RWBY Heist Nights by Platypus

Roman secured Neo in the straps of his backpack pouch and carefully put on the carrier. Neo was smiling as she bounced around while Roman gathered up the rest of his gear before heading out. "Now I know this is kinda risky, Neo. But I need to keep you close so you don't get into any trouble while I'm out. Well, I mean not like the trouble I'M about to do, but...well...trouble that doesn't involve ME". Neo just giggled as he hefted her behind him and they went outside into the streets of Vale. Roman hustled his way through the markets and downtown to the cultural district. He had been looking for some extra Lien to afford better clothes and food for them since his restaurant job didn't do much for a street punk like him. As he carried her along, a supply truck hit a bump in the road and jostled a box of cigars loose onto the street. Smooth as a spider Grimm, he casually grabbed it and slunk it into his bag. "I've heard of these things before. Maybe I could try one for real and see how the big crooks do it". Neo simply eyeballed the box with curiosity before it disappeared into the bag pocket in front of her. They kept on for a few blocks and into the night where the buzz of neon lights were glowing in place of the common street lamps. Roman went through a particular alley and over by the emergency ladder and began climbing. A few rungs up he lost his grip but recovered in time, which for Neo felt like a fun ride. He brought them up the ladder and around the apartment buildings by a window with a light on. He crouched and peered inside, which made Neo wide-eyed with surprise. There was a massive pile of rare Dust crystals on a table, and surrounding it were goons from the local crime family who ran the underworld dealings in that area. "This is it, Neo. My first real big break. If I can get some of those Dust crystals and sell them, we'll have it pretty easy for a while, and I'll start my rep as a skilled thief". Inside, the goons were arguing about the split of the Dust between themselves. A beer bottle crashed against the wall behind one of them. "I don't care how much you were carrying, Frankie! We all pulled our weight so that means a solid 30 percent for each of us after the boss gets his!" Frankie got up from the couch and walked right to the other guy's face. "Oh yeah, Dosk? Well da the way I figure it, we oughta be taking more for ourselves since we're da ones working so hard!". Dosk shot back. "If you wanna have an early funeral, that's your choice, but I'm playing it safe and splitting this haul the proper way!" He leaned over to the table and grabbed a pile of Dust and walked away into the kitchen to prep it, followed by Frankie who was still telling him they should keep more. As they walked away into the next room, Roman opened the window and creeped into the living room. The goons were distracted by the glittering Dust and the noise of the cutting machine, so Roman pulled the pack off and began filling it with all of the denser and more valuable Dust.


The Dust slid into his pack quietly and neither of the goons noticed Roman at all. Neo, mesmerized by all of the glowing crystallized Dust on the table, began to reach out for one of the taller piles. One chunk of ice Dust clinked to the floor, and Roman almost let out a gasp for fear of the sound alerting Dosk and Frankie. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they hadn't heard the noise over the Dust grinder in the kitchen. But just as Roman thought it was all clear, the Dust grinder was powered down by Dosk and Neo had already leaned in too far over Roman's shoulders. She lightly clutched at the taller Dust pile, and it came crashing down onto the floor along with Roman's hopes for a stealthy job. Neo was smiling and held up a small piece of Ice Dust to Roman, who had looked back over to Dosk and Frankie. They looked over to see Roman and his little accomplice, with clearly the most ill content. "What the hell?! What do you think you're doing, you little thief! We stole that fair and square!", Dosk yelled. Frankie had tried to maneuver around him and out of the kitchen, but he tripped over Dosk's leg and they both tumbled over each other while trading curses. "Ohhh boy", said Roman. "I think it's time for us to go". Roman scrambled for as much as he could throw into the pack, then picked it up along with Neo and made for the window. "They're getting away!", yelled Frankie. "Yeah ya idiot I can see that!" Dosk replied. Before Roman managed to slip out of the window, Neo playfully tossed the ice Dust at the crooks which landed hard on the ground and set off, blinding them in a small flurry of snow. Dosk slipped on some of the residual ice, followed by Frankie who had also been partially blinded by the burst of ice.


Roman quickly climbed down the ladder outside and dropped down to the alleyway with Frankie and Dosk not far behind. By this time it was clear by all the noise in the streets that the market rush hour had taken hold. Roman weaved through the crowd with Neo bouncing along in tow. Frankie and Dosk were angrily pushing through the crowd as they chased them, with everyone in the way being shoved aside. Roman darted through the marketplace and into another alley and saw an emergency exit door at the end. He ran over to it but tripped on his way. He fell and hit his right leg hard against the pavement. Roman turned over onto his back and sat up, thankfully with Neo safe and unharmed. But as Frankie and Dosk found their way to them, Roman knew he and Neo were cornered. The crooks were catching their breath before moving in for their revenge. They grew sinister smiles as they got closer and closer. Roman was sweating with fear, and flinched with his eyes closing for the imminent attack about to happen. Neo saw the men approaching them, and feeling a small dose of anger herself, blinked alternating sets of eye colors while waving her hands. At first the thugs didn't know what she was doing, but as the approached, the wisp of black smoke and sticky tar familiar to Grimm sightings began filling the void of the alley. They coalesced into the shape of a Beowulf complete with razor sharp fangs and blood red eyes. "Oh gods, it's a Grimm!" Dosk shouted in terror. Frankie was equally frightened by the sudden emergence of the Grimm. "Aw, screw this! I ain't getting killed over a pile of Dust!", he yelled.


They quickly turned around and fled into the crowd with the snarling face of the Beowulf stuck in their minds. As soon as they faded into the crowd, the Grimm which had appeared dissolved away just as fast as it was there. Roman opened his eyes to see the goons were gone, and neither he nor Neo were hurt by the supposed Grimm that was there a moment ago. Roman got up and looked around, curious as to where this beast had gone, then looked at Neo with a puzzled face. Neo simply looked back and giggled. "Well, I don't know what just happened, but I'm glad you're alright Neo", he said. Roman walked out of the alley and back to their home with their precious Dust haul tucked away in the pack. "You know what, Neo? I think I'm gonna take you out with me more often. You might just be my good luck charm". Neo smiled and laughed along with him. With Neo by Roman's side, he felt like he could take on the world. And together they would survive through anything, no matter the odds stacked against them. While the night sky filled with stars, Neo looked up, felt the heavy weight on her eyes, and went to sleep.