Season 1.5 - 2
And so it continues. That was about as far as rough outline planning at the time went- everything in season two and beyond was in broad strokes as best. Season Two was to have broadly similar events as canon, but with increasingly different ghost and character plots. Since the character plots are covered later, that makes Seasons 1.5 and 2 the shortest in summary, actually.
Season 1.5, aka the fallout of the Docks, features the rise of the Exorcists as a faction in response to the White Fang use of ghosts.
The Big Discovery of the Docks wasn't Roman's cooperation with the White Fang, but that the White Fang is using angry faunus ghosts as a new weapon in their war against the Schnees. Or human oppression. Or both. Roman's crime wave becomes a wave of ghost attacks- with 'gas explosions,' electrical shortages, and other implicit ghost-damage occurring across the city. The wave of incidents corresponds to a wave a paranormal reports, as people who never knew they had ghost senses are coming into contact wit ghosts. The White Fang isn't causing casualties- yet- by restraining their attacks to midnight, but the war between White Fang and Schnees gives them who knows how many ghosts to use, and they are causing tension and fear. Midnight becomes known as the Witching Hour, when parents lock their doors and the streets are empty at night.
Except for the Exorcists.
The Exorcists emerge as a major faction to combat the White Fang's use of ghosts. Though the war is secret at first- neither side announcing the role of ghosts- the Exorcists are influential Hunters who take responsibility for keeping the streets safe at night. They work, tensely at times, with Beacon, but mostly on their own. The authorities trust them, as most Exorcists are Respected Pillars of the Community, even if the Exorcists are just as secretive about their means, methods, and the ghosts as Ozpin is. As far as the government is aware, the Exorcists are concerned citizens/retired Hunters helping with the White Fang and dangerous semblances, not actual ghost hunters. The Exorcists hunt ghosts, and Teams RWBY and JNPR go on Jaune-and-one patrols to hunt the White Fang, and they sometimes cross paths and clash.
During this set-up period, some good news happens as well- Ren and Nora get together and start a relationship at Jaune's instigation. This is covered more in the character sections later, but after their help in the Cardin arc, Jaune is better friends with Ren and Nora and ships Renora. Since the BBQ, Jaune has been able to enter their dreams as well, getting closer to them now that they can talk and share thoughts. Ren's role as Team Leader has made him more expressive and willing to admit his feelings in the privacy of his dreams: he likes Nora, and knows she likes him, but considers her too important to risk losing in a relationship that might fail. Nora's pining, which even Jaune knows, but doesn't know Ren knows. Jaune- with the trust of both parties- pushes both of them to dare to do what Jaune never had a chance to do in life. With Ruby eagerly helping set the conditions, Jauen tricks Ren and Nora into a date, and leads them to start a relationship. Both are happy, and grateful, and oddly enough from that point on any time Jaune is in a dream with one of them for totally platonic aura transfer, it becomes a (non-dirty) three-way as the Ren, Nora, and Jaune share dreams. Jaune isn't so much third wheel as the catalyst that lets them get closer together, and their happiness is his happiness.
Meanwhile, the Exorcists are frenemies- mostly hostile to Jaune, but willing to make common cause against worse bad Jaune and the others help during some of the Witching Hours, the Exorcists will try to seal or banish Jaune, but prioritize 'worse' ghosts doing active harm. This is reflected by some events in which Jaune and a friend or three visit Vale at night, trying to investigate or help. Jaune's friends- identified by the Exorcists as a Coven- protect Jaune from the Exorcists as much as Jaune protects them from the ghosts. One of the key Exorcists is the Exorcist Original Character (OC), introduced as a leader at the Docks. The Exorcist reaches out to Ozpin against the new threat, but also to Ren and Ruby as Seers.
Rather than hate Seers, as they were rumored to do back during the Witch Hunts of ye long time ago that drove the tribal Seers into hiding and near-extinction, the Exorcists value seers for their ability to hunt down ghosts even the Exorcists usually can't sense. With the return of ghosts on a wider scale, the Exorcists are faced with changing their ways to adapt to the changing world, and that could mean tolerating 'good' ghosts like Jaune, at least for a little while, in order to focus on the bad ghosts. While the Seers have means to trap, seal, or banish ghosts, they're critical weakness is finding them in the first place. Without Seers or Listeners like Ren and Ruby, they're limited.
After a series of skirmishes, the Exorcist OC proposes a truce of sorts to Ren and Ruby- in exchange for their Seer senses against the ghosts, and possession of Crocea Mors to harm ghosts, he'll refrain from targetting Jaune specifically so long as Jaune is good and stays discretely out of the way. It'd protect Jaune, but the team doesn't trust the exorcists to not dispell Jaune's Arc aura reserves in Crocea Mors, and Ruby in particular refuses to have anything to do with banishing ghosts. Ren is also pro-Jaune, but is clearly tempted by a sweetening of the offer, where the Exorcist offers Ren access to exorcists libraries of ghost lore in exchange for his ghost sight. The Exorcist lore might help them understand or expand Jaune's ghostly powers, or even have a way to help Jaune live longer as well.
During this phase, Jaune comes to terms with himself, and Crocea Mors. Crocea Mors is a weapon spirit- specifically, an Arc who never had chance to live, and so inhabited Crocea Mors instead. During the docks, Crocea Mors demonstrated an ability to harm ghosts, but also 'shined' at each ghost 'slain.' Crocea Mors is a reclusive, quiet spirit, who doesn't talk much and avoids talking with Ruby, but during Season 1.5 Jaune is finally able to get it to talk during these ghost-hunts at night. The two have friction because Jaune (and Yang) are tapping into the same Arc Aura reserves that Crocea Mors needs to survive. Crocea Mors was content to be silent and watch Jaune die, but now that Jaune (and Yang when a ghost) are using up aura it's an issue of mutual survival.
Crocea Mors- the Yellow Death- not only has the ability to hurt ghosts, but can drain their ghostly aura for itself. This 'vampirism' effect on ghosts increases it's aura reserves- giving Jaune extended after-life- but takes that same after-life-sustaining aura from the ghosts it's used against. Having seen what happened to Yang to go through aura starvation, Jaune is afraid of this dark power. Jaune is afraid of becoming a Bad Ghost again, and this power could be too corruptive- what if he turns to killing people, and then their ghosts, just to survive? Crocea Mors doesn't see much issue with that- having hard views that the only old ghosts are those that learned to survive at any cost, even if it means preying on the dead- and that causes character friction between Jaune and his sword. This leads to Jaune refusing to use Crocea Mors at key moments, even when it means letting bad ghosts get away and hurt his friends.
Jaune's friends- his coven as the Exorcists call them- become key to getting Jaune over his hiccup. It brings them together as Jaune shares his concerns and fears with them in the dreams when he apologizes for the (minor) injuries they received. The fact that he's concerned, and sharing that concern, helps the bonding in their own ways. Nora is delighted that Jaune is committed to being a good ghost, while Ren takes Jaune's concerns of corruption seriously. Pyrrha shares values of self-discipline so that he can remain stable. Ruby tries to befriend Crocea Mors by talking to it, which is a stretch because Crocea Mors is both reclusive and painfully blunt. Yang has a special connection to the issue, as she's both the most at danger from Crocea Mors- who could kill her quickly as a ghost with little residual aura- but also tied to the issue of draining aura from it. After talking it over, both Yang and Blake try to offer more nightly aura in the Jaune Dreams so that Jaune won't need to use Crocea Mors. 'Offering more aura' means 'dirty Jaune dreams,' which Blake treats as a spirit-friends-with-benefits deal even as she's being courted by Sun. Yang jokes of it as a spirit-wifely duty, but privately vows to give more aura back than she takes away from Jaune's after-life.
On top of the 'need to stop bad ghosts from hurting good people' angle, they also, in their own ways, reassure Jaune that they'll not only hold Jaune back and stop him if he goes out of control, but protect him from going out of control in the first place. Not just Ruby and Ren, but all of them have a connection to Jaune via their dreams and their relics, and they'll help keep Jaune on a good path.
One of the key moments of this comes with Weiss, who since the first accidental dirty dream Jaune has started a friendship with based around the privacy and discretion of her dreams, where Weiss is uninhibited in her real thoughts. After a cat-nap dream during their Witching Hour patrol/search for White Fang, Jaune and Weiss discuss his fears and the idea of self-control. Weiss can understand the idea of self-control better than anyone else, and so she empathizes with Jaune's fear. Weiss provides a bit more discipline- and keeps Jaune in line- when Jaune gets dragged into a ghost chase, and gets caught in a Grimm Ash trap set by the Exorcists. Jaune starts to corrupt again, until Weiss orders him to compose himself and calls him back.
Weiss inadvertently discovers one of the powers of the relics- Summoning- which allows the Sisterhood to call Jaune to them no matter the distance. Jaune can resist, but it's hard, and in this case he doesn't want to. Deferring to Weiss's will, Jaune returns- and, in the process of flying through walls and everything else, loses the Grimm Ash as well. Jaune is safe, thanks to his coven... but Crocea Mors can't go through the buildings, and so is left behind and captured by the Exorcists. By The Exorcist (OC), who now has leverage over the rest of Jaune's life.
Uh oh.
The Exorcist OC calls out the coven for negotiations. The Exorcists could keep Crocea Mors itself as an anti-ghost weapon, but they already have anti-ghost weapons. What they really want are the Seers to help them find more ghosts. Nora hates the Exorcists already for banishing her grandmother, and hates them more for holding Jaune hostage, but Ruby and Ren are in a tough spot. If the Exorcist exorcised all the aura in Crocea Mors, Jaune would almost certainly die for good, except for a last little bit to send to his mother.
