Chapter 14: A Little Early For An Encore

Swiggity swoogity, it's The Draigg here once again! Before I drop a sick chapter on y'all, I wanna give a shout out to my peep JimboYokimbo. He's helping me edit, so he's my homie. I should clear up that Monty Oum cranked out RWBY, not me. I also don't lay a claim to any media mentioned. Now, let's lay down some sick beats, yo!

When Weiss came back from the bathroom, the stage crew was enveloped in a lively debate. Well, most of them, anyway. Ren looked like he really needed some aspirin. He also kept on rolling his eyes. When Weiss made her way up to the stage, she could hear why.

"Maybe we could have Jaune rap!', Velvet suggested for an encore. That got her many confused looks.

"What makes you think I can even DO that?!", was Jaune's confused response.

"Well… because… you're you know… urban?", Velvet justified. For some reason, this conversation kept on being filled with awkward silences. This was no exception. Ren finally broke the silence.

"I don't even want to know your thought process on that one.". For once, everyone agreed with what Ren said. At least they listened to him this time.

"All I'm saying is that you look like you used to be a bloody hoodie of some kind.", was Velvet's defense. It was at this point that Team JNPR started to believe that this play was starting to fry Velvet's mind.

Looking on, Weiss wisely decided not to get involved. Instead, she walked back over to the snack table, where Ruby was slumped over in a nearby chair. She was looking quite ill. All the cookies she had eaten over the past week and a half were starting to take their toll.

"Weissssss….. my tummy hurts….", she groaned.

Weiss sighed. She told her repeatedly what would happen if she ate nothing but cookies and snacks for dinner. She had clearly crossed the line tonight. About ten packages of Little Red's Cheesecake Nibblers surrounded her, completely empty. Not even a crumb was left.

"I knew this would happen. Come on, let's go.", Weiss said, waiting for Ruby to stand up. Instead, Ruby reached her arms out to Weiss.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. She wanted to be carried? She really is childish. Weiss let out another sight. "All right, I'll carry you.", she complied.

Lifting up Ruby, Weiss tried to adjust her grip. In response, Ruby nestled further in Weiss' grasp. Despite being called an 'Ice Princess', Weiss actually felt pretty warm. Soon, Ruby relaxed in Weiss' hold.

"Thanks, Mommy…", mumbled Ruby. Then her eyes shot open, realizing her Freudian slip. "I mean Weiss!", she corrected.

Mommy? That was weird. Weiss tried to ignore Ruby's awkward gaffe. As she carried her down the hall, Weiss couldn't help but remember her own mom. It wasn't a happy memory.

The Schnee family wasn't always as cold as they are now. Sure, Mr. Schnee was always a little distant, but Mrs. Schnee used to always adore her daughter. Weiss could remember the times that they played in their estate's garden, with her mom naming all the types of flowers that grew there. But, as the White Fang's attacks on her family grew, her mom soured alongside her dad. It was subtle, starting with her mom not wanting to play with her as much. Eventually, it had gotten to the point that Weiss was lucky to see her at dinner.

So, she started acting out, hoping to get her mom's attention. Weiss didn't even care if she got into trouble; it was an even worse fate not seeing her. But no matter all the times Weiss ripped out her mom's prized flowers, no matter all the times she started bullying the wait staff, she would never arrive. Weiss often cried herself to sleep, wondering why Mommy didn't want her.

However, one day she spent all day sitting in the parlor, staring blankly ahead. Weiss thought that this was her chance. Maybe Mommy would want to play with her again! Walking up to her, Weiss started to pull on her skirt. "Mommy! Mommy!", she cried. Mrs. Schnee didn't respond.

Weiss kept on tugging at her skirt. Why wasn't she paying attention to her? Did she do something bad? She was starting to get scared. "MOMMY!", she begged. Weiss tried not to cry. Big girls didn't cry. Now she was getting desperate.

Weiss tried to crawl on her lap, hoping that would work. However, Mrs. Schnee shoved her off. 'Don't touch me, you little BRAT!", she finally yelled. Weiss had given up on repressing her tears. She sat on the ground, weeping. "Why, Mommy? Why don't you want me?", she cried. Mrs. Schnee didn't give her an answer. Instead, she gave an order to a nearby maid.

"Take her to her room. I don't want to see her.", barked Mrs. Schnee. She returned to staring at the wall. The maid picked up Weiss and took her to her bed. Weiss kept on crying all through the day. Was she a bad girl? Did Mommy hate her? She didn't know what she did!

It was only when she was older that she realized that was the day her aunt had been murdered, killed by a car bomb. It was confirmed to be a White Fang attack, but no arrests were made. Mrs. Schnee was never the same after that.

It was at this time that Ruby and Weiss made it back to the dorm room. Making her way over to her bunk, Weiss place Ruby down gently. Sitting next to her, Weiss held Ruby's hand. They remained like that for ten minutes.

Weiss finally asked, "Ruby? Why did you call me 'Mommy'?". Ruby looked embarrassed at the memory.

"I… umm… you kind of remind me of my mom.", was Ruby's answer. She blushed at her words.

"And how do I do that?", Weiss asked, now curious as to how.

"Well, my mom had a thing for white, for starters.", Ruby chuckled. But then she reverted into a sort of melancholy state.

"She… died a while ago. But I remember her looking out for me, a lot like you do. Telling me what's healthy, helping me with homework, all that stuff.", she explained.

Weiss could notice tears start to form at the corners of Ruby's eyes. Laying down, she pulled Ruby into a hug. "It's okay, you don't have to talk about it.", Weiss said, soothingly.

Ruby nodded, starting to cry. "Th-thanks. I-I miss her.", she sobbed. Weiss hovered her mouth over Ruby's ear.

"Did I ever tell you about my mom?", she whispered. Ruby shook her head. "Well…", Weiss explained, "She used to be like your mom. She used to watch out for me too. We used to play ALL the time in our garden. But… things changed.". Weiss swallowed hard. This was tough for her to get out.

"I saw her less and less every day. I thought I did something wrong, so I tried everything I could to see her again. But, there was nothing I could do. And… once my relatives started to die… I knew I couldn't get my mom back.". Weiss choked back tears. It was getting to be too much. She couldn't just break down every time she felt sorry for herself. She needed to be strong, not just for her own sake, but now for Ruby's too.

"I… I didn't know, Weiss.", Ruby in a low voice. She was wiping away her own tears.

"It's okay… I learned that as long as I had myself, I didn't need to cry.", Weiss replied.

Ruby grabbed Weiss' hand and intertwined her fingers with hers. She said, "But we have each other now. Even if you can't cry, I'll cry for you.".

Weiss was struck by her words. THIS is why she loved this girl. She had so much love for everyone. Even if Weiss was having a bad time, she wouldn't be afraid to share herself to make her feel better. "Thank you.", she whispered. They hugged each other tighter.

They stayed in that position until the next morning.

Meanwhile, stet up for the musical had just let out. Even though the group made no headway on what their encore should be, Velvet still held her head up high. They might finish set up a little earlier than she thought. So, when she opened the door to the office, she was practically elated to be there.

Sitting at her desk, she looked at the pile of unopened letters. She had gotten them, but since she was too busy on the musical, she never had the chance to open them. Now was probably the time to start reading them. She started to go through the ones from last week. There was nothing interesting, just extra applicant forms and reminders that it was her ass on the line if she messed this musical up. It wasn't anything she already didn't know.

When she got to the latest one, she froze. This one had Professor Ozpins' personal header on the envelope. Curious, she opened the envelope. A short letter was inside. It read:

Dear Ms. Scarlatina:

As you are aware, the Administration Office is quite aware of your Theater Club related activities. While the Beacon Academy staff is always supportive of the performing arts, I am afraid I must deliver some unfortunate news. In regards to your query of getting more team or student credits for your associates, I am afraid that that is simply not an option. Student credits are only available to full time club members, not for recruited volunteers. I am sure that your staff will understand the reasoning behind this decision. We look forward to watching your musical. I am assured that it will be appealing to the casual theater goer.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Professor Ozpin

Velvet slumped in her chair as she dropped the letter. This was bad. Very bad. "What if they leave? That was the reason they agreed to do this in the first place!", Velvet thought. She started to panic. If she told the crew about the credit issue, they might leave. But, if she hid the news from them, then what kind of friend would she be? It was like playing game theory with herself. How could she solve this issue?

Ouch! She felt a headache coming on. Massaging her temples, she mused to herself. "What should I do? What should I do?! Wait, what if I half reveal it to them? Aww, bloody hell. How would I even do that?".

In a frenzy, she typed a message for Jaune on her scroll. She said that it was a club member emergency, and that he was needed at the office right away. Sending it, she hoped that he could think of a solution.

It only took Jaune ten minutes to get to the office. The all caps, misspelled plea for help certainly made him moved faster than normal. When he knocked on the door, she practically ripped it of it's hinges getting it open. "We have a problem!", exclaimed a breathless Velvet. Before Jaune had a chance to react, she grabbed him and shoved him into the office.

Smoothing out his shirt, he asked, "What is it Velvet Oh, did the Faunus rights groups send more death threats?!". A look of terror flashed across his face. The Faunus, for some reason, were more offended than the other students after that disaster two months ago.

"No! We can't get anyone their credits!", said Velvet, her nerves starting to take over.

"Ohh…", sighed Jaune, his eyes dulling with unhappiness. "What should we do?", he asked Velvet.

"I… umm… I-I don't know!", exclaimed Velvet, her stutter coming back. Now her nerves were failing her. She conquered her stutter a while ago, trying to put on a brave face. It was failing now. Walking over to the desk, both Jaune and Velvet sat down. Velvet pulled at her ears, and Jaune couldn't stop rubbing his eyes. They practically had no other options.

"D-do you hav-ve any i-ideas-s?", Velvet begged. Her heart rate was launching upwards.

Jaune had a look of quiet solemn on his face. But, in his mind, he knew he had to live up to what had happened. Finally, Jaune decided, "I think we should just tell them.".

"I-is there a-any o-other way? A-anything?", begged Velvet.

"I can't see any other way, Velvs. We were the ones who gave them a chance, and we failed them. It's on our heads now.", Jaune said with a hint of defeat. This was a crappy situation, and both of them knew it.

After that, both of them sat in silence. It didn't matter if this hurt the Theater Club in any way. They felt like they let down Teams RWBY and JNPR. They made promises they couldn't keep. This was a low moment for them. Jaune and Velvet had no idea what to do anymore.

After all the work they put in, this is the way they thanked their friends? It didn't feel fair in the slightest. It felt slimy, not helping your friends when they helped you. Hell, without this musical, the Theater Club would probably fade away into nothingness.

Sighing in despair, Jaune stood up. No matter what, his friends had to face the facts. "I'll go break the news.", he announced. Someone had to do it. He figured it might as well be him. He did get them into this musical, after all.

Before Jaune walked through the door, Velvet asked, "W-what do you th-think will h-happen?". Her eyes revealed her inner sadness and desperation. Letting his shoulders fall, Jaune responded with what he felt:

"I don't know. I just don't know.".

With that, Jaune left, ready to face the music.

Ohh! Drama bomb! Be sure to send in some reviews to tell me what you think! And thanks for reading so far! This is The Draigg, signing off for this thing.