Chapter 49: Penultimate Act
Swiggity swoogity, I bet you're comin' for that story! It's your pal, The Draigg here, and I'm slingin' the latest chapter here for ya! Now, before we get started here, I should tell you that Monty Oum owns RWBY, and that I don't own any song ort whatever I write about in here. Now, my home skillet biscuit, let's get to some readin'!
While Weiss was talking still to the audience, the back stage area was in a whirlwind of activity. Since Nora was unavailable due to her freaking out at the burring of the tree costume, Velvet was being coached to be her replacement. Plus, Pyrrha couldn't join them anytime soon, since she had delivered a brutalized Cardin Winchester to the Medical Ward. She would be buried in paperwork for about two or so hours.
Also, Ruby, Blake and Yang were going over the foreign pop song that they were planning on singing for the finale. Or rather, it was more like Blake gushing over the song, while a lost and confused Yang and Ruby listened on.
"So then, the princess is running this school that teaches pacifism, but then some annoying girl with weird eyebrows comes along. She's the relative of that Duke guy, and she's being sent there to spy on the kingdom!", Blake explained in a single breath. Surprisingly, she had a high lung capacity when it came to stuff she was interested in.
"Blake, please.", Ruby begged, "You've been gushing about that show for five minutes now. Can we just get back to 'Rhythm Emotion'?". Yang nodded vigorously at her sister's sentiment.
The cat-eared girl gave a small huff in annoyance. But, she hadn't got to the part where she would explain why her fan pairings were supported by canon! They were real to her, damn it!
"Fine.", Blake eventually agreed. Picking up her print out of the song, she started to explain it to them.
"So, you probably know where your movement points are. And, as long as you pronounce the words mostly right, it really shouldn't matter if you stumble on them a little. Now, I'm guessing you guys know which parts you're singing?", went over Blake.
Yang and Ruby nodded in agreement. Both of them had a pretty good idea on what their roles were.
"Good. There, that ought to be good enough of a preparation.", Blake said, putting down the song. Settling in, she then said, "Now where was I? Oh, right. So then, the two pilots make it to the kingdom, and…".
Ruby and Yang tuned out Blake's rambling on that anime. Sure, it's where the song came from, but they didn't need to know the history of it.
The sisters strapped in for boredom. Well, at least Blake would stop talking once the finale was ready.
"—And I just bet this is the perfect date for you, huh?", Weiss asked a girl sitting in the front row. The girl nodded in response, wearing a large grin.
Weiss had been interviewing and talking to various members of the audience. It sure helped to buy time for the lighting problem to get solved. Plus, given the way Weiss had talked to the audience throughout the concert, this seemed natural for her to do.
All of the sudden, Jaune's voice came over Weiss' earpiece. "Good news. We got the lights back up. We should be playing the next song in a minute. Get ready.", he advised, before cutting off his feed.
Weiss needed to think of a way to transition from what she was talking about to the song. Thinking quickly, she said:
"Well, I'm glad that lovers like you can enjoy something like this tonight. In fact…", Weiss said, hearing the beat of the next song starting, "It reminds me of this song.".
Weiss stood in place as the lights dimmed, eventually narrowing to a single beam above her. She was bathed in a pale, golden light.
"Watching every motion in my foolish lover's game/On this endless ocean finally lovers know no shame
Turning and returning to some secret place inside/Watching in slow motion as you turn around and say"
"Take my breath away/Take my breath away"
"Watching I keep waiting still anticipating love/Never hesitating to become the fated ones
Turning and returning to some secret place to hide/Watching in slow motion as you turn to me and say"
"Take my breath away"
"Through the hourglass I saw you, in time you slipped away/When the mirror crashed I called you, and turned to hear you say
If only for today I am unafraid"
In the brief interlude, Weiss gazed over the crowd. She saw the girl she had talked to earlier swaying with her boyfriend. The girl had her eyes closed, leaning her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Internally, Weiss smiled. She and Ruby should do that if they went to a concert.
"Take my breath away/Take my breath away"
"Watching every motion in this foolish lover's game/Haunted by the notion somewhere there's a love in flames
Turning and returning to some secret place inside/Watching in slow motion as you turn to me and say"
"Take my breath away/My love, take my breath away..."
As the lights returned on stage, Weiss couldn't help but wave to the crowd. She also really liked that song. Maybe she was just a sap for sugary, over-romantic songs. Just like how she secretly liked sappy romantic comedy movies.
Great, now she just had one more song to go until the finale was to happen. But, as usual, she had a minute to spare until the next track started. So, she talked to the crowd once more. It was if this routine was becoming natural to her.
"I hope all of you couples in the crowd loved that! Can I hear a 'yes'?", Weiss asked before pointing the microphone to the audience. They answered with a resounding "YEAH!". Weiss noticed the girl from earlier shouting as well. She couldn't help but grin.
"Oh, you're simply too much!", complimented Weiss.
Before she could continue, however, the track to the next song began to play, and the lights changed to a vibrant green. The lights then moved around the stage in large circles. Clearly, this was going to be an upbeat song.
"You ready? Let's do it!", Weiss said before launching into the song.
