Chapter 1: Monster

Qrow woke up at Eight in the morning, starting the day with a cup of coffee. Pouring his mug, he made his way to the living room to watch the television. Normally he'd turn it over to the news or the weather, truly a sign of his age, but he had a moment of hesitation as he remembered something one of his nieces told him. "Watch MoR TV tomorrow!" Yang had said happily over the phone. "Trust me! You won't regret it."

He shrugged. He wasn't much for music. Assuming MoR (Music of Remnant) still played music. He'd heard it was mostly reality shows with idiot celebrities now. Whatever, he thought, turning the TV on and turning straight to MoR TV. Would you look at that. They play music in the morning.

A casually dressed young woman stood smiling on a green screen set, the background made to say Listen to "MoR! Watch MoR! MoR TV!"

Effective tagline, he thought, having not watched the channel in years.

"-that was this week Number Seven of the Top Ten!" she said happily. "Moving on with the countdown, we have a brand new entry at Number Six! Hailing from Vale, this all-girls-rock-band met during their time at Beacon Academy, the prestigious college in the area."

Huh, Qrow thought. That's where Yang and Ruby went. He smiled. Must be one of their friends.

"Their debut album, Red, is predicted to be an outstanding success, set to release in less than two weeks. Coming in at Number Six is the first single from the album. Here's 'Monster' by RWBY."

Qrow nearly choked on his coffee. He stared intently at the screen and turned the volume up. You've got to be kidding me.

The video faded from the set to the black pre-screen of a music video with all consuming silence. Suddenly, the sound of drums kicked in, with the screen flashing in time with the beat until the footage stabilized and the guitars entered the fray. With the lighting now leveled out in the video, Qrow could see four girls; he recognized them all.

In the very back of the four was Yang, wearing a yellow tank top as she hammered away at the drums. To the left was Blake, one of Yang's and Ruby's friends, playing a black Rickenbacker bass guitar wearing jeans and an untucked black button up shirt. To the right was Qrow's other niece, Ruby herself, playing a cherry red Gibson SG with her personal rose emblazoned on the pick guard. Her hair bounced rythmically to the sound of the strings and the drums.

In the very front was Ruby's closest friend; Weiss Schnee. She wore gray jeans and a white blouse as she held the microphone before her, bobbing her head in time with the music.

As the sound leveled off for a moment, she opened her mouth and began to sing beautifully.

"His little whispers, 'love me, love me.

That's all I ask for, love me, love me.'

He battered his tiny fist to feel something!"

She dropped her head, her hair bouncing about as Ruby filled the gap in lyrics with her strumming.

"Wondered what it's like to touch and feel somethi~ng!

Monster. How should I feel?

Creatures lie here.

Looking through the window!"

The music bridged intensely, the four girls rocking their bodies in time. Qrow was entranced. He had no idea that his nieces were attempting to be professional musicians. Damn it, they're good, he thought.

Onward still went the song. Weiss leaned into the microphone now.

"That night he caged her.

Bruised and broke her.

He struggled closer.

Then he stole~ her!

Violet wrist and then her ankles!

Silent pain.

Then he slowly saw their nightmares were his dreams!

Monster! How should I feel?

Creatures lie here.

Looking through the window!

Time will~ hear their voices!

I'm a glass child!

I am Hannah's regrets!"

The camera focused on Ruby as she intently played the guitar, her hair swaying and her brow sweating. Yang's arms moved at incredible speed, and Blake was unbelievably focused. The camera panned back over to Weiss.

"Monster~." she sang.

The camera jerked back, and there was a microphone in front of Ruby as the two of them sang together now.

"Turn the sheets down!

Murder ears with pillow lace!

There's bathtubs~ full of glow flies!

Bathe in kerosene!

Their words tattooed in his veins~!

Ye~eah!"

The music stopped, and Qrow was stunned. It was seemingly to most amazing thing he'd ever seen or heard. To think that his nieces and their friends to do something so magnificent!

As the video faded out, the hostess came back on.

"And that was RWBY with their first single, 'Monster'. After the commercial break we'll get into the Top Five, but first we had a chance to talk to RWBY and ask them a few questions."

A transitional animation took over the screen and revealed a dark skinned man with a microphone sitting on a different set with a four person couch before him; seated on said couch was Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.

"So, how did you all come together?" he asked.

Ruby blushed sheepishly. "I, uh, kinda got accepted to Beacon a couple of years early due to my grades. I was in the same class as Yang, and on the first day I sort of, kind of, maybe pissed off a certain Schnee."

"If I remember correctly, you tripped and knocked over my luggage," Weiss said with a laugh. "I got upset and yelled at her, then a complete stranger to me. Another stranger approached to try and de-escalate the situation. That was Blake. And...that's the bizarre tale of how we all met."

The interviewer laughed. "What about music? Did you all already have a passion for it?"

"I'd sung a bit growing up," Weiss said. "But I didn't think to do it proffesionally."

"Growing up I always liked rock music, but I'm not that great at singing." Yang answered. "My fingers can't stretch either. So, my uncle bought me a drum set when I was thirteen." Qrow laughed, amazed that he was partly to blame for the magic that was unfolding before him.

"Ruby taught me to play guitar, actually," Blake stated. "From there, I decided that I'd prefer the bass. Bit by bit, what started as one or two of us goofing off in our shared dorm building turned into the idea of a band."

"What about the name 'RWBY'? I get that its the first initial of each of your names, but traditionally when naming a band like that the first letter is the name of the singer, or some such. Yet here, it's clearly Ms. Rose. Why is that?"

Weiss smiled. "We tried several different names initially. None of them quite fit us thought."

"I still think 'High Caliber Sniper Scythe' was a great name!" Ruby chimed.

"That...still doesn't make any sense," Weiss said with a frown. "But, anyway. We decided to use out initials. We tried different ways, and initially were going to use my initial, but 'WRBY turned out to not be a word. Since it was Ruby's idea to be a band in the first place, and without her we wouldn't be where we are now, we went with RWBY."

The host smiled, seemingly loving the answer. "And finally; your album, 'Red', isn't even out yet and you already have a small and excited fanbase awaiting its release. How does it feel knowing that you've done something rare? That you're popular right out of the gate?"

"It's intimidating," Blake said. "We didn't really expect to get anywhere with it, and we certainly didn't expect to facing such high expectations right from the get go."

"That being said," Yang added. "I think people will like the rest of the album as it's released. But, even if it bombs, we didn't do this for fame or money. We did it because we love it, and nothing will change that."

The video faded and commercials began to scroll across Qrow's screen. He smiled and grabbed his phone to call Yang.

Author's Note

"Monster" belongs to "Meg and Dia".I wrote this purely for the fun of it. I may do more. I may not. I don't know.

What do you think? Stupid concept? I dunno. I got bored before bed time. Do with this what you will.

Nighty night.

Till next time! :D