9 Courage to make changes

As the years came and went, Jaune continued following his routine and improving himself both physically and mentally in preparation for the days to come.

His physical training has progressed in a astounding pace, with Jaune that was already able to compete with kids that are 2 to 3 years older than him normally, starting to show results that would put combat school initiates to shame, as his strength and stamina increased his training became increasingly harsher and more demanding both physically and psychologically but it did nothing but constantly push Jaune over his limits and closer to his goal.

In regards to combat training, Jaune is yet to receive any but this fact doesn't bother him in the slightest. He will eventually start looking for the right time to shift his training focus in the near future but for now he is satisfied with continuing things as they are. The training he is doing right now is the foundation that he will build upon later when he starts to learn how to fight and much like when building an skyscraper, the better the foundation the higher you will be able to go.

And besides, this training has done more than just improve his physique, it has also allowed him to learn breathing techniques that were created by his ancestors that can be both used when you need to increase your body's strength output momentarily in a pinch and to more quickly recover his fatigue when he's resting. Also, the free time he got by delaying combat training has been used for him to practice meditation, this was something that has shown a great benefit to his emotional control, which is essential considering that grimm are attracted to strong negative emotions and the benefits will only increase when he unlocks his aura.

Unfortunately, his grandfather was not able to oversee his training for the last month as his health started to continuously deteriorate. From what he was able to piece together, his current health problems have their origins way back in his youth.

Julius once fought in the end of the great War roughly 6 decades ago, this bloody conflict had put such a toll on his young mind that he resorted to smoking in order to cope with it. The conflict eventually came to an end but his dependence carried through even after that just like all the horrible memories of that time. He carried on with his life and eventually had a family which reduced the frequency of his consumption of tobacco but this habit would only be completely broken when his first grandkid was born. But it was already too late as the damage had already been done. This along with his stubborn refusal to go to a doctor for checkups has resulted in a tumor being allowed to grow inside his lungs.

Which leads to the present situation. His grandfather being diagnosed with an advanced stage of lung cancer which he has no hope of surviving, all that can be done for him at this point is to prolong his life while alleviating his pain using painkillers.

The news has left the entire family devastated, their grandfather was a constant source of joy and unity in their family, a man who looked like he had enough strength to hold up the skies now couldn't even get up from his bed. The mood in the always chaotic and lively house was rendered quiet and somber.

The family had each of its members choose a different way to cope with what's happening, each of them are preparing to face Julius inevitable fate.

Jaune meanwhile felt completely lost and helpless, he had to come to terms with the fact that nothing he could have done could change the outcome, that regardless of his knowledge and planning ahead he couldn't stop this events from unfolding, that there will be many people in the future that even his greatest effort will not be enough to save. He had to accept that he couldn't change everyone's fate.

Ever since his soul entered this body, Jaune has considered himself a realistic person who looks at his problems objectively and solve it with a rational answer. But deep in his mind he still held a tiny hope that somehow everything would work out at the end and that everyone would get a happy ending. This event has completely shattered such a naive thought and he has grown more mature thanks to it.

But one thing became clear to him: He detests feeling such helplessness. Jaune has resolved himself to never allow himself to become a powerless spectator and if something can be done to save a life of someone important to him then he will do everything in his power to get it done regardless of the odds, even if he is the one that will have to bear the consequences.

...

That resolve is what led him to make the decision to pick up his Scroll and start the hacking program he has upgraded two years ago since getting access to the CCT tower in order to get access and talk to a person right this instant.

Jaune is currently 6 years old, that is the same age Yang was when Summer has gone on the mission she hasn't come back from, that means that sometime very soon Summer will be sent into this mission and later be considered M.I.A.

Jaune has already gained access to Beacon after months of using everything he's learned about the signal tower to eventually reach Vale through their own CCTS station and gain access to Beacon's systems eventually, though it's limited to cctv camera feeds, computers and any Scrolls that are connected to the network but it's more than enough to send a anonymous message to the headmaster.

One thing to keep in mind is that this will be a one time deal, just like our immune system is lacking when faced with something new, but if you try to use it a second time then it's going to be a completely different history. The moment Ozpin notices the breach in his security he will immediately see it plugged, hopefully he will want to contact me afterwards but Beacon will become out of my reach for a good while.

After checking the program once again to see if there's anything that could give away his location and making sure that he won't be found by his family by hiding in the attic, he moves to click on the button that will give him control of Ozpin's personal computer, but he briefly hesitates.

This is easily the biggest change in the time-line he would be responsible for as of yet and the outcome of it would be impossible to predict, this can make things better in the long run but also make it much worse. Salem will not give up on eliminating Summer just because of a single failure in her plans, she might choose to target her family instead to lure her out and if she somehow captures Ruby than we will go from having 1 untrained silver eye warrior in the original to none in this time-line.

The biggest problem for Jaune is that it's still too soon, he needs more time to hone his abilities and be ready to face any backlash from his actions but currently as things stand he will be gambling with other people's lives. If it was a few years later then he would do it without hesitation but he must decide it now or it will be too late.

In a normal day this would have been a difficult choice for him but after receiving a new perspective from learning of his grandfather's illness he was able to come to an answer.

'My sheer presence is already making changes in this world, unless I act exactly like the original once did the butterfly effect of my actions will make changes to the future anyway so it is better to make the best of my time. Every single person living in remnant are walking towards an uncertain future, the original cast even after losing the battle for Beacon continued going forwards, wouldn't it be too pathetic if I was incapable of doing something everyone else is already does? Wouldn't I be a coward if I let this knowledge become a crutch and prevent me from doing what I think is right?'

'I, Jaune Arc, make this vow with my surname as Arc, to never allow myself to become a prisoner to my fear and uncertainty, to not hold back in doing what is right in order to preserve a certain future and to face whatever consequences my actions may bring. This is a promise I make to myself. '

'And an Arc never goes back on his word.'

Jaune then decisively pushes the button to contact the headmaster.

...

|Ozpin's P.O.V|

Paperwork is the bane of all man, yet here I am, sitting on my chair with a stack of papers that need to be evaluated and signed on top of my desk and with my only companion being my trusty coffee mug, this will be one more night where I will have to work till late.

That comes with the territory of being a headmaster and a holder of a seat in the Vale council at the same time. I am still debating wich one is worse: cleaning after the students messes or cleaning after the councilmen messes, both are about as childish and irresponsible as the other.

And worst of all, I can't even dump all the school work onto an secretary since the last one I hired left saying that I was 'dumping all my work on her' and 'making her feel like a underpaid faunus worker'. Hiring a new one should be my highest priority bellow the coffee budget.

But the tranquil night is disturbed as a message suddenly arrives at my computer, that is worrying since I only receive messages directly on my computer from my inner circle and not unless it's something urgent.

Putting the stack of paper aside I search in my computer to find the sender of the message only to find that it came from a unknown source.

[Unknow: Good evening, I have a proposal you might be interested in, Ozpin]

Seeing a message appear on my private computer which should be only accessible by my most trusted allies made me momentarily perplexed but also curious about how it managed to get access to it, I raised an eyebrow and took a sip from my mug.

'Interesting...'

[Unknow: I have information that could turn the tide of your shadow war, you are interested in that, aren't you Ozma?]

Suffice to say that my computer came very close to having coffee sprayed all over it. That name is one that I haven't heard in millenia and very few people alive know of it, forcibly swallowing the coffee my mind gets to work and starts analysing the possibilities.

'How does it know of the shadow war? Does it know about the maidens and relics as well? My original name is something only Salem knows, is it related to her? If that is the case than what does it want?'

But another message comes not long after the last one.

[Unknown: I know about the relics, the maidens, Salem, the curse that was put on both of you by the brother gods and much more. But what really matters is that I'm willing to share a bit of what I know]

Not wanting to let this Unknown dictate the direction of the conversation any longer I quickly send a message of my own.

[Ozpin: Who are you? What do you seek by contacting me?]

[Unknow: You may refer to me as Cypher, and what I want is to strike a deal with you that may benefit us both]

That gets the headmaster to contemplate what this person could possibly want in exchange for this supposed 'crucial information' he is being offered but at least from what he's being told, this Cypher is not trying to threaten him with exposing those secrets to the public to get what he wants and is willing to give something in exchange at least.

[Ozpin: How did you obtain all this information?]

[Cypher: A valid question but unfortunately the wrong one. The correct question would be: What is the queen's next move?]

The constant deflection of this mysterious informant has started to become quite bothersome, especially when it has so much leverage on me and I have none on it. Not putting much faith in the authenticity of the information I decide to ask his terms before coming to a decision.

[Ozpin: What is your price?]

[Cypher: Don't worry, since I'm the one that is proposing the deal, as a sign of my sincerity I will give you the information and then I'll state my condition afterwards]

That leaves me even more confused since then there would be nothing stopping me from going back on the deal aside from the risk of all information being exposed to the public. That is a clear sign that Cypher is confident in the quality of his information.

[Cypher: The queen is planning to take one of your best pieces from the board, the silver eyed warrior. One of your allies has betrayed you, giving information that will allow the queen to ambush her in a mission and eliminate her. You will have to prevent her from going to that mission if you want her to survive]

That information is enough to completely break my composure and send me into a whirlpool of doubt and suspicion, but before going into any conclusions I have to see if this is true or it is just trying to cause a fraction within my faction.

[Ozpin: How can you prove it? How can I trust you are not lying?]

[Cypher: You can trust me since we have a shared interest in not letting Salem win this war, Salem would be very much interested in obtaining me for the information I possess and her methods to do so would be less than pleasant]

[Cypher: The only proof that you need is that if I wanted, sowing chaos and disorder inside your faction would be an effortless endeavor]

I am forced to admit that what Cypher is saying is true and considering the extent of his information, if Salem was to obtain it than the war would be as good as lost at that point.

I start to reach for my Scroll in order to contact Ironwood and have a team of technicians track the signal and secure this mysterious person, it would be too dangerous to let him roam free where Salem could find him.

[Cypher: If I were you, I would stop trying to reach out for the Scroll right this instant]

I instantly halt my actions and become even more confused as to how he knows what I'm doing despite me being alone in my office, until an answer suddenly comes to me that can explain it.

'The cameras!?'

That theory is proved when he tries to access the feeds only to be blocked from the cctv network.

He suddenly realizes that he greatly underestimated this mysterious person's preparations and that Cypher is much more dangerous than he initially thought.

[Cypher: I gave you the information, now is time for you to hear my demand. I want for my identity to remain a complete secret from others, that includes your inner circle, especially considering the presence of a traitor. I can't risk my existence being known to Salem]

Hearing his demand only serves to leave me even more confused.

[Ozpin: If you wanted to remain hidden, then why did you reveal yourself to me in the first place?]

[Cypher: with my knowledge, entering this war was just a matter of time, so rather than waiting and becoming a pawn, I decided to seize the initiative and keep myself out of the line of fire]

So this means that this person is exposing himself in order to enter the war without without becoming too involved in it. This Cypher seems to be a prudent person, a welcome trait if he wishes to remain outside of Salem's grasp.

[Cypher: And as a reward, as long as you succeed and prove yourself capable of protecting your subordinate, I will later reveal the identity of the traitor to you]

Then and there, Ozpin realized that he never had a choice in the first place.

[Ozpin: very well, protecting Summer is already something that I would already do regardless of the circumstances but for the sake of finding the traitor, I agree to keep your identity a secret]

[Cypher: Wonderful, I will leave a way for you to contact me and don't try to track the signal, it would just be a waste of your precious time]

Then the Unknow contact was suddenly erased from my computer leaving no evidence of the conversation before another one named Cypher was added in its place.

Accessing the camera feeds and making sure that he truly left, he finally gets a chance to relax and think about all that happened.

Cypher is definitely one of the smartest and most cunning beings he had to face in a very long time, his foresight to seek him out and put himself in an advantageous position only shows how much planning has gone into this, he now is wondering what will be this enigma's next move while being secretly excited about the idea of someone giving him a intellectual challenge for a change and hopping that he will be able to play chess with this person one day.

...

Meanwhile back in the Arc household...

WOOHOO! THAT'S A CATCH! HOOK LINE AND SINKER!

REEL HIM IN BOYS! WE CAUGHT OURSELVES A BIG ONE!

Jaune can be seen jumping around the attic showing pure joy as he outsmarted one of the smartest people around and even managed to force him into a power dynamic that leaves Ozpin at his mercy due to the difference in knowledge about each other and Ozpin definitively won't reveal his identity to Salem so he lost nothing.

And seeing the headmaster get so flustered over the cameras was just the icing on the cake.

This talk has put him in a jolly mood and let him momentarily forget the depressive atmosphere that was permeating his house.