Hi guys! If you're returning, then the wait is over! The sequel is here! If you're new, I highly recommend reading A Neo Outlook on Life before continuing, but I did my best to kinda sum up the important parts. So yeah, here we are! It's amazing how big this story has gotten, and I hope I can live up to that. It felt a little odd to start this off again since I've gone past all given canon, and I'm going forward with my own plot, canon, story, etc. It's a little daunting, but I know I can do the show justice. Anyway, I'll shut up now. Love you guys. Enjoy. :)

Chapter 1: A Triumphant Return

The sun began to set over the horizon, dipping down below the line of the ocean and sending a beautiful array of colours through the sky. It was the last day of summer vacation for students attending Beacon. Many of them were taking tonight to relax and reflect on their summers, think about last year, and smile while they thought about the new year would bring. Two girls in particular were standing out on the balcony of their beach house, leaning over the railing and taking in the magnificent sight of the fading light. For them, reflection on the past year was even more meaningful than it was to other.

"Weiss, do you ever wonder what life would be like if things were different?" Neo asked, her mind going back to a day that began devoid of hope, but ultimately turned into the greatest day of her life.

The heiress turned and gave her a confused look, "Different how?"

"Like, what if Cinder hadn't thrown me out that day? What if Yang and Blake had just offed me in the alley instead of taking me to Ozpin? What if Ozpin had turned me in to the police instead of admitting me to Beacon? I wonder sometimes... What if I was still with them?"

"Well, here's what I think," Weiss smiled, leaning over and giving her fiancee a peck on the cheek. "I think with how far you've come after all of that, there's no way you would've stayed with them. You're too good at heart."

Neo chuckled, "True, but Beo wasn't." It felt weird to remember her sister personality now. Ever since their fight for control in her mind, Beo hadn't show up at all. It was definitely a relief to be in total control, but there was still a part of her that missed her.

"I suppose, but even she had a sweet side. What brought this up anyway?"

"Just thinking," Neo shrugged. "It's kinda hard not to." Weiss took a step closer and put her arm around Neo's shoulders, giving a comforting smile. She went to say something, but someone else beat her to it.

"Hey, we offered to let you come back," Mercury grinned from the doorway. He still liked to joke about the past.

Neo turned around and stuck out her tongue, "Did you though? All you and Em said was that she felt bad. I don't think you said she'd take me back."

"Oh please, of course she would've. But you said no. We said she wanted you back, but you turned us down. You'd been at Beacon for all of a day and you were already adamant to stay. Say what you want, but you've definitely got some good in you."

"He's right," Emerald added, stepping out into view from behind him. "And so is Weiss. You were always the good one. I think you would've switched sides regardless. It's Merc and I who should be worried about what would've happened otherwise."

Weiss smiled, "Hey, you could've just killed us like Cinder wanted, but you didn't. You've got some good in you too. I think you're right in doubting Mercury's moral compass though. No offense."

"None taken," the silver-haired boy said with a shrug. "I like to think I would've helped you too."

"You tried to kill us when we escaped!" Neo laughed. "Don't give me that."

He smirked, "True... But I came over in the end, didn't I?" Even though it was true, he was certainly the most unpredictable out of them. They all knew his loyalty usually stayed with whoever had the most perks. But, at least in the past few months, that seemed to have changed.

"Only because you couldn't get away," Emerald pointed out. "Remember when we met you at the loading docks? You looked like-"

"Alright, alright, let's change the subject," Mercury interrupted. "This is the last day of summer, isn't it? We've got a whole new year ahead of us. Let's talk about that."

Neo smiled, "Agreed. So what're you guys looking forward to the most?"

"Seeing Yang," Emerald immediately replied, starting to blush. "I miss her."

Mercury rolled his eyes, "We had everyone over last weekend! It's been all of a five days since you've seen her."

"So? We only started dating at the end of the school year. It's hard to have a new relationship if you hardly ever see each other. Anyway, I'm interested to hear your answer now. What're you excited for?"

"Um... I dunno," he shrugged. "Sparring class? Kinda miss fighting."

"I'm looking forward to get back to training in general," Weiss chimed in. "What about you, Neo?"

Neo smiled, "I'm looking forward to starting the year off right. No special treatments, no gimmicks, just going to school as a normal girl like everyone else. I'm ready to start making a difference."

"I dunno about you, but I think we made a huge difference," Emerald replied, not sure exactly what Neo meant. "We stopped Roman and Cinder, didn't we? The media pretty much called us heroes for saving the Vytal Festival."

"Well, yeah, but it was also kinda our fault that that happened in the first place." Everyone laughed, and eventually turned their gazes back out over the ocean. The sun had just slipped below the horizon and the hues in the sky had all but faded. Still, Neo found a comfort in looking into the growing darkness. She knew that the next time light shined through, she'd see it fall on Beacon.

Later that night, Neo and Weiss were lying in bed back in their room, and Neo was acting very distant. She was the little spoon tonight, and wasn't being very responsive when Weiss nuzzled up to her. "Neo? Are you okay?" the heiress asked after a moment.

Neo sighed, "Weiss... am I good person?" She still couldn't shake her thoughts from earlier about herself and Cinder. It wasn't that she wanted to think about it, but it kept crawling back to the front of her mind no matter how much she tried to bury it.

"Of course you're a good person. Why wouldn't you think that?"

"I've done a lot of terrible things..." Neo quietly replied, feeling a tear starting to roll down her cheek. She hated remembering those parts of her past, but she couldn't seem to escape them. The memories kept flooding back into her mind. "I've killed a lot of people..."

Weiss frowned and pulled Neo even closer to her, "Think of how many people you've saved. There were tens of thousands of people at the festival. I guarantee you've saved fifty people for every one you've taken out."

"I don't see it like that," Neo said, her voice cracking while she rolled over to face Weiss. "They were all good, innocent people... Soldiers, store owners, civilians... The things I did to them..."

Weiss could see Neo was about to cry, and refused to let it happen. She smiled and pulled her into a kiss, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl's shoulders and trying to make her forget about anything else. "Neo, you're a good person," she said as soothingly as she could. "Your past isn't who you are. You are. And you're the most wonderful person I've ever met. Don't ever forget how far you've come."

Neo blushed and started to smile, "Thanks, Weiss. I love you."

"I love you too. Now, let's get some sleep. We'll be needing it."

The next morning came incredibly early for the four of them. It was an eight hour flight back to Beacon, and since they had to be there by five o'clock, they were under a bit of a time crunch. Luckily, Weiss being Weiss made getting through the airport much faster. They boarded their flight and sat in first class, and Neo could feel her excitement growing. Usually the sound of the engines roaring to life gave people butterflies for a whole different reason, but for Neo they were in anticipation for getting back to the school that she knew as her home.

'Alright, here we go,' she thought happily, watching the ground steadily shrink out the window. 'I can't wait to be back at school. Not that vacation isn't nice and all, but I like having things to keep me occupied. That and training and stuff is really fun. I hope the missions they let us go on this year are more exciting though. I'm all for safety, but I'm ready to kick some serious bad guy ass.'

She ended up dozing off not long into the flight, as did the rest of the group, and when she opened her eyes again she could see Beacon's shining towers off in the distance. "Weiss, Weiss! Look!" she exclaimed while elbowing the heiress awake.

"Stop it!" Weiss growled, very unhappy to be awoken so rudely. Her glare softened when she followed Neo's finger and looked to see what she was pointing at. "Oh wow! We're almost there!"

Mercury stirred from his chair, "Can you keep it down, please? Trying to-"

"Get up!" Neo interrupted. She grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him until he didn't have a choice and finally opened his eyes. Emerald was woken up in the process as well and gave a wide yawn while she watched Neo and Mercury get into a bit of a slap fight.

Weiss rolled her eyes and gave the two a light smack on the back of the head, "Knock it off! Can you at least pretend to be adults for a few minutes?"

"Nope," Neo chuckled before looking back out the window. The light in her eyes only grew the closer they got. The airship docked and let them all off, and they rushed into the main courtyard to see if any of their friends had arrived. Sure enough, three familiar faces were waiting to greet them.

"You're here!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing forward along with Blake and Yang to pull the four new arrivals into a big group hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Yang smiled and looked at Emerald, "Me too! You in particular." Emerald blushed when they shared a quick kiss, getting a few laughs from everyone.

"So how was your flight?" Blake asked. "There was a lot of turbulence on ours. Jaune threw up a lot."

Mercury shrugged, "Ours was alright. Could've slept a little longer, but that's just me."

"Oh shut up," Neo replied, sticking her tongue out at her teammate. "It was great! And now we're all here! Well, almost all of us. Where's Jaune and the rest of team JNPR? What about Penny?"

Ruby nodded, "Team JNPR went up to their dorm. I think they're unpacking already. I don't know about- PENNY!" She squealed with delight and ran past everyone back in the direction of the docking point, which they all took to mean that Penny had just gotten in.

"Hi Ruby!" the ginger girl excitedly greeted Ruby, wrapping her in a tight hug. "And salutations, friends and teammates! Are you ready for a wonderful new year of school?"

"You bet!" Neo cheered, along with Weiss and Yang. "How was your summer?"

"It was wonderful! My father let me do a lot of new training exercises, and I've even gotten a few upgrades to my main systems! I'm faster, stronger, and more combat ready than ever!"

Emerald grinned, "Then we should have no problem taking the top of the leaderboards this semester. Maybe even-"

Professor Ozpin's voice suddenly interrupted her as it came over the loudspeakers, "Would all second year students please make their way to the main hall at this time. Your briefing will be given in fifteen minutes."

"That's us!" Ruby exclaimed. "Come on, let's go!"

Neo looked confused, "Briefing? What briefing?"

"For second year initiation. Oh, right, you weren't here at the start of last year. We were sent into the forest to find chess pieces, and that's how we got put in our teams. I don't know what it'll be for this year though. Probably just a training exercise to get us back in the game."

They took the short time until they needed to report in to drop their luggage off in their new dorm. They meet up with team JNPR along the way and had another round of hugs and greetings before hurrying to their meeting. The three teams stood together near the back since they were a little late, but were just in time to see Ozpin walk up to the microphone.

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to Beacon," the headmaster warmly greeted them. "All of you have successfully passed your first year at this academy, and are now prepared to take the next step towards becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses. As you may recall, we began last year with an exercise that placed you into the teams you've spent the last two semesters with. This year we'll be giving you a similar task, but you'll learn more about that tomorrow morning. Until then you should rest, reconnect with your friends, and brace yourself for the difficult morning to come."

Ruby looked almost worried as Ozpin walked off, "Uhh... That was even more ominous than last year... Should we be afraid?"

"Nah," Yang shrugged. "I think we took on the best the forest had to offer last year. What more could they throw at us?"

Jaune just shook his head, "Don't jinx us. I'd rather not ride another Deathstalker if I can avoid it."

The crowd of students soon dispersed, and the first priority on most people's minds was dinner. Naturally, team RWBY, JNPR, and NEMP took that time to talk and laugh about their summer vacations. Even though they'd all gotten together earlier in the week, there was something more fulfilling about sharing their memories and experiences here at school. The night wore on, and they ended up being the last group of people to leave the dining hall. They probably would've stayed there long into the night, but eventually the staff had to close the hall, and they needed to get some sleep anyway.

All of their dorm rooms ended up being in the same hallway, so walking back and saying goodnight was made much easier. Neo also liked it because it meant they'd be able to hang out all the time, and Weiss would always be a just door away. In fact, quite a few of them enjoyed the arrangement for that reason. After getting inside, she and the rest of her team unpacked and did a bit of decorating and reorganizing to make it feel more familiar and welcoming. By the time they were done they were more than ready for bed, and few quick showers later, the lights were off and sleep was setting in for most of them. Neo was the only one still laying wide awake.

'Okay, just relax and get some sleep,' Neo told herself, tossing and turning for a bit before finding a comfortable position. 'How bad can tomorrow really be? It's just the forest. Nothing scarier than anything else I've fought, right...? Right. There's nothing out there that can take us down. Get ready, team NEMP is back.'

She finally managed to drift off to sleep, and dreamt of her time back with Cinder. It wasn't anything specific, just her, Emerald, and Mercury back before everything had happened. She didn't know it was a dream, but she did feel like something was wrong. There was a sense that she was out of place, or just shouldn't be there. The dream eventually passed and the night went on, and she was woken up the next morning by a gentle shake on her shoulder. Grumbling from the disturbance, she turned over to see Penny standing above her with a smile.

"Good morning, Neo!" she said with more energy than the rest of her teammates combined. "Are you excited for our mission today?"

Neo groaned and wrapped herself back in her covers, "Yeah, that's one word for it..." She finally got up, along with the rest of her teammates, and started getting dressed and ready for the day. She could feel her anxiety returning about what could be in store for them, but that wasn't the only thing occupying her thoughts. Her dream from that night was still fresh in her mind. On one hand she was relieved that being back had felt so wrong, but part of her was afraid that it had some deeper meaning. Nevertheless, she tried to push it aside and stay focused. After all, she had a feeling she'd need to be.

"So what do you think we'll be doing today?" Emerald asked before she flopped back onto her bed.

Neo shrugged, "I dunno, but I'm guessing it won't be as easy as we hope it'll be."

"Well I think we'll do just fine!" Penny said with her usual brand of cheerful confidence. "There's nothing team NEMP can't do!"

Mercury smirked, "Not true. We can't show our faces in Verdentown."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Long story," Emerald replied with an exasperated sigh. "It's Neo's fault. She was the one who made the chandelier fall from walking on it."

"Bite me," Neo grinned. "I took out the target, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and about a dozen other people. Not one of them being the armed guards. Remember how many bullets we had to dodge?"

Mercury shrugged, "Wasn't that bad. Atlas Intentional Shipyard was worse."

"Oh God," Emerald groaned. "How was I supposed to know that's what was in that shipping crate? It could just as easily have been filled with pillows!"

"Are you two finished?" Neo cut in, despite her love of watching them argue. "We need to head out soon if we're gonna be on time."

They met up with team RWBY and team JNPR in the hallway after everyone had finished their morning routines, and grabbed a quick breakfast before making their way to the same spot they'd had their initiation last year. It was the first time being here for team NEMP, so it carried the same sort of intimidation as it had for everyone else before. The high cliffs and dense, dark expanse of forest below didn't serve as any comfort to them. On top of that, they could hear the various calls and distant grunts from whatever creatures were lying in wait in the shadows.

Professor Ozpin stood waiting as the students slowly filed in. He was soon joined by Professor Goodwitch, and once everyone had arrived he decided to get started. "Good morning," he greeted them. "Now then, I suppose I should reveal your task. Similar to last year, you'll all be launched out into the forest at different speeds and headings to split you up. Your objective is to team up and retrieve an artifact at the base of a deep canyon to the east. However, this will not be as easy as last time. The obstacles you will face cannot be defeated alone, in pairs, or even by a single team. That being said, you'll not be given a way to find your current teammates. Find who you can, group up, and take on these foes to complete your task."

Glynda nodded, "The goal of this exercise is to test your ability to react and fight with people you may not have before. It's very likely that in your professional career, you'll need to work with other teams at a moment's notice, and part of that is knowing when to step up, when to act, and, most importantly, when to step down. It is very likely that multiple team leaders will find each other, and that groups will form without any preappointed leaders. It is up to you to decide how to structure yourselves, and how to proceed."

"Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked, looking over the mix of frightened and nervous faces. "Excellent. Good luck."

I hope you guys are ready for an action packed chapter two. ;) I hope you liked the chapter, be sure to follow, favourite, and review!

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