Chapter 44: The First Act

Yoooo! It's the hype conductor, The Draigg here! Ready for a song! I wager that you are! Now, if I don't mention the legal stuff about songs and shows, I'll get sued. The law is a cruel mistress that way. Anyway, I don't own RWBY, or any song that I put in here. Now, let's face the music, and get to reading this story!

Weiss was nearly blinded by the stage lights as she stepped out onto the front of the stage. The reaction of the crowd was mixed. Most of them were a little wary of the show, since the last performance they went to was the PSA. That show scarred most of the student in some way or another. But, on the other hand, the crowd cheered a little. It WAS a concert, after all. It would be weird if they didn't cheer and clap.

"Wow. I'm really doing this.", she couldn't help but think. It was astounding to her that she was going to share her hidden talent to Beacon. If it wasn't for Ruby, then she would have still hidden this part of her. Weis would have to thank Ruby later for that.

Flipping on her microphone, she said into it, "Hello, Beacon!". The crowd roared back in response. Ruby had to coach Weiss how to pump up the crowd when she practiced the other day. So far, she wasn't doing that bad of a job. The crowd was certainly ready for a song.

"Are you ready for a show? Let me hear you!", she cried, holding out the microphone out to the audience.

The crowd sounded a large, "YEAH!", in response. This crowd was being surprisingly good. Nobody could escape the infectious mood of a concert.

"Okay, let's do this! Hit it, you guys!", she shouted into the microphone. Hearing Weiss' voice, Ren started to play the first song on the list. Even he could feel a small spark in his heart as it began to play. There was an inkling of pride deep in his mind that he was doing something awesome.

Weiss tapped her foot to the beat of the song, and then raised the microphone up to her lips. She then started to sing.

"Waited for your call, for the moon/To release me from the longest afternoon
I've re-arranged parts of my living room/But time is hard to kill since I met you"

"Looking at the cars that drive on by/While spring is making promise outside
Red cars are quite rare I realize/Then I wonder which color you like"

"Seven little numbers baby, they could be a start
Seven little numbers baby, I know yours by heart"

Weiss twirled around on stage, a small pep in her step. She felt so alive there on stage, singing.

"Woo-oh, oh-oh, all the pretty things that we could be/Woo-oh, oh-oh, I feel you in every heart beat
Woo-oh, oh-oh, were you ever in a dream that could come true/These numbers could be lucky for you"

"Watch the sky change to a darkened blue/I can't think of another thing to do
And every song just makes me think of you/Because the singers sounds as if she was longing,
As if she was longing, too"

The audience clapped to the rhythm of the song, while Weiss tapped her foot in a metronome.

"Seven little numbers baby, they could be a start/Seven little numbers baby, I know yours by heart
Seven little numbers baby, they could make a change/Seven little numbers baby, make a fire out of this flame"

"Woo-oh, oh-oh, all the pretty things that we could be/Woo-oh, oh-oh, I feel you in every heart beat
Woo-oh, oh-oh, were you ever in a dream that could come true/These numbers could be lucky for you"

"I read your name on every wall, on every wall, tell me/Is there a cure for me at all, for me at all, tell me
I read your name on every wall, on every wall, tell me/Is there a cure for me at all, for me at all"

"Woo-oh, oh-oh, all the pretty things that we could be
Woo-oh, oh-oh, I feel you in every heart beat
Woo-oh, oh-oh, were you ever in a dream that could come true
These numbers could be lucky for you"

The microphone was pointed out to the audience, as Weiss wanted them to participate as well. Since they were fully in the mood, they filled in the words themselves, along with Weiss.

"Woo-oh, oh-oh/Woo-oh, oh-oh
Woo-oh, oh-oh/These numbers could be lucky
These numbers could be lucky for you"

As the song finished, Weiss walked along the edge of the stage, encouraging the audience to cheer. Their sheet glee showed as their cheers grew louder.

"Woo!", Weiss cheered into the microphone. She was starting to feel the love of the audience. So, Weiss decided to express her own joy along with them.

"I'm glad you all came out here tonight! I'm Weiss Schnee, and I'm so honored to be singing for you tonight!", she said to the crowd. In response, the crowd clapped for her.

Weiss bowed to them, and then said, "Come on, we're going to get all of Beacon to sing with us! Can you do that for me?".

Once again, the roars of the crowd sounded in a collective "YEAH!".

Backstage, while Weiss was talking to the audience, Ruby couldn't help but be impressed by her stage attitude. It was if she was born to do this. Weiss was a real natural, unlike her.

"Wow! She's doing really good!", Nora commented. Pyrrha and Ren nodded in agreement. Weiss was a good entertainer.

Velvet and Juane were absolutely in their Zen zone, so, they instead focused on the stge, rather than the person on it.

"Okay, we're done with 'Little Numbers'. Up next is 'Call Me'.", Velvet said to Jaune, relaying what the program outlined.

"You hear that? Ready the lights and music.", Jaune ordered to his team. Pyrrha lowered the lights. This song was meant to be a little lower key and personal. The dim lighting would do the mood some good.

Ren selected the song on the soundboard and set it to play.

Back on stage, Weiss was still talking to the audience. She was buying time for the guys backstage to get the song to start playing. Luckily, she had no problem dealing with the audience. It surprised her how natural it felt, even though this was her first time doing this.

"Okay, ready for another one? Call your friends! They'll love this!", she exclaimed into the microphone.

As the lights dimmed, she knew that the next song was going to play. She actually liked 'Call Me'. It resonated to her on a personal level, somehow. So, she settled in as the lights dimmed further, and the audio track kicked in.

Weiss began to sing:

"I close my eyes and I keep seeing things
Rainbow waterfalls/sunny liquid dream"

"Confusion creeps inside me raining doubt
Gotta get to you/But I don't know how"

"Call me, Call me/Let me know it's alright
Call me, call me/Don't you think it's 'bout time
Please won't you call and"

Weiss paused slightly, as to add emphasis to the next word.

"Ease my mind"

"Reasons for me to find you/Peace of mind
What can I do/to get me to you"

"I had your number quite some time ago
Back when we were one/But I had to grow"

The crowd was quieter as she sang. Since this was a slower song, some of the audience members started to sway to Weiss' singing.

"Ten thousand years I've searched it seems and now
Gotta get to you/Won't you tell me how"

"Call me, Call me/Let me know you are there
Call me, call me/I wanna know you still care
Come on now won't you"

Weiss paused longer this time, so she could belt out the next lines even louder.

"Ease my mind"

"Ease my mind/Reasons for me to find you
Peace of mind/Reasons for living my life
Ease my mind/Reasons for me to know you
Peace of mind/what can I do
to get me to you"

As Weiss dropped the microphone from her lips, the crowd erupted into cheers and claps. Weiss beamed from all the praise she was getting. It was nice to know that her talent was something to be proud of, not something to hide away from the world, like her family had taught her to do.

"Wow!", she said to the crowd, "You guys are great so far! I love all this energy you have! Let's keep it up!".

As the crowed cried out in mirth, Weiss then called out, "Do you guys have your noise saved up? I do! But, I need some help on this. Come on out, Ruby!".

What the plan was is to have a duet around here. However, Ruby sure was taking her time getting out on stage. Weiss thought she would be chomping at the bit to get out there. What was taking her so long? She had to buy some time for her to come out. So, she started to ad lib with the audience.

Ruby felt paralyzed in place. Her breathing grew rapid, and her sweaty hands clenched and un-clenched. Why were her nerves failing her now? Maybe she was afraid that she would fail, now that the show had started.

"What's she doing?", Jaune barked, "Get her out there!".

Yang took her sisters hands onto her own, and started to rub them in small circles.

"Shh, shh, it's fine, Ruby", Yang comforted. "Weiss is out there, waiting for you. Just show her your love through song!", she then suggested.

"I-I-I can't believe it…', Ruby stuttered, staring off into space. The full weight of the show was starting to crash down on her. After all those weeks of getting ready for this, the full notion of what was happening occurred to her.

"I don't think she's in any state to sing.", Blake observed. That was certainly true. If she couldn't even talk without stuttering, then she couldn't sing. But, Weiss already called her out there. Jaune paced around them in a state of worry. They needed to think of something. QUICK.

"Well…", Velvet thought aloud next to Jaune. "We COULD just move onto the next song.".

"But, she just can't not go on stage! We need her out there!", Jaune protested.

"What if she just plays an instrument up there?", Velvet asked him. Jaune's eyes widened in response. That was a good idea! That way, they could save face, and still have Ruby out there.

Yang nodded at the idea. It made sense to her. Turning back to Ruby, she asked, "Think you can go out there? You don't have to sing.". Ruby weakly nodded in response. Yang let go of her hands.

Shoving a tambourine in her empty arms, Velvet urged Ruby on. "Go out there. You can do it.", she said.

Ruby took a tentative step out of the backstage, and walked up to Weiss. She had just finished telling the audience how much work they put into this show.

Noticing Ruby by her side, she announced, "And here she is! Our Ruby Rose!". The crowd erupted into cheers at her name. They heard all the blood, sweat, and tears she put into this show.

Holding the mic away from her, Weiss whispered to Ruby. "What are you doing?".

"T-the next s-song.", Ruby whispered back. Weiss looked at her confused. They were skipping the duet? Sure, Weiss could roll with that. It was just odd to her that they were going to skip a song like that. But, looking into Ruby's eyes, she saw the reason why. They looked bloodshot, darting all around her. Her nerves were fraying.

Nodding, Weiss turned her attention back to the crowd. "Let's all give Ruby some of our spirit! Come on!", she yelled into the mic.

The crowd grew louder, as their support for Ruby grew by the second. Weiss hoped that this would boost Ruby's confidence. It looked like her plan worked slightly, as she saw the corners of ruby's curl into the tiniest of smiles.

"Louder! Louder!", Weiss urged the audience. They obeyed her every word. By now whistles were being thrown into the mix as well.

That got Ruby to settle next tot Weiss, now a little more confident. These people loved her. They loved what she had done. She couldn't let them down. It was as if Beacon was becoming part of her family as well.

Ruby snatched the microphone from Weiss and said to the audience, "Awesome! You're all AWESOME!". The sounds from the crowd pounded at her ears. It was a sound of the greatest compliments.

"I'm so glad you could do this with us! Now, let's start!", Ruby cried, before handing the mic back to Weiss.

Taking the mic back, Weiss said, "You heard her! Let's do this!".

The lights flashed around the stage, as if the sun itself danced around the field the show was in. Ruby couldn't help but feel floored by what she was experiencing. This was everything she could have ever wanted. Here, in this moment, was the finale of her hard work.

As the audio track of the next song started to play, she could feel her body react to the instruments she was hearing. She could tell that Weiss was feeling the same feeling, since she looked as if she could walk on water.

Truly, the show had really started here.

Kept you waiting, huh? Well, the wait is finally over! The first chapter of the actual show is now over! I would like to give credit to the band Boy to the song 'Little Numbers', and to Yoko Kanno for 'Call Me'. Listen to them, they're great songs! Also, shout out to my editor, JimboYokimbo! He really help me! And be sure to tell me what you think of the show so far in the reviews section! This is The Draigg, signing off to work on the next act!