"Hey baby won't you look my way/I can be your new addiction
Hey baby what you gotta say?/All you're giving me is fiction
I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time/I found out that everybody talks
Everybody talks, everybody talks"
Weiss briefly froze in place during the brief pause. But then, she danced across stage to the next verse, since it was more energetic.
"It started with a whisper/And that was when I kissed her
And then she made my lips hurt/I could hear the chit chat
Take me to your love shack/Mamas always gotta back track
When everybody talks back"
"Hey honey you could be my drug/You could be my new prescription
Too much could be an overdose/All this trash talk make me itchin'
Oh my my/Everybody talks, everybody talks
Everybody talks, too much"
"It started with a whisper/And that was when I kissed her
And then she made my lips hurt/I could hear the chit chat
Take me to your love shack/Mamas always gotta back track
When everybody talks back"
This time around, Weiss decided to plop herself on the edge of the stage. While she sat there, she touched hands with several members of the audience.
"Never thought I'd live/To see the day
When everybody's words got in the way"
"Hey sugar show me all your love/All you're giving me is friction
Hey sugar what you gotta say?"
Weiss sprung up, dancing along to the energy of the song. She was going to put in the last of her solo strength into this song.
"It started with a whisper/And that was when I kissed her
And then she made my lips hurt/I could hear the chit chat
Take me to your love shack/Mamas always gotta back track
When everybody talks back"
"Everybody talks, everybody talks/Everybody talks, everybody talks
Everybody talks, everybody talks back"
"It started with a whisper/And that was when I kissed her"
"Everybody talks, everybody talks back"
The song came to a sudden stop. It was an appropriate fit, considering all the brief beats placed throughout the song itself. Wiping sweat from her forehead, Weiss smiled. The crowd was going ballistic. Weiss couldn't help but think that all their hard work had amounted to something this awesome.
"What a song, right?", she asked into her microphone. The audience members roared, answering her question.
"I must say, I gave it my all up here tonight. I'm not sure I can go on…", Weiss said, placing the back of her free hand on her forehead. Hamming up her acting seemed to work well so far. It really got the audience pumped up for the next song.
"Heck, I just might need some help for the finale. What do you guys think?", Weiss asked, rhetorically. Of course, Team RWBY would be out on stage regardless. But, as experience as shown, it was okay to treat the audience like all of them were simple during a concert. It just worked that way.
Nobody knew where it started from, but quickly, a cry of "BRING THEM OUT!", spread throughout the crowd.
"BRING! THEM! OUT! BRING! THEM! OUT!", the large group of students chanted in unison. Weiss couldn't help but grin. Well, she was obligated to do just that, right?
Backstage, the rest of Team RWBY was assembled just at the edge of the curtain. When the previous song ended, they had rushed over with microphones in hand, ready to go out. However, their individual preparedness levels were unique amongst them.
Blake was trying not to have a small spazz attack. She was going to live out an idol anime! She knew this day would come! She KNEW it! All that was missing was the harem!
Yang tried to keep down her nausea. It was a good thing that she hadn't eaten in a few hours, or she would have vomit on her dress already. But man, it was still a bad idea to have had spaghetti for an early lunch today. It felt like a lead weight in her stomach. But, since the cafeteria cook made it according to his mom's recipe (allegedly), it was usually pretty good. Yang couldn't do anything about that decision now.
And finally, Ruby was feeling surprisingly serene. Since she had gone out on stage earlier, she know had a good idea of the audience's mood. All she needed to do was get over the hurdle of singing. But, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. After all, she had her girlfriend, her sister, and a cat-lady on her side. Ruby would make the audience proud. Then finally, her dream would be complete.
Walking up to them, Jaune made a quick comment in his headset. "They're about to come out. Get ready.". Then before facing the team, Jaune barked to Velvet, "And get those lights down!".
Turning his attention to Team RBY, Jaune only had a few words to say. "Good luck out there. Don't worry, I believe you can do it.". He then spun on his heel and headed off over to Ren to observe the sound board.
Muffled behind the stage, one could hear Weiss say, "Okay, let's bring them out!".
Ruby was the only one to say anything as the lights dimmed beyond the curtain. "Well… are you ready?", she asked to her friends.
How could they not be? All off the hours they put in, all of the drama, all of the sweat and tears had boiled down into this moment. If they weren't ready now, they never would be. It seemed like this moment hung in time, as the implications sank into Yang and Blake's minds.
Yang took a deep breath and said, "Yeah. Let's do this.". He face morphed into a cocky grin.
Blake nodded like a complete loon. Clearly, she was enjoying herself too much. "I'm as ready as possible.", she replied.
The time had arrived. Taking a tentative first step, Ruby pulled back the heavy curtain. The barrier between them and the clamoring audience was now gone. Walking beyond the threshold, Team RWBY was now completely on stage.
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang stood in their places as the lights brightened. Now that their collective figures were gathered together, the crowd of students cheered louder than before. Man, they were in for a treat.
The stage was set now.
The finale of Team RWBY's work was now at hand.
Oh man, oh god, oh man, oh god, oh man, oh god! Are you ready for the finale! I bet you are! But, while you wait for it to happen, you can listen to the sings I put in this chapter: "Take My Breath Away", by Berlin, and "Everybody Talks", by Neon Trees. Now, Gundam Fig—no, Concert Finale, all set… ready, GO!