Ultimately Ren- who had the most interaction with the Exorcist OC in the first place- is able to negotiate a compromise deal. In exchange for his (and only his) cooperation, the Exorcists both return Crocea Mors and give them access to the libraries of ghost lore. To everyone's surprise, the Exorcist OC agrees to it, and even follows through with his word in a way that could be used against him. Crocea Mors is handed over- rather than kept as insurance- and Jaune is safe for the moment. Ren could go back on his word, but doesn't. From then on, Ren spends a bit of time with the Exorcists each week during the Witching Hour, helping them find bad ghosts.
Ren and Nora's relationship is challenged by Ren accepting the Exorcists's offer, even though it's for Jaune's sake. Despite that, Nora trusts Ren and Ren is still using the Exorcists rather than betraying her and Jaune's trust. It's a tension, but for now relief is the main emotion.
With Crocea Mors returned, it and Jaune come to terms. Jaune will use Crocea Mors, and try to ensure they both survive, while Crocea Mors will only use it's aura-vampirism on bad ghosts who can't be saved. Crocea Mors proves it has the soul of an Arc by making it a matter of Arc Words and a promise to Jaune, and from then on the two work together. Crocea Mors is a limited source of ghost lore, mainly it's own, but knows a lot of Arc history and has seen countless battles. Crocea Mors also starts talking to Ruby, and takes a curious interest in her health and recent good cheer.
Season 1.5 'ends' with Ren coerced/recruited by the Exorcists, Jaune at peace with Crocea Mors, and the Team resolving to investigate the White Fang in full to get to the bottom of things and remove the reason for the Exorcists to need Ren.
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Season Two begins in full with the focus on the White Fang investigation. There's character arcs as well, but those are covered more in the character sections.
The White Fang investigation occurs with a lot of the usual shenanigans. Sun and Neptune are involved. It's the lead-up to the Dance, and so some romantic angles are occurring- Yang gets a white dress but no one to dance with, Weiss is after Neptune, Sun and Blake have some physical tension. Nora and Ren are almost honey-mooning their recent get-together, with Pyrrha helping plan the dance plans.
For the investigation itself- not too firmly planned, except that Roman is involved with a Paladin fight and that the White Fang ghosts become a focus with a Faunus Ghost OC. The Faunus Ghost- one of the first of the increasing number of ghosts that Ruby, Ren, and Jaune notice around Vale- is one of the ghosts the White Fang has brought to Vale in preparation for whatever they're intending. The Faunus Ghost escaped, and has been causing mischief-trouble around Vale sense. The Faunus Ghost is not hostile, and broadly sympathetic, and becomes the demonstration-case of the White Fang's plans when the White Fang do something to turn the sweet child into a Wraith. Team JNPR is able to save the Faunus Ghost without having to kill it via Crocea Mors, and this proves that the White Fang aren't just taking already angry ghosts and using them but twisting innocent faunus spirits into bad ghosts.
Roman's angle is still as proxy for Cinder. Roman's angle specifies that this is all part of a heist for him- that he's a thief, and he's working to pull off his best one yet. Roman's abilities are up in the air, but Neo has definite indications of ghost powers of some sort. The highlight of the battle, though, is that Jaune succeeds in possessing the Paladin Roman pilots, taking control of the systems. It's Jaune's biggest bestest robot body yet… before getting brutally demolished after the fact by a late-for-the-party Penny.
Penny, who was found by Ruby during Ruby and Jaune's part of the investigation, has her own sub-plot going on when Ruby and Penny find her. Penny is afraid of ghosts, but seems uniquely suited to face them. Besides her aura protecting her, Penny's wires and weapons are actually able to catch and affect ghosts. It's like Penny has a spirit weapon, but her blades are no different than the rest of her. That freaks Penny out, but no more than hearing Jaune is floating right above her. Penny is terrified of ghosts, as much about being a super-secret robot.
Penny, Ruby, and Jaune have a sequence of events where Ruby tries to reassure that Jaune isn't out to possesses her, which Penny finally believes when Jaune helps hide the revealed secret that Penny is a robot. There'd be a bit more, but Penny ends up joining the Investigation for now (or, rather, is too afraid to go home alone after hearing about the ghosts roaming about). Penny accompanies Ruby and Jaune, and ends up getting involved in the Roman fight. Penny 'helpfully' annihalates the Paladin shortly after Jaune assumed full control of his biggest, baddest body yet.
For her part in helping out, becoming friends, and in killing Jaune('s Paladin body), Penny becomes an Honorary Sister Who Murdered Jaune.
Superb!
(If only she still weren't afraid of everything being part of the Coven entails.)
Penny becomes a re-occuring character, more-so than in canon, and is allowed by Ironwood to help Team RWBY and JNPR with the Witching Hour patrols at night. Penny's weapons can also hurt ghosts, even though she's just a machine with aura that normally, neither of which should normally allow it. Penny doesn't understand either, but it's accepted as good fortune for now.
The Roman encounter ends with Neo helping him escape- and the realization through Jaune and the Seers that Neo is haunted. Multiple ghosts are holding onto Neo's body, as if all directing her, before Neo escapes with Roman.
The White Fang investigation Arc ends with the team knowing Roman is hunting some specific item in particular, that the White Fang are torturing innocent ghosts to turn them into Wraiths, and getting close to Penny. It then leads to the Dance arc.
The Dance Arc is covered more later, but it's the romantic tension arc. JNPR's only romantic tension is Renora, who Pyrrha and Jaune support as if they were newly weds. On the RWBY side, it's different. Weiss pines after Neptune, but there's no physical Jaune to talk him into asking her out. Blake is open-ish to Sun's interest, but there's tension from other things. Yang is the oddest- dressed up but no where to go and no one to go with. Yang sits out the ball in a white dress, sighing but not able to really put a finger on why.
Ruby's chaste as always, but cheery and almost glowing in how much she's smiling for everyone. She also develops a craving for oatmeal cookies, which is weird, and stays off her feet all dance claiming they're sore and staying with Yang. Jaune doesn't bother her or Yang all night, though she overhears him as part of the Weiss subplot.
The dance arc ends, with character plots described later, and moves onto the Breach arc. Because of Jaune's circumstances, both teams go on the same mission. Questions of 'what do you want from your life' are raised, questioning the recent character threads and desires, blah blah blah.
Given the nature of the Coven, and the quest to help Jaune survive, the question on the future is really focused on what they expect with Jaune in a few years. Are they trying to help him move on? To survive until graduation? Or to live on after that? Different characters have different desires, with Team JNPR mostly wanting to help Jaune move on and find a peaceful perma-death after graduation, while most of RWBY has been focused on trying to get Jaune a new body of some sort to live again.
Only Ruby seems content with the way things are right now, not thinking of the future too much besides Jaune being a ghost partner, but her middle-road approaching of not trying to help Jaune live but also not wanting him to die for good makes her worry if she's being selfish. Ruby wanders off, worried about the future and Jaune's, and Jaune follows to reassure her that he has no plans to leave her. He doesn't know what will come after graduation either- whether he'll move on once his dream of becoming a Hunter is fullfilled, or if he'd have a body- but Jaune repeats his promise from Initiation that he won't leave unless she wants him to.
It reassures Ruby, who smiles, and both are about to head back when they both hear a familiar ghostly beckoning that Ruby's heard before- at Initiation leading her to Jaune, at Forever Falls leading her to Jaune, and back at Beacon leading her to Jaune. But Jaune is already with her, and can hear it to, and it's proven that none of those incidents were him after all. Ruby and Jaune follow the voice, with Jaune leading out ahead, and once Jaune gets far enough he's able to catch sight of the wisp of a ghostly figure who disappears the moment Jaune looks away as Ruby catches up. They don't find the ghost, but the chase brings them to the train of the Breach, and the White Fang and Roman.
Ruby and Jaune find the train, Jaune goes back to get help from the rest of the team, and everyone is involved in the breach.
Because both teams are involved, with ghost powers as well, the Team actually manages to stop the train once Jaune is able to reach the breaks. Reaching the breaks is a problem, though- as both Neo and Roman have ghostly abilities.
Neo's many ghosts return, and they provide a real obstacle to Jaune. Neo's ghosts take turns possessing her- changing her eye color each time- but between possessions Neo is soul-less, like a Berserk Yang. When Yang is made berserk, one of Neo's ghosts possess her- and with a voice that actually works, 'Neo' states her intention to keep the new body. Jaune and ghost-Yang have to work with their living friends to overpower both Neo and a possessed Berserk Yang. Yang's body is reclaimed when Jaune and Crocea Mors threaten to cut Neo's ghosts away from Yang. Ren then takes Crocea Mors to fight Neo's ghosts, and Jaune slips past to try and stop the train at the engine.
Jaune's attempt to float past Roman, however, are stopped when Roman catches Jaune with the crook of his cane and pulls him back.
Roman, despite not having ghost senses, is able to hit and knock Jaune around with his cane. Roman's cane is a spirit-weapon itself- like Crocea Mors- and is able to help Roman fight the invisible Jaune and camp the train break. Roman can't catch Jaune, but can stop him from pulling the break. Things are better when Blake and Ruby emerge, but Roman's able to keep the both of them away from the controls when fighting seriously.
The group succeeds when Jaune goes into the train's engine room, where fire dust is providing the energy. Jaune coats himