Hi guys! I'm so sorry that it's been so long. I feel like shit for not updating in almost two months. :( It's been a combination of depression, a new job, spreading myself out a little too thin, and making a ton of MASSIVE changes to the plot of this story. Like, I basically rewrote everything I had planned for A Neo Outlook III and half the ending to this story. I'll make some mentions of it when it comes up, and I'll probably make a more detailed thing for my . Anyway, again, I'm sorry about this. I'm probably gonna go on antidepressants in the near future. Just taking everything one day at a time right now. I'm okay, though, and I'm not going anywhere. I love you guys. Thank you for being patient and understanding and supportive of me and my writing. You have no idea how much it means to me. (: I think that's everything then. Oh, I dyed my hair pink. That was fun. XD There's a picture on my Facebook page if you wanna see. (It might be buried if you're reading this too long after June of 2016.) I'll stop here and let you guys get to reading. Enjoy!
Oh, George and Winifred Banks are the mom and dad in Mary Poppins, and Neo's character is based on Mary Poppins. Just a nod to her character design, in case you didn't pick up on it. (;
Chapter 9: Finding Yourself
"Neopolitan Banks..." Neo repeated for the tenth time, still staring in awe at the letter in her hands. She'd finally stopped shaking after close to half an hour, but her excitement hadn't died down at all. "Guys... Th-This... Is this really what I think it is?"
Team RWBY and JNPR had all crowded into her room after hearing her scream at the top of her lungs, and by now they'd realised what was happening. They were scattered around the room, with Neo sitting on her bed, and Weiss at her side.
The heiress smiled, leaning over and hugging her girlfriend, "It certainly looks like it, that's for sure. Are you going to open it?"
"Wait, wait," Emerald interjected. "This doesn't seem suspicious at all to you? We just talked about wanting to know your parents an hour ago, and suddenly you have a letter from them? What if Cinder's trying to capture you like she did Merc, Blake, Nora, and Coco?"
Yang rolled her eyes, "Relax, Em. If it was a trap, then Cinder did a hell of a job listening in and planting it so fast. Open it up, Neo. Let's see what they've got to say."
Neo didn't hesitate and quickly ripped the top of the envelope away. Her hands were quivering as she pulled out the letter, taking a moment to prepare herself. She had no idea what it would say, or if it was even real. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them torn down, but it was hard not to.
'Good luck,' Beo smiled in the back of her mind.
Neo carefully unfolded the paper and began to read it aloud, "Hello, Neopolitan. It's been far too long since we've seen you. When we saw you and your girlfriend in the news for your pregnancy, we knew that we'd finally found you. Clearly we have a lot to catch up on. I suppose we should first apologise for ever losing you. When you were born, your father and I weren't able to look after you properly, and put you up for adoption to give you a better life. We were heartbroken when you went missing, but now you're here again, and there's so much to talk about. We've left our number below, so please call us when you have the chance. We look forward to hearing your voice and seeing the amazing woman you've grown up to be. Love, mom and dad..."
There was a stillness as Neo finished reading and set the paper down in her lap. Everyone was processing what had been written, but in a good way. The words sounded genuine, and now it was up to Neo how to proceed. She was at a total loss for words as dozens of emotions clouded her head. Fear, excitement, and relief to name a few, all compounding and merging together to render her speechless.
Emerald started to smile, "I'm so happy for you, Neo. Are you gonna call them now?"
Neo didn't speak for a few moments, her eyes still intently fixed on the letter. Her mind was racing, but after a while she realised that someone had spoken to her. "Huh? Oh, u-um... I dunno..."
Pyrrha coked her head to the side, "What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you excited to meet them?" The rest of the room seemed to share in her confusion as well.
"Of course I am! It's just... I feel so weird about it... I've never even met them. What do I say? I-I've dreamed about this moment as long as I can remember, but now that it's here, I don't know what to do..."
"Really?" Ren asked, looking just as befuddled as everyone else. "Neo, you're not making any sense. You were so excited a moment ago. Don't get me wrong, I think a level of caution and scepticism is understandable, but why this sudden change? What's the real reason you don't want to call them?"
Neo looked around at all the faces around her and sighed, "I'm... I'm afraid they won't approve of me..."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, giving her girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "You're an amazing person, not to mention that you're basically a hero after what happened last year. What more could they expect from you?"
"It's not that. I have no idea how they feel about... well... anything! What if they don't approve of you? Of us? What if they're really homophobic? Then there's the fact that I'm an ex-criminal, a murderer... There's so much I have to tell them that they could reject me for. I'm afraid that... I'm afraid that after all this time, and finally being able to meet them, that I'm gonna lose them just as quickly..."
'Quit being a baby,' Beo jeered, not helping at all. 'Sorry, sorry. But really? That's what you're afraid of? Clearly they don't care about you and Weiss if they mentioned her in the letter!'
'I know...' Neo replied, but she still wasn't convinced.
Yang shook her head, "I really doubt that'll be an issue. They haven't seen you in over a decade! I'm sure they'll just be happy to see you. Even if they don't approve of everything, they're still your parents. And, that said, maaaybe it couldn't hurt to leave some of the grittier details out for now."
"So what's the plan?" Weiss asked, not even entertaining the idea of this not going perfectly. "We'll go tomorrow?"
"Maybe," Neo replied. "I mean, we can always call- Wait, what? Go? As in go visit? How would we even do that? They gave me their phone number, not their address."
Weiss rolled her eyes and snatched the envelope from Neo, pointing to the top, left corner, "The return address is right here, Neo. I think going and seeing them face to face would be the best way to meet them for the first time."
"But we have an exam tomorrow. Two, actually, and we have plans with Jaune and Pyrrha Saturday."
"Then go Sunday," Ruby smiled. "I agree with Weiss on this. You should see them in person."
Neo looked around to see everyone smiling along with Ruby and nodding, and she couldn't stop herself from blushing. 'We have the best friends, I hope you know that,' Beo chuckled.
"Sunday..." Neo repeated, starting to giggle. "I'm meeting my parents on Sunday... I-I... Wow... I don't know what to do now. Should we still call them?"
"I'd make it a surprise," Pyrrha chimed in, and Neo seemed to like the idea as well.
"Then it's settled," Weiss beamed. "I'll book our plane tickets. I recognise the area code, and it's about a three-hour flight away. I think so, at least. It's definitely not close. Expect me to be waking you up pretty early on Sunday."
Next two days passed by as a blur as Neo could barely concentrate on anything. Her exams could've gone better, but she still did reasonably well. All she could think about was her parents and how this meeting would go. She was still terrified, but even so, she'd never been more excited for anything in her entire life. Her and Weiss' double date with Jaune and Pyrrha was about the only time that she snapped back to reality for any length of time, and finally, Sunday morning arrived.
"Rise and shine, love," Weiss giggled as she shook Neo awake, meeting a fair amount of resistance from the girl. "Come on! We have to be at the airport in an hour! I let you sleep in as much as I could. Hey, shouldn't you be excited? You're meeting your parents today! Get up!"
"Bite me," Neo mumbled into her pillow. Weiss shrugged and did as she was told, nipping at Neo's neck. Neo blushed and laughed, and rolled over so that she could give Weiss a kiss.
"Where's Mercury when you need him?" Emerald suddenly grumbled from her bed. "I'm not ready for sarcasm this early. Get a room, you two."
Neo smirked, "This one we're in seems pretty nice. Alright, alright, I'm getting up."
Neo took a quick shower, got dressed, and packed a small bag for the afternoon before dancing her way out of the dorms. She was walking on air now that today had finally come. It was a beautiful day, solidifying her mood even further, and it didn't seem like anything would be able to dampen her spirits. She and Weiss took the airship from campus to the Vale International Airport and got through security without any hastle. Weiss' status always came in handy at times like this.
"Okay, we board in fifteen minutes," Weiss said as she sat down at their gate and looked over their tickets. "Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Neo cheerfully replied, but inside she wasn't nearly so positive.
'Still afraid, huh?' Beo asked, trying not to sound too condescending.
'Shut up,' Neo growled. 'Yes, I'm fucking terrified. Happy now?'
'Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just don't see why you'd be so scared. You know that they'll love you, that clearly all they want is to see you. Set your fear aside, cuz you're not gonna need it. Be happy! Today's the big day!'
Neo chuckled to herself, 'Thanks, Beo. I knew I kept you around for a reason. Hey, do you wanna come out and meet them?'
'That sounds like a bad idea,' Beo laughed. 'I'll say hi eventually, but I think it'd be better to have them meet one daughter at a time.'
The flight boarded and departed on time, and Neo could feel her anticipation rising every time she looked out the window. Every town and neighbourhood she could pick out from the plane made her imagine more and more about what her parent's house would look like, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. The announcement from the pilot that they were beginning their descent sent her mind into overdrive as it truly hit her that this was happening. She had to reach for the air sickness bag because she thought she was going to throw up from how ecstatic she was, but luckily the feeling passed.
The plane landed, and Neo and Weiss hurried straight outside since they hadn't brought any luggage that couldn't be carried on. Weiss had arranged for a car to pick them up and drive them, and as the destination address was punched into the GPS, Neo didn't think she would be able to handle her own emotions. She snuggled up against Weiss for most of the ride, clinging tightly to the heiress' arm and not wanting to let go. It wasn't until the driver mentioned they were close that she released her grip and cautiously looked outside.
The car pulled into the development, and Neo stared out the window to get a sense of where they were. The houses looked fairly nice, not anything crazy expensive but certainly above average. Nice yards, children playing, it seemed like a nice area. They pulled into the driveway of one house off the main street, and Neo's heart skipped a beat when she saw the name 'Banks' on the mailbox. Weiss thanked and paid the driver, and after more than a few calming breaths, Neo worked up the courage to ring the doorbell.
"Hello?" a man asked as he opened the door, and a wide smile spread across Neo's lips. He had brown hair, the same shade as hers, and his eyes were split just like hers; one was brown, and the other green. "How can I help you girls?"
"Who is it, George?" a woman asked from the living room, then came over to join her husband. She had green eyes and long hair that was split just like Neo's, only hers was half pink and half mint green. Her cat ears twitched when she laid eyes on Neo, and she made the connection immediately. That, and Neo was sure her picture would've been in at least one of the articles her parents had read.
Neo couldn't stop herself from stuttering, "H-Hi, mom... Hi, dad..."
There was a short pause as they stared at each other, taking in the magnitude of just what was happening. Neo was too excited to speak, and her parents had been rendered speechless. That didn't last long, though, and Neo and Weiss were both soon wrapped in a tight hug. A few tears rolled down her parents' cheeks out of sheer joy.
"Oh my God," her mother whispered, eventually calming down enough to talk again. "I-I can't believe it... We thought we'd never see you again..."
Neo smiled, "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's always a second chance."
They finally separated, and Winifred quickly ushered the girls into the living room. She ran to the kitchen to bring out glasses of water, as well as offering them snacks or anything else after their flight here. They both declined, and the four of them settled in for the reunion that Neo had been dreaming of her entire life. She and Weiss sat on one sofa, adjacent to another where her parents had sat down.
"I never thought this day would come," Winifred said with a delighted smile. "So, Neopolitan, is this your girlfriend?"
Neo nodded, "Just call me Neo. And yes, this is Weiss."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Weiss. How long have you two been together? Oh my, we really do have a lot to catch up on. Is there anywhere you'd like to start?"
Weiss had to think for a moment, "Next week is, what, nine months? Neo?"
Neo didn't respond; she was too deep in thought. There were so many questions Neo had, and so many things she wanted to tell, but there was one burning question she had above the others. "So..." she began. "What happened?"
Her father glanced at her mother before letting out a sigh, "I suppose that's as valid a place as any. You see, when you were born, your mother and I were in a very bad place, financially. We could barely make our ends meet, and at times we couldn't, and we knew that taking care of you would require more than we were able to provide. We looked after you for the first year of your life, but that was all we could manage."
"It wasn't an easy decision for us," her mother continued. "We didn't want to give you up, but you deserved a better life than we could give you. When we gave you to an orphanage, we hoped that you'd find a family within a month. A year passed with nothing, but it wasn't all bad news yet. Your father got a promotion and I picked up a new job, and it looked like we'd be able to take you back. And then..."
"And then you went missing. Your mother and I were heartbroken, and we held out hope that they'd find you. I'm sorry for what we put you through, Neo, and I hope that you can forgive us.
"Forgive you?" Neo asked, smiling. "I was never upset with you. You did what you had to, and there's nothing more I could've asked for. I guess it's time for me to fill you in now, huh? Alright, let's see... Oh... I... I should warn you guys, not all of it's pretty. There's a lot of bad stuff I've done..."
Her mother gave a soft smile, "You're our daughter, Neo. There's nothing you could've done that wouldn't make us proud."
Neo exchanged a look with Weiss, both of them chuckling a bit from what they knew, and Neo started from the beginning. She talked about how she was raised by Cinder and Roman, along with Emerald and Mercury. She talked about her childhood, where she lived, what they did, all of it. When it came time to talk about her late teens, when she got started actually working as a part of Cinder's operations, she was very careful on how she phrased things. The message was the same, regardless, but she felt like she needed to soften just how dark the things she'd done were.
It took a while to get through it all, but eventually she navigated to when Blake and Yang found her after Cinder threw her out. From there it was a might brighter tale, one that she was glad to share. Enrolling at Beacon, meeting Weiss and the rest of her friends, starting her relationship, things she was more than happy to talk about. Even when she arrived at the Vytal Festival and what happened then, it still had a happy ending.
"That reminds me," Weiss interrupted as Neo was talking about taking second place in the tournament. "How did you not see her then? We were in headlines everywhere as the kids who had saved the festival, and her even more for taking second place."
"Well, we didn't really follow it," Winifred replied. "It was a bit of an emotional time because we knew that she would've been old enough to be in the tournament. You have to understand, fifteen years had passed since she went missing, and we had no choice but to assume the worst. Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing your name in the headlines at one point, but I didn't think much of it."
"How could you not?" Neo asked.
Her father chuckled, "You're not the only person with a name that can be shortened to Neo. It was nowhere in our minds to think that you were alive, so it just sort of went unnoticed. Of course, we're both very unhappy with ourselves for not at least looking at it then."
"Anyway, continue," her mother said.
Neo nodded and picked up where she'd left off. Next came her being the leader of her team, her and Weiss' vacation home to talk to the heiress' mother, summer vacation, and finally the start of this year. She explained the initiation that had almost taken Weiss' life, the aura donation she performed, and how she got pregnant. Her parents had followed the story fairly well up to this point, and she couldn't help herself from laughing when she saw that she was losing them a bit.
It took a bit more time, but she eventually got past her miracle pregnancy and onto what else had been happening. There wasn't much more to explain from there apart from Cinder's new venture and her missing friends, and with that, she'd arrived at the end of her tale. Nearly an hour and a half had passed now between her talking and all of the questions her parents had had, but it was all out now.
Neo looked incredibly guilty as she looked back and forth between her parents, "So... I guess that's everything... God, I feel horrible... You've been waiting so long to meet me, and I have to sit here and tell you that I'm an ex-criminal, a thief, a mu- and... and... I dunno... I dunno what to say now, or what I'd even expect you to say to me. I'm sorry..."
She purposefully stopped herself from saying murderer, wondering if it was a little too early to reveal something if that nature. As much as she wanted to open herself up and tell all there was to tell, that seemed like a little too big of a shock right now. Parents or not, she knew there were things that needed to be left out.
"Sorry?" her father asked, not seeming to understand. "Neo, your mother and I don't care about any of that. We care that you're alive, that you're safe, and that you're happy. Yes, there are things about your past that will certainly take some time to accept, but you're our little girl. You'll always be perfect in our eyes."
"R-Really?" Neo said as a tear came to her eye.
"Of course," her mother proudly replied. "Our daughter is a Huntress, a hero! You have the life now that we dreamed of being able to give you. I couldn't be more proud of you."
Neo sniffled as she wiped her eyes, "Th-Thank you. You don't know how much I've wanted to hear you say that. So, you're okay with who I am, then? That I'm gay, pregnant, all of it?"
"Well, we invited you here knowing that you were," her father laughed. "That should've some indication, I would hope. We don't care if you're straight, gay, bi, trans, or anything else. You're our daughter, and we'll always love you. Above anything and everything else, we're just happy to have you back."
"As for being pregnant," her mother added, looking just as jovial as her husband. "I could never be upset with being told that I'll have twice as many grandchildren."
"Twice as many?" Weiss asked, noticing that something didn't add up.
"Well, yes," George answered, looking at Neo. "Assuming your sister has kids of her own some day."
Neo's eyes suddenly shot open wide, "I-I... I have a sister?" Her eyes darted around the room, looking for one things in particular, and didn't take long to find what she was looking for. She hadn't paid much attention to the details of the house and decorations until that point, but now that family portraits and school pictures stood out as if they were illuminated. Her parents gasped, realising that in the excitement of their reunion, there was one member of the family they'd left out.
Winifred reached over and grabbed a picture frame from the coffee table and handed it to Neo, "Yes, you do. Mint turned fourteen just a month ago. She's enrolled at Signal Academy."
Neo stared at the picture in awe, feeling a new warmth spreading through her body. It was strange, since she did see Emerald as a sister, but there was a connection she felt at the moment her eyes fell on Mint's face. The girl had long, mint-green hair that was up in a braid, and a cat tail with the same color fur. She was standing beside a large tree in the picture with two short swords on her back, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, green shoulder pads, a leather harness and belt, and skinny jeans.
"She kinda reminds me of Ruby," Neo said, looking to Weiss to see if she agreed. "Like, with sharper cheekbones and a longer face."
Weiss looked at the picture for a moment and shrugged, "I can't disagree. So she's also training to be a Huntress?"
"That's right," George happily replied. "She'll be ecstatic to hear about all of this. We've told her about you, and she's always wanted a big sister. Will you be able to visit again over winter break? She'll be home then."
"Of course I can!" Neo enthusiastically exclaimed. "Weiss and I have plans to stay with her family, but we can definitely come here first! Maybe Mint could even come with us?"
Weiss snickered and rolled her eyes, "Sure, because that will go over well. You know that my family is still incredibly racist, right? If he knew your mother is a Faunus, there's not a chance in the world he would've let me date you. We might want to ease into this one."
"Understandable," Winifred replied, the idea of someone not being accepting of her not being a new concept. "I do, however, wonder how he'd react if one of your children is a Faunus."
"They can't be...?" Neo said, confused, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Well, it is possible. I'm a Faunus, so you're a carrier of the Faunus expression gene since it's recessive. If Weiss is also a carrier, then there's a chance once of your children will have Faunus traits."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not," Weiss began. "I can say for a fact that I'm not. There's no Faunus blood on my father's side, and he wouldn't have married my mom if there was any on her side."
Neo frowned, "Aww... You had me all excited! I wanted our kids to have cute kitty ears and tails!"
The rest of the evening was spent talking in more detail about some of the bigger topics Neo had brought up. Her past, her children, the events at Vytal Festival, all the major points in her life. Her mom made chicken for dinner and the discussions kept going for hours, but it unfortunately had to come to an end. She and Weiss still had class tomorrow, and their flight home was scheduled to leave in two hours. Neo didn't want to leave, and was in tears as she said goodbye to her parents. She promised to call them every week, and finally she couldn't fight it anymore and had to get in the cab back to the airport.
Neo waved goodbye until her parents were out of sight, then slumped over into Weiss' lap. "I can't. Weiss, I can't..." she said, smiling from ear to ear. "Oh my God, I can't even- I mean, I- GAHH! THAT WAS EVERYTHING I EVER DREAMED IT WOULD BE! I MET MY PARENTS! I HAVE A SISTER! AHHHHH!"
Weiss laughed and stroked her girlfriend's hair, "I'm glad you had a good time. Your parents seem like wonderful people, and I can't wait to see them again in the future. And see? I told you they'd love you no matter what."
"I know, I know, but it's still nerve-wracking. I just... Damn, I'm still all shaky and tingly. Are you sure we can't stay the night? Absolutely sure?"
"We have class tomorrow," Weiss reminded her. "We'll see them again soon, though. I promise. Winter break is only two weeks away, so we can come spend a weekend here before we go to my house. Sound like a plan?"
Neo gave a content smile and a nod, closing her eyes and nuzzling into Weiss' lap. She was exhausted now that all of her excitement and adrenaline had worn off. She dozed off in the car, and again on the plane, both times dreaming about herself with her parents. Without a doubt, it had been the greatest day of her life.
Okay guys, next chapter is gonna be one hell of a ride, so I hope you're ready. Things have been going a little too well so far, don't you think? Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I really wanted to get something out with how long the break has been.
As always, please leave a review, favourite, follow, and visit my page if you wanna help support me. Never required, but always appreciated. (:
