So first off, I have made several changes to earlier paragraphs. I hope to avoid having to do that in the future, so people don't have to go back and re-read stuff. It was mostly minor alterations, making sentences flow better and such. Main change was characters ages, making them all older. See chapter 1 for updated ages

Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, and I will probably have to make minor grammar changes tomorrow. Just didn't want to keep you guys waiting.

Second, again thank you to everyone who is supporting this fic. Hope to not let you down!

Third: trigger warnings: violence and abuse

Finally, to Neo: I am so sorry

Cover art commissioned and completed by jo3mm. You can find them on tumbler, under the same name.

Neo, Blake and Yang were sprawled out on the queen sized bed in Blake's room, each lost in their own thoughts. Blake and Yang were staring at Neo, who after offering to explain about her beginnings, had begged for a few moments to think before falling silent. That was half an hour ago, and both girls were growing impatient. But they knew better than to push the shorter girl.

Neo, on the other hand, was struggling with how to start telling her story. Her mind kept wandering, and she found focusing on any one topic hard. I never brushed my teeth, my breath probably stinks, she realized, I hope they don't mind. Shaking her head to dispel the unwanted thoughts, she looked at both girls before asking "How should I start?"

Blake took a moment to find her voice before responding "Start at the beginning. What's the first thing you remember?" As she asked this, she and Yang both sat themselves up, their full attention now focused on Neo.

Neo leaned back against the headboard, a sigh escaping her lips. Focusing her gaze on the girls now sitting in front of her, she noted that they were both hanging on her every word. They are not going to like this, Neo thought, but neither will I. But they need to know.

"Before I begin," Neo said, "I ask that you don't stop me once I start. I will answer any questions you have at the end, no matter what they are. I promise. But until I tell you I'm done, don't ask any questions, don't interrupt me, don't even touch me. These memories are painful to think about, and I don't want to lash out at either of you accidently."

Neo's voice was grave, flat, and emotionless. Her seriousness was obvious in the hard lines of her face, in the tightness of her expression. The atmosphere had the proper tone for such a painful topic, at least until Blake shot up and sprinted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. She emerged a minute later, her face apologetic. Yang looked at Neo, her face a mixture of surprise and fury, before turning to Blake and saying "Looks like urine trouble Blake." Blake's response was to smash Yang in her face with a pillow.

Neo, her patience gone, glared at both girls and asked "Are you done?" The unspoken threat in her voice was enough to quell the antics immediately, and they resumed quietly sitting. Neo continued to glare at them. "Can I start my story now?"

Seeing both girls nod, Neo drew another breath and calmed herself back down. She looked toward the wall and began her story. "My first memory is of an orphanage. It was an old brick building, run by the Catholic Church. They would take in young children, only under 5. Those whose parents died, or no longer wanted the responsibility of raising a child. Sometimes babies were abandoned on their doorstep. I was told that I was one such case, that my mother had left me there as soon as I was born. No identification, not even a birth certificate so I wasn't born in a hospital. Just a note with three simple letters, NEO. "

Neo took a calming breath, pausing for a moment. Her eyes had taken on a glazed expression, and her gaze had wandered over to the window on the far wall. But she saw nothing, her mind lost in memory.

"The only adults that were ever allowed there were nuns, the priest and any parents looking to adopt kids. Any time a potential adoptee walked in, we were lined up in the waiting room for their inspection. People came in every few months, but no one ever showed any interest in me. So for the most part the only adults in my life were old, traditional and strict. They fed us and provided a roof over our heads, but little else. Most of us were treated with some degree of compassion. I, however, was not one of the lucky ones. Most of them were either afraid of me or despised me. Because of my eyes."

At this point Neo took a moment to fix Blake and Yang with her gaze. They were understandably confused until Neo shifted her eye color from her traditional brown to pink, then to white before going back to brown. Blake and Yang had grown used to Neo's eyes staying as a constant shade of brown most of the time, so they had half-forgotten her eyes could shift color. Returning her gaze to the window, Neo visibly shuddered before continuing.

"Back then, I had little control over the shifting. It would happen all the time, without warning. Though I never heard it to my face, most of the nuns called me "freak, devil child, or monster." The other children ignored me or bullied me, so for the most part my time there was spent in isolation. I had no friends, Ihe bible and other books the orphanage had were my only companions. When I was 10, however, everything changed. One day a man visited the orphanage, a man by the name of Roman Torchwick."

Neo could still remember the first time she had seen Roman with perfect clarity. He was a tall man, with carrot orange hair and green eyes. Wearing an expensive suit and walking with a cane, he projected an aura of wealth and importance. He ordered everyone around like he owned the place, demanding this or that. And no one dared to tell him no.

"He was the first adult to visit in over a year, and like every other time we were lined up, waiting for his inspection. This time was a bit different however. Instead of asking any questions, he showed us a simple trick with a coin. He flicked it over his fingers, from index to pinky then back again. Then he told each child under 10 to repeat his trick. No one was able to, though I and three others came close. After testing everyone, Roman spoke briefly with one of the nuns before leaving. He returned the next day and "adopted" me and other three. I didn't find out till later, but the church had financial issues. Roman paid their bills, in exchange for them looking the other way and allowing a suspected criminal to take possession of four little kids."

"From there, he brought us to a warehouse, where about 100 children age 10 or under were gathered. We were one of the last groups to arrive, and once we were all there Roman explained why he had taken us. We were going to work for him, as pickpockets, lookouts, whatever was necessary."

Neo paused for a second, losing herself in the memory of that day. It was the first time she had felt true fear, the first time in her life she was afraid of dying. Roman had addressed the group, who were surrounded by his enforcers. The men, large and imposing, stared at the children as if they were worth less than the dirt beneath their feet. Roman, meanwhile, had stood above them, as he began to talk. His voice was uncaring, his words cold. "I have brought you all here because you have shown talent in the fine arts of criminality. So from now on you work for me. I say, you do. If you don't, or try to leave, well…."

As Roman trailed off, a side door opened and what could only be described as a mangled corpse was dragged into the room. It was the body of a 14 year old boy, who had one point might have been attractive, but his face was beaten so badly it was hard to tell. His arms and legs were covered in cuts, some deep and still bleeding. A low moan escaped his mouth, followed by what sounded like "please." Neo felt bile rise in her mouth, and had to force herself to not vomit at the sight. Others were unable to control themselves, and the sounds of regurgitation filled the warehouse.

"This is what happened to the last person that tried to run away." Roman stated. He took a gun out of his pocket, and fired the entire clip into the beaten boy's chest. "If you try the same, this is what will happen to you. So remember, you are replaceable." As he said this, he never spared the corpse another glance, and it was dragged out without a word. Roman's expression never changed. To him it wasn't a person's life he had just ended. It was an object, a thing that had stopped functioning properly. And he threw it away like trash.

Deciding it was better to not tell Blake and Yang that particular memory, Neo took a breath before continuing. Unbeknownst to her, however, a single tear had trailed down her cheek. Blake and Yang took note of it, but decided it was best to let Neo continue.

"The first few months, we all slept in that warehouse. The conditions were filthy, but thankfully not cramped. I think it was an old factory. The floors were covered in old scrape marks, like machinery had been moved from there at some point, and the walls were old rusted metal. At first I was afraid the building was going to fall down, that or the roof was going to collapse on top of us. The roof was covered in holes, and when it rained you had to avoid those spots or get drenched. Luckily it was a huge space, because there was more than enough space for all of us. But that was all we had, empty space. There were a handful of beds, and fights broke out over who got to sleep on them every day. Everyone else slept on the floor, or whatever we could find to sleep on. Mostly cardboard boxes or newspapers. Luckily it was summer, because we had no blankets or changes of clothing. Food was in short supply, and most nights everyone went to sleep hungry. Thankfully there was plenty of water, along with a shower and bathroom system off to one side. Cold water only. I don't know how or why it was still working, but it was, and it was clean."

"Friends were in short supply, but most everyone knew someone there from their old life. I had no one, and I viewed friends as a liability, as a weakness. Almost no one wanted to talk to me, and I ignored the few that tried. By the end of the first week, no one tried again. I slept in the corner, away from everyone else. It was…. easier that way. Roman kept a watch on us 24-7 to ensure none of us tried to run away or injured each other. His enforcers doubled as trainers. They weren't allowed to beat us, not yet anyway, but if we disobeyed them we didn't get to eat. After a few days, no one even tried to rebel. We were too hungry."

"The training consisted of a series of mannequins with bells tied all around them. There were 12, arranged in a line. Each mannequin was dressed in different clothing, and a wallet was hidden in a random pocket. The training was to walk past the mannequins, going down the line, and steal the wallets without making a sound. If you disturbed the mannequins, the bells jingled and that means you failed and had to start over. We went one at a time, day in and day out. The only way you could stop was if you managed to steal all 12 wallets in one go without making a sound. We practiced from the time we woke up until we were told to go to bed, every day. If you couldn't properly steal at least one, you didn't get to eat."

"Those first few nights were the worst. No one was able to steal a wallet, so no one got any food. The sounds of crying and growling stomachs filled the warehouse. It was the first time I had ever gone without eating for more than a day, and it made things difficult. It sometimes took hours before my stomach would quiet enough that I could manage to fall asleep, and I felt myself growing weaker by the day. Luckily I was rather good at stealing things, and by the end of the third day I had managed to snag a wallet. That night I and three others got food, and everyone else was forced to watch us eat it. It was some sort of tomato soup, the supermarket kind. It was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten in my life, at that point at least. I think Blake's breakfast holds that award at this point. By the end of that week, everyone had succeeded at least once."

Neo took a moment to collect her thoughts, continuing to stare out the window for a second before looking at Blake and Yang. Their gazes were focused on hers and they were hanging on her every word. Waiting patiently for her to continue. Neo moved her gaze to the ceiling, and continued her story. Her voice took on a sadder tone, as her thoughts turned to darker times.

"By the end of the third month, I think around 10 of us had stolen all 12 wallets properly. As soon as someone succeeded, they were taken to a different location and we didn't see them again. It turned out to be a similar warehouse in a different location. When I was brought there, about 50 people were there already. The youngest was the last kid taken before me, the oldest looked to be about 16. The only adults were Roman's enforcers, and the security there was far stricter than the old location. I found out later that Roman used that place as storage for his stolen goods, which explained the heavier security."

"The set-up in the warehouse was basically the same, though this one was slightly nicer. For one thing everyone had a mattress to sleep on, though most of them were ratty and stained. But after sleeping on a concrete floor it felt like a cloud. The other major change was that we were fed regularly. It still wasn't enough, but it was better than a can of soup twice a day. The roof didn't have any holes, though we did have a rat problem at one point. But someone ate them, I think, because one day they were gone."

As Neo said this, Blake and Yang shuddered and felt bile rising in their throats at the thought of someone eating rats. It was a level of desperation that either girl had ever experienced, and it was a disturbing idea that Neo might have been forced to do it at some point. Though part of Yang's mind, obviously the most fucked up part, was wondering if they tasted like chicken. Deciding it was better to not ask, both girls returned their attention to Neo.

"Once there, we were actually put to work. We were assigned a section of the city, and spent our days there pickpocketing. We were told to empty each wallet of cash, then dump it in a trash can. In most cases, credit cards were useless since the second people realized they were gone they just canceled them and they could be traced much more easily. At the end of each week, by sundown on Saturday, we had to have a certain amount of cash, otherwise we got punished. At first though the amounts we needed were small, around 100$ or so. So it wasn't a real issue."

"In the beginning, my days were filled with stealing from people, and spending my time watching for opportunities to steal. In most cases, I ended the week with more than I needed, so I had some money to spend on whatever I wanted. It wasn't like a normal job, we only got time off if we had stolen the weeks' pay and could afford to be lazy. Normally by Friday I had gotten enough, so I spent Saturday buying what I could afford and doing whatever I could do for free. I mostly bought food, and clothing once it started getting colder. They didn't bother supplying us with anything, so if we needed it we had to buy it or steal it. The rest of my time was spent in parks in the summer, or the library in the winter. It was always warm, and as long as none of the staff caught me I could stick around for hours."

"We had a curfew, we had to be back by 8. If we were caught out after, well we got beaten if we were lucky. Sometimes it was severe enough that they killed the offender, but in most cases it was just bruising. And every night Roman had a certain ritual. He would offer everyone a stick, the kind you see on lollipops. Except only one stick actually had a lollipop, the rest were bare. If you picked that particular stick with the candy, Roman beat you personally. He did it to ensure we knew who was in control, and because he enjoyed it."

"I had been there about a month when my luck finally turned bad and I picked the cursed stick. Immediately, two of Romans thugs each grabbed one of my arms, holding me in place. They held on tighter than necessary, to ensure that I could barely move. Then Roman started in on me, pummeling me in the stomach over and over. It was the first time I had been punched, at least with the intent to really inflict pain. It hurt more than I could have possibly imagined at the time. I felt the wind knocked out of me, since I hadn't yet learned how to properly tense up and relax before each blow. He did it wordlessly, the only sounds being his grunts of exertion and my cries of pain. Normally it would have continued for a few minutes and that would have been that. Unfortunately, that day I had stolen a $100 bill and had celebrated by buying a massive lunch. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't, and I puked it up all over his shoes. That was a mistake."

Neo's eyes turned darker as she said this, filled with anger and pain from memories of those horrible times. The fact that someone got beaten every night, even if they had done nothing wrong was bad enough. But Roman made it worse in a way by giving them a lollipop. It made her feel like a child, who had done something good by allowing themselves to get beaten and not fight back. Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered what happened next.

"Roman didn't react for a moment, since that had never happened before. Then he grabbed his cane and started beating me with it. Normally he avoided the face, since bruises on the face were noticeable and people could start asking annoying questions. But he was too angry to care at that point. He smacked me everywhere, he hit me so hard that his cane eventually snapped in half. By the time that happened I had long since stopped feeling the blows, my body had shut down from the pain. But I was still awake, and I heard him tell his thugs to release me. I collapsed to the ground, and he turned me on my back and shoved his foot to my throat. Then, he started talking. He called me useless, filthy, a piece of trash abandoned by their parents. He said that no one had ever loved me, that no one ever would, and that I was worth less than the dirt on his shoe."

"The worst part was, however, when he started calling me a freak because of my eyes. Apparently at some point, the pain caused one of them to shift from brown to pink. He said it was no wonder I was abandoned, no one would want a disgusting monster like me for a daughter. And the worst part was, I knew that he was right. That my parents had abandoned me, that if anyone at all did care about me I wouldn't be in that situation. That I was utterly alone in the world, and loved by none."

Neo felt herself crying, and based on how wet her face was she had been doing so without noticing for almost a minute. Unable to bear the looks she knew were on Blake's and Yang's faces, she looked down, staring at her own feet. Her shoulders drew forward as her body involuntarily curled in on itself, as she remembered the pain of that initial beating. She dug her nails into her palm, drawing blood, the pain forcing her back into the moment and drying her tears. Getting herself under control, she took a breath and continued, her words growing quieter and filled with suffering as she continued to talk.

"Eventually he stopped, and ordered that no one was to help me before he left. He then told me I owed him twice the weekly amount, and if I didn't pay it he would kill me. If I had had any friends, they might have considered disobeying him. But I had no one, so I was left there. Eventually I made myself get up and dragged myself into the corner where my mattress was located. Luckily I had that week's payment already, and spent the next few days recovering enough that I could walk again. It hurt like hell, but I could walk. I was lucky that nothing was broken, though I definitely had a few cracked ribs and probably a concussion. Some of the worst bruises took a month to heal, breathing hurt for a while and I couldn't eat for a week due to the pain. But I could still function, I could still steal and survive, so it could have been worse. In hindsight, I'm really lucky that I didn't get sick at all back then, except for the occasional cold, since there was no way in hell any of us could have afforded medicine. The next few beatings hurt, but after a while I learned to deal with the pain. And for those that did get sick enough that they could no longer work, or couldn't deal with the pain, Roman threw them out to die."

"So for about a year, that was my life. About once a month I would get another beating, and while it was never that bad again physically, Roman kept talking as he hit me. I was the only one that he insulted, the rest got beaten silently. What he said, what he called me, was worse than any physical pain he could endure. He convinced me that I was somehow less than human, just a thing that existed to make him money. I think he wanted to kill me after I ruined his shoes, and the only reason he kept me around was that I was too useful to discard, since by that point I was bringing in twice as much as anyone else every week."

"As bad as it was, there were some moments of peace. Around my second month, I found a way to the top of the warehouse. At night when everyone was asleep, I would sometimes sneak out and lie on the roof, sometimes for hours. I spent a lot of time looking at the moon, reminding myself that no matter how dark things got there was always light to be found somewhere. It helped me deal with the pain from being beaten, from the fear that I could screw up at any moment and get myself killed."

"A few months after I turned 11, however, things changed. For one, Roman took about 20 of us and reassigned us to some new operations, leaving about 100 or so pickpockets in total in that warehouse. Then he upped the weekly dues to 500, which was double what it had been a week prior. While I was fine, about 30 people were short that week. That's when we were introduced to the punishment list."

"Basically, if you were on the punishment list you were the enforcer's slave. They could tell you to do pretty much anything, and you had to do it. If they wanted to, they could beat you bloody and not get punished. They could kill you, and no one was allowed to protest. They could do almost anything to you, except rape you. Roman may have been a psychopathic asshole, but child molestation was something even he didn't tolerate. One guy tried, and Roman cut his balls off. But besides that, nothing was off limits. Once you were on the list, the only way off was to offer up triple the weekly rate. No one ever managed to buy their way off, and in most cases were dead within a month."

Neo continued to look down as she said this, unwilling to even look at Blake and Yang. She didn't want to see the disgust on their faces, she didn't want to look at them now that they knew what she had done, who she really was, what she had seen and been through.

"For the next four years, living there was like a scene from hell. Every now and then Roman would raise the weekly amount, other times people just had bad luck. Whatever the reason was, at least one person was always on the list. Despite how bad our lives were in general, being on that list was much worse, since it was a literal death sentence. You could hear them crying every night, the fear and pain from the constant beatings enough to reduce them to tears. They knew that they were going to die sooner rather than later, and it was going to hurt. Most of the kids that landed on the list tried running away, since they knew if they stuck around they were dead. Only one succeeded, I think, since the rest were found and brought back. Then Roman had them beaten in front of us by his thugs, till they eventually died. If any of us tried to look away, we were forced to join in on the beating. If anyone refused, they were shot."

"The worst part was that Roman kept up his nightly beatings, but with less of us around we started enduring it more and more often. And every time it was my turn, Roman continued his insults. He never let up, always telling me that my eyes labeled me a monster, a mistake, something that no one would ever love. I was grotesque, an aberration and he made sure I never forgot."

"Around the time I was 16, I decided that I had had enough. There were only 20 of us left, and one week I was short by almost $200. I knew I would die if I went back, so instead I fled. I ran and ran, using taxi's and trains to put me at the other end of the city. From there I spent three days hiding, until I eventually found what I was looking for. I knew the only way I could survive Roman's wrath was by getting protection from someone else. So, eventually I found myself on the doorstep of one Cinder Fall."

"I knew who she was, and I knew what she was going to want from me. Until that point I would have done anything to avoid selling my body, but fear of death made me reevaluate my choices. Eventually I was allowed to see her, and after being searched they blindfolded me and brought me to her office. I was forced on my knees, and left there for almost an hour. I think the point of it was to see how mentally tough I was, if I could stand being kept waiting, not knowing what was going to happen. That or she was just late. I never cared enough to ask."

"She ripped the blindfold off, and asked me what I was doing there. I told her I had run away from Roman, and wanted to work for her."

Neo remembered the conversation like it was yesterday.

Cinder Fall, the head of the prostitutes, stood in front of her. Her hair was shoulder length and black, her bangs covering one of her piercing yellow eyes. The woman was clad in a floor length red and gold dress, while her ears were adorned with multiple piercings. Her nails, filed to a point, were colored with a blood red polish, and she had a single platinum ring with an onyx gemstone on the middle finger of her left hand. Remembering that Cinder hated being kept waiting, which was slightly hypocritical of her, Neo decided to keep her answers short.

Cinder looked down at Neo like she was a bug, if an interesting bug, before asking "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I want to work for you." Was Neo's reply

*Smack*

Cinder's hand connected with Neo's face out of nowhere, the woman moving faster than Neo had thought she was capable of. Cinder said nothing, and when Neo did nothing she smacked her again. Then again

Right before the fourth smack, Neo realized her mistake and said "My name is Neo, and I want to work for you."

"Finally. First rule, I ask you answer. Why?"

"Because I have nowhere else to go."

"What can you do?"

"Steal. Survive."

"Ever fucked a man"

"No"

"Who are you running from?"

"No one"

*Smack*

"Rule two, you lie, you die."

Neo took a moment, before answering "Roman Torchwick"

Based off her reputation, Cinder normally would have had Neo dragged off and disposed of by now. A girl like Neo, with no useful experience in the gentler arts of draining men's wallets was of no use to Cinder, and taking her in would uselessly antagonize a dangerous rival. But something made her hesitate. Maybe it was the fact that Neo had taken those smacks without flinching, or maybe it was the look of utter desperation and despair in Neo's eyes. Whatever it was didn't matter to Neo, as long as she was willing to listen. Cinder continued to look at the girl before her, her eyes inscrutable. After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision. Looking directly at Neo, she made her an offer

"Listen kid, I have two choices for you. One, you work in one of my gambling halls. You watch for anyone trying to cheat or steal. Two, you sell your body to the highest bidder. Take option one, you sleep on the floor, eat shit food and could get stabbed at any time. Take option two, you sleep on a cloud, eat like a queen and only get stabbed in one particular place. Pick.

Unable to believe her luck, Neo instantly responded with "Option one"

A rare smile graced Cinder's lips, and she murmured "thought so" before turning to leave.

Neo, however, had one question burning on her lips. Throwing caution to the wind, she asked Cinder "why?"

Cinder turned and stared at the girl still kneeling in front of her, her eyes wide and unable to believe her good luck. "Cause you're desperate, and desperate people are useful. You're tough, look decently smart and are small enough to easily escape notice. And if it pisses off Roman, well its worth having to deal with his complaining. He knows better than to piss me off."

"So I worked for her for almost two years. She had me brought to one of her gambling dens, and I lived in the basement, in one of the corners by the furnace. True to her word, I slept on the floor and ate shitty food, though one of the other employees told me it was better than prison food at least. But it was warm, no one beat me, no one bothered me, it was safe. I spent my nights watching the patrons, pointing out the cheaters and thieves to the dens bouncers, who then took care of the issue."

"I spent all my free time at the library a block away, I was afraid that Roman was still looking for me, and I know that if he or his thugs found me alone on the streets I was as good as dead, no matter what Cinder promised. So I stuck close to the gambling den, because I Roman wouldn't risk taking me from one of Cinder's establishments, no matter how much he hated me. He might have succeeded in taking me or killed me, but the backlash would have made him pay dearly for it. I wasn't worth that much grief, so in there I was safe. I learned what I could, about whatever topic could hold my interest long enough. Everything from basic math to 18th century floral arrangements. Reading filled my otherwise boring hours, and helped the days pass quickly. "

"Two years later, right before my 18th birthday, the den was raided by the police and we had to flee. Cinder told me that she had to lay low for a while, and suddenly I was out of a job. Two days of wandering the streets later, I got hit by a car and ended up killing the driver after he tried to kill me. Turns out he had a price on his head, $100,000. That day I changed my profession to killer for hire. That money is what I gave Blake the day I walked into this apartment. And the rest, as you both know, is history."

Neo, finally finished, slowly came back to the present. She was suddenly afraid of what Blake's and Yang's reaction would be. Deciding it was time to face the music, she lifted her head and looked at both girls. What she saw however, was the last thing she expected

They were both silently crying, tears running down their cheeks. Based on the wet spots on their clothing, they had been crying for quite a while. Blake had her hand clamped over her mouth to mute her sobbing, and Yang's hands were clenched so tight her hands had turned white. They saw Neo look up, and Yang managed to ask "Done?"

Wordlessly, Neo nodded. Instantly, both girls grabbed her and hugged her tightly enough to squeeze the breath out of her body. No longer staying silent for her sake, the sounds of their sobbing filling the apartment. Neo, unsure what was going on, tried to pull away, Which only caused Blake to squeeze her even tighter, crushing Neo against her side. Yang let her go and enveloped both her and Blake in her arms, ensuring that Neo had no hope of escape.

Neo was starting to worry, since both girls kept crying with no signs of letting up, or of letting her go anytime soon, or ever again. Unable to wait, she said aloud "Why are you both crying."

Blake managed to choke out a series of sounds that sounded like "love you," but through all her crying it was impossible to tell. Yang managed to control herself long enough to say "we care about you" before the tears resumed falling.

Suddenly it was all too much for Neo. She didn't understand why they still cared, why they could even touch her or look at her after everything she had told them. She started shouting, her voice piercing through the sounds of sobs. "Why do you care, you should hate me. I'm just a freak, a murder who kills people for money. I'm worthless, and a danger to you both. You shouldn't care about a monster like me." By the time she was done she was screaming, her voice filled with pain.

Upon hearing her words, both girls had different reactions. Blake somehow turned Neo around, pulling the back of the younger girl's head into her chest and burying her face in Neo's hair. The sounds of her muffled sobs, louder than ever, filled Neo's ears as she felt Blake's arms tighten around her, sealing her in a loving embrace. She couldn't bear to hear Neo talk about herself like that, to hear the amount of self-loathing Neo had for herself. To hear someone she loved call themselves worthless was almost too painful to bear.

Yang, sensing her chance, grabbed Neo's face as her eyes filled with fresh tears upon hearing Neo's words. She blinked, clearing her vision, and stared straight into Neo's eyes. She looked at Neo, truly looked at her, gazed into the depths of her soul. Yang felt her heart clench in agony at what she saw there: a look of endless despair and crushing self-hatred.

Taking a moment, Yang controlled herself before saying. "Your eyes are beautiful, and we love them. You do matter, you aren't a monster. And we love you. Never doubt that. Never" The entire time she was talking, her eyes never left Neo, forcing the girl to acknowledge her words as completely and utterly true.

Blake, her voice muffled by Neo's hair and her sobbing, added "Never letting you go again, won't let you be alone anymore. Not ever"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Neo felt tears flow down her face, coming out faster and faster. She had been afraid that after hearing her story, Blake and Yang would come to despise her and fear her. That they would realize just how disgusting, how much of a monster she was. She was afraid they were going to kick her out, and she wouldn't have blamed them for it. Instead they cried at her pain and embraced her despite her past. Neo felt all the pain and fear she had built up to that point leave her, replaced by a warmth and sense of comfort, of peace, that she had never before known. Until now she had never known what it felt like to truly feel safe in someone else's presence, to let herself be comforted and held in their arms. For the first time in her life, Neo had chosen to fully trust someone else, to trust the only people that she cared about in this world. She had bared her soul, and the girls could have broken her with a word. But instead they chose to comfort her, to help ease the pain of her existence the only way they knew how: love. They had showered her with love, tried to fill her empty heart with it, and ease the pain of her existence. And at that moment Neo felt something change inside her. She felt the first flames of love burn inside her heart, though at the time she did not, could not, understand what the feeling was or where it came from. But looking back on that moment years later, she knew that was when she had begun to love Blake and Yang.

At that moment, however, all she knew was that she felt safe in their arms. As the night dragged on the sounds of sobbing could be heard throughout the apartment as the three girls cried, losing themselves in the pains of the past and trying to provide comfort in the present. After what felt like an eternity the darkness and black gave rise to the first grays of the dawn and the flood of tears finally ceased. Even though the crying had ceased, the girls held onto each other more tightly than ever, drawing strength from their shared warmth. Blake and Yang knew that their night was far from over, despite the rays of light beginning to shine through the window, but for now they enjoyed the peaceful silence. And together, the three roommates watched the sun rise, their hopes rising like the dawn of a new day.

Blake and Yang looked down at Neo, who had a look on her face more peaceful then any they had ever seen, before saying in unison "We love you."

And although Neo said nothing in her response, the look in her eyes told them more than words ever could.

First off, if I haven't made at least one of you cry I have failed as a writer

Second, the flashback stage is almost over. There will be a few more next chapter, then it's back to the plot!

Sorry this took so long to get out, but between graduations and more hours at work I have had little time to myself. And this chapter was harder to write then I expected, I kept changing thing and adding details.

Feedback is definitely appreciated, and I will try to respond as fast as possible. Bring me your grammatical errors, your plot holes, your crazed guesses and general thoughts. No matter what they are, anything and everything is welcome.