Okay, what you have works, but I think in my production code, it won't work. Below is another updated demo, which reflects closer to my production code. I have two timelines, one for an intro, and another for the items. If I start a parent timeline early, then the intro will already be faded halfway out, which is not what I want. Thanks!
https://codepen.io/ilovecheese/pen/JjzNKao