Chapter 48: Hitting The Fan

*Punch* Ooofff! I won't give in! I won't! All I'm telling you is that I'm The Draigg, and I don't own RWBY or any songs I put in my stories. That's all! You can send my fingers to my bosses, I won't say anything else! Now, just please, stop! Just read the chapter, like I told you!

Cardin Winchester was finally getting somewhere with his prank. He had finally managed to climb up to the top of the rafters completely unnoticed. He felt that it was pretty lucky that he didn't spill any of the pudding in the bucket, either.

He was currently perched over the stage, hiding behind a lighting rig. All the pieces were now set. Now, he just needed to dump the bucket on the Ice Queen's head at the right time. After all, timing was everything. Plus, he wasn't in any real rush. Cardin could afford to rest a little up there. He sure as hell earned it.

Man, this prank was going to ROCK.

Meanwhile, down on the stage, Weiss had finished the short chat to the crowd, and was ready to start singing again. Cracking her spine, Weiss prepared her voice for another song. Now that she thought about it, her throat was starting to get a little sore. She would kill for a throat lozenge.

Weiss began to prance around the stage, since this song was pretty upbeat sounding. After holding out her hand to the front row to touch, she skipped back to the middle of the stage and began to sing.

"And if I lost the map/If I lost it all
I fell into the trap/Then she goes"

"When you're tired of waiting you just/Find you never had to stop
Come on baby, don't let it break your heart"

"Those heavenly regrets/Still on me though
Trying to catch a cannonball/And so burning tired"

"Oh-oh-oh-oh through my veins is flowing/From a shipwreck I heard a call
Well she said"

"When you're tired of aiming your arrows/Still you'll never hit the mark
Oh-oh-oh even if your aims are shadows/Still we never gonna part"

"Come on baby don't let it /Break your heart
Don't let it break your heart/Don't let it break your heart"

"Don't let it break your heart"

As the sing faded away, the green and light blue lights moved across the audience, bathing the crowd in bright, pastel colors.

Cardin turned around, ready to dump the bucket. However, when he shifted his body to grab it, the bucked shifted and nearly fell off the scaffolding. Cardin moved to quickly to grab the bucket, and his momentum carried him over the edge, along with the bucket.

"Oh SHIT!", went Cardin's thoughts as he careened towards the back stage area. His great plot had been ruined by simple gravity.

"You win this time, gravity!", he shouted before he hit the ground. His cries were drowned out by the crowd's cheering.

Ren couldn't help but feel a little annoyed by now. Hadn't the tree costume caught on fire by now? He thought it would have, since dust was always reliable. He stood up and walked over to where the costume was.

In hindsight, maybe dust could be too reliable sometimes. Well, Ren didn't have much time to dwell on it, since not only was the tree costume was on fire, but the surrounding grass was too. Now he knew how Ruby felt when she accidentally blew up the botanical gardens.

Ren turned around to tell the others, but he was briefly interrupted when a large, heavy sounding figure crashed in front of the fire. It looked like it had a bucket grasped in it's fist. Well, Ren didn't cause that. But, it was still an issue to bring up.

Keeping his panic under control, Ren walked over to where the rest of his friends were working. Well, except for Ruby. She was taking a bathroom break. Those energy drinks were wreaking havoc on her bladder.

"Uh, guys? I think we have a slight problem.", he said, getting everyone's attention. Curious, the work group walked over to where he was gesturing.

"MY COSTUME!", Nora cried, dashing over to the burning pile. In the process, she trampled over the figure's legs by accident. That apparently got it out of it's quiet daze.

"GAHHH! MY LEGS! SHE BROKE MY LEGS!", came Cardin Winchester's voice. The bucket fell from his grasp. Normally, Nora would have grinned like a complete loon at the thought of doing that, but she was too busy grieving over the burning remains of the tree costume.

"Why?! Why would this happen?!", she cried, kneeling on front of the flames. That costume was so young! It was too early for it to die! Nora could remember the day she made it, as if it was yesterday.

"Uh, maybe Cardin lit it on fire.", Ren quickly said. Man, this was all too convenient of an excuse. It was if the universe was finally giving him a break for once. If they believed him, then Ren would get away with setting the fire scot-free.

Nora perked up at those words. As Nora stomped furiously over to where Cardin lied, Pyrrha and Jaune rushed over to the flames to stomp them out. Luckily, they got the fire out quickly, but the costume and nearby grass were unsalvageable.

"You. You did this!", Nora growled of Cardin. Cardin was too focused on his broken legs to give a proper response.

Instead, he groaned, "Broke… legs… GAHH!". He tried to clutch at one of them, but he was in too much pain to move. He wasn't really sure if they broke from the fall or if it was Nora's doing. All he knew is that she made it worse.

"You broke your legs?! I'LL BREAK MORE THAN THAT!", Nora cried, stomping on one of his shin bones. If it wasn't already broken, it certainly was now.

Cardin writhed around in pain, making inarticulate noises. Man, the world turned on him pretty quickly. Now, Nora tried to pounce on him, with a look of absolute murder in her eyes.

Luckily for Cardin, Blake, Velvet, and Yang managed to get Nora off of him. However, she wasn't going without a fight. Kicking and thrashing, Nora screamed, "I'll kill him! I'll DESTROY him! I'll crush his SOUL! GGGRRRAAHHHHHHHHH!".

After that, she began to whimper as the trio dragged Nora away from Cardin. She was sadder beyond words right now. What she needed was to have her friends comfort her. To Nora, the loss of the costume stung deep.

"We should have someone take him to the Medical Ward.", Jaune noted. Even if Cardin was a douchebag, Jaune always made sure to show compassion to his enemies.

Nodding, Pyrrha dragged the now moaning Cardin in the direction of the Medical Ward. Jaune could probably get Velvet to work the lights while she and Nora were indisposed. It couldn't be all too hard.

Without a word, Jaune walked off to find Velvet. Ren simply stood place after everyone had left the area. Scratching his head, Ren looked around, completely stumped. What the hell did he just watch?

Sure, the fire part was his fault, he knew that. But, he sure didn't see an enraged Nora try to murder an injured Cardin Winchester coming. Not in the slightest. Wow, the universe sure made the simplest plans pretty odd.

Regardless, Ren felt rather guilty for what he did. Sure, it was necessary, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still a cruel thing to do. He would probably make Nora a month's worth of pancakes to get her mood up. But, he probably shouldn't confess what he did just yet. She needed to calm down first. Otherwise, Nora would probably castrate him and play golf with his testicles.

But, having more pressing matters currently, Ren walked back over to the soundboard station. He would have to sort this all out later.

Ruby, coming back to the back stage a few minutes later, was incredibly confused at what she saw. For some reason, Nora was crying in a corner, being comforted by Blake and Yang. Jaune was coaching Velvet how to work the lights, and Ren was setting up the next song to play. And just where was Pyrrha, anyway?

Confused, she walked over to the nearest calm person, which happened to be Ren. Leaning on the soundboard, Ruby asked, "What did I, uh, miss?".

Ren didn't look up from his scroll as he replied, "Cardin got involved back here, and there was a small fire. All it destroyed was Nora's tree costume.". Well, that was a nice half-truth. It wasn't a lie that a fire destroyed the tree costume, and that Cardin somehow got involved. Ren just didn't say that he started the fire and pinned the blame on Cardin. So, he technically didn't lie.

Ruby scratched her neck and looked around. She was only gone for, like, less than ten minutes! How could all of that happen in that time?! She half-expected to have aliens invade the next time she went on a bathroom break. It would make as just sense as what Ren told her.

Ren turned back to his work, setting another song to play. Ruby simply walked over to the nearest chair, not knowing what to do. She sat down and observed what was happening around her. Well, at least Weiss was doing well out there. That was definitely a plus.

Weiss was a little confused as to why the lights weren't switching as the song began to play. But then, her curiosity was slightly calmed when she heard Jaune's voice buzz in her ear.

"Hey, uh Weiss? Just go on like normal. We have small situation back here. Just… yeah.", Jaune said, making his explanation quick. Weiss accepted what he said without hesitation. Her job was to sing, not to question whatever happened back there.

Weiss' mask of professionalism didn't slip as she began to sing the next song. She had a crowd of students to entertain, darn it!

"Look at the stars/Look how they shine for you
And everything you do/Yeah they were all yellow"

"I came along/I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do/And it was called yellow"

"So then I took my turn/Oh what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow"

"Your skin/Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful/You know you know I love you so
You know I love you so"

Weiss swayed along to the guitar in the song. She was sure that the audience was doing the same.

"I swam across/I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do"

"Cause you were all yellow/I drew a line
I drew a line for you/Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow"

"Your skin/Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful/And you know
For you I'd bleed myself dry/For you I'd bleed myself dry"

"It's true/Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you/Look how they shine for
Look how they shine for you/Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine"

Weiss lowered her head as she slowly sang the last verse.

"Look at the stars/Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do"

The crowd erupted into claps and whistles as the last words of the song escaped Weiss' lips. She couldn't help but smile at them. Sure, she was used to them clapping by now, but it was still very much appreciated.

Okay, she didn't much have to holdout for much longer until the finale. Only two more songs, then the rest of Team RWBY would come put for that foreign pop finale. Man, she really hoped that they would get whatever issue they had wrapped up by then.

"Hey uh, Weiss? Think you can buy us about… five more minutes to set up the lights?", Jaune asked through his headset.

Weiss accepted his task. To be honest, she liked talking to the audience. It made her feel like a real performer with fans whenever she did. So, she took her orders in stride. Hey, as long as they kept on schedule (for the most part), it was all good.

As far as Weiss knew, the plan was going mostly without a hitch. Yeah, this concert was not bad, not bad at all.

Ha! I've broken out of my restraints, you animals! Bet you didn't see that one coming! Before I drop you down this elevator shaft, you should know that the songs used in this chapter are 'Don't Let It Break Your Heart' and 'Yellow' by Coldplay. Whoops, I let go! See ya, hope you enjoy the trip! This is The Draigg, signing off to blow up you monsters and your base!