at noon work for you all?"

A/N: This chapter had the working title of "Gear Porn", for what it's worth.

Anyway folks, here's a brand new fic I've been working on for a couple of months or so. I've been longing to do another music fic since I published The Singer and the Photographer, and I've finally managed to find the creative energy to develop this 1960's idea further. Team SSSN are meant to be the AU's equivalent of the Beatles; no surprises there, of course. And yes, I did rename them after the word "yeet"; sue me.

As for the cover art, that was created using the Flash program HeroMachine 3. I made full body shots of the four girls with their instruments and outfits, then used MS Paint's cropping and text to pull off the final result - which is meant to be the cover for the in-story album RWBY make.

The next chapter won't be released until the New Year. Stay tuned!