Surprise switch up if you started reading already. We've seen jaune on his journey through the years but not enough of the bad guys so here's a nice chapter dedicated to them.
"Don't call me that" Cinder hissed
Vernal looked up from her scroll and gave cinder a satisfied smile "what's wrong with Cindy? Sounds better than the name your using now". Cinder glared daggers at vernal hoping beyond hope that looks could set her on fire. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be so she moved on "that name is what that arrogant asshole torchwick uses to address me when he thinks I'm not around".
Vernal wore a shit eating grin that caused cinder to glare her way once more "I'd prefer if you'd never address me as such again". Before any response could be given the door to the lounge in juniors club flew open revealing a tall man with a white coat and a black bowler hat. Cinder rolled her eyes as torchwick strolled in like he was the hottest thing to ever exist "speak of the devil" she drawled.
Vernal on the other hand had a very different reaction to the master thief "wooh, work it" she cheered. Roman took the moment to give a little twirl before giving a bow to his audience "please no autographs until after the show". Cinder noticed the small girl that came in after Romans idiocy, a small girl with pink and brown hair with a small bit of silver in between the two.
If she remembered correctly this tiny girl was Romans right hand and someone who either rivaled his strength or was stronger. Vernal pushed up from her chair and moved closer to the thief "so you brought the goods I asked for"? Reaching into his pocket the thief withdrew a small Black scroll and held it out to her "it's untraceable just as promised".
Before vernal could get her hands on the scroll Roman pulled it out of her reach "ah ah I think your forgetting something pumpkin". Vernal rolled her eyes before reaching up to grab the thief by his jacket "I'm not and I told you I keep my promises".
"Promises are just word's and to people like us that means very little without hard evidence". Romans cane came up quickly knocking her hand off his jacket so he could stand up straight. "I'm already bending over backwards for you lot the least I could get is a little insurance from the head of your organization".
Cinders right hand erupted into flames gaining both of their attentions "I think you should act more politely to those in charge Roman". The threat was there and cinder expected Roman to back down but what she got was much different when the thief began to laugh. Roman spun the black scroll in his hand without a care in the world "sweetheart if you were ever going to roast me you'd have done it by now, that and you need me".
Cinder thought about it for a quick second before smiled viciously. Vernal took a step back just in time for cinder to switch her hand from a open palm to just her index finger. A small beam of fire shot forth, knocking off Romans hat and setting his hair ablaze.
The black scroll fell from Romans hand as panic overtook his sense of reasoning. The small girl the thief brought went wide eyed before jumping to action trying to stop Roman's bowler hat from suffering the same fate as it's owner. Vernal on the other hand moved quickly to catch the scroll before it crashed to the floor.
There was a certain satisfaction in burning the thief that she couldn't quite place and that fact showed on her face. Cinder stood a little taller with a small grin after watching Roman and the small girl run around like chickens that lost their heads. "I don't suppose you have any more smart remarks to share, right"? Roman pulled out his scroll and reversed the camera so he could see the damage, what he saw brought an uncontrollable hic and sniffle at the terrible loss he suffered.
Vernal let out a sigh before sending a stern glare towards cinder "you just had to ruin the mood around here didn't you". Cinder gave a shrug before ignoring her attempt at intimidation "it doesn't matter besides you acting chummy with someone is sickening". For her honesty she received Vernals signature middle finger before the door swung open once more as Adam, Emerald and Mercury came in.
A quick look around the room had Adam scowling "I'm supposed to be working with professionals not immature brats". Cinders eye's flared with power as she felt the overwhelming desire to assert her dominance once more. Unfortunately there were more important things to do then deal with people far beneath her.
Vernals scroll began to ring so she stepped away from the conversation to answer it. Looking at the caller ID she saw Ren's face, they'd only just entered Beacon so why would he need to call her? She accepted the call and held the scroll out so the video could catch her face, when Ren appeared he was just as stoic as usual.
"Ren, you just left to Beacon not that long ago and unless you blew your cover already I don't see why you'd be calling me now".
Ren looked uncomfortable for a moment "Actually we have and we haven't". She didn't understand but that was understandable with how Ren phrased his answer "we ran into jaune ma'am. He has many questions he'd like to ask us and I was wondering how much we could actually tell him without disobeying master Alec".
Vernal scowled at the mention of her former master's name mostly cause the bastard had the nerve to think jaune was compromised. Who could be stupid enough to believe that Salems prodigy and son would turn against them after all they'd been through as children. Matters were made worse when Alec demanded their silence and forbade them from telling jaune about any of there future plans for vale.
Vernals eye's hardened and she looked towards the others who were in the room along with her. Disobeying orders in front of cinder was a good way to have herself counted as a traitor since cinder was trying to become Alec's new favorite since jaune. Deciding it wasn't worth the risk she decided to follow orders "if jaune asks anything too dangerous just tell him you don't know and to call me if he needs to".
"It will be done ma'am" Ren replied before hanging up the call.
Vernal placed the scroll back in her pocket before rejoining the others who were deep in discussions about their future plans. Adam held out a piece of paper for cinder "info on the Atlas General provided by one of my contacts". Cinder looked at the coded message and smiled while Adam continued "the General is moving as we expected and if things continue as they are we will be ready for his arrival".
Cinder smiled, pleased with Adams progress and the new info she received "all according to plan". The coded message burst into flames thanks to the part of the maidens power Cinder wielded "are time limit is until the Vytal festival". She turned to look at each of them "you all have your jobs and I expect you to have them done on time". When nobody objected to her statement she dismissed them from the room.
Cinder watched as each of them filed out of the room until her eye's caught site of Mercury's silver hair. A scowl appeared on her face, one which didn't escape Vernals notice. Once the door closed shut Vernal decided to ask "are you really still sore about what happened"?
"It's not everyday that months of preparation go down the drain because a child rebels and kills their parent". Cinder thought of all the time she spent trying to get the pieces she wanted together to form an unstoppable team. Unfortunately marcus blacks death at Mercury's hand meant pyrrha's semblance died with him and any chance of recruiting her to their cause.
Just thinking about about it caused an unbelievable amount of anger to surge but was quickly put out with a deep breath. "Is that why your going along with Alec's plan? You've lost all your confidence in plan making so you decided to become a follower instead.
As much as she'd like to disagree with vernal the doubt in her capabilities was slowly becoming apparent. First it was constantly being second best to jaune and then it was failing to attain the full power of the maiden. Being calm and cool was what she was used to but with these failures stacking she just couldn't help but feel anxious about her position as a future maiden.
In all likelihood there could be a change in plans if she failed this time. Cinder moved to the door, she needed time to clear her head of these negative thoughts or it would affect her work. The door swung open and closed behind her as she left Vernal in the room alone.
Vernal watched the door for a few seconds before letting a sigh escape her lips "what a idiot". The whole time they spent together Vernal had watched cinders deconstruction from calm and collected to nervous and dysfunctional. Second guessing everything she did to the point of completely changing her mind. In a way it was pathetic.
Unfortunately cinders incompetence would spell doom for there current plan if something wasn't done quickly. Vernal looked at her scroll for a long second before shrugging slightly "oh what could it hurt to ask"? She quickly typed in a quick message to the only person who wouldn't shrug off her concerns "time to prove them wrong jaune".
That's the end of this chapter for now. You know I really wish rooster teeth would make a spin off with team jnpr. We pretty much know that Salems going to defeat atlas and when it happens team rwby will leave for vacuo. Kinda like what they did in mistral except it would be cool to see jaune, Ren and Nora team up with penny to protect what's left of mantel and atlas.
Hell kill Ironwood, shatter the ace ops and leave jnpr to pick up the pieces and you got the beginning of good story right there. Just imagine the hardship jaune would have to go through to be a team leader and someone the people could look to for hope. Even better if he rallied what huntsmen or huntresses were left for the good of all. Legends will be born that day let me tell you but more than that he'll be the man pyrrha always believed he could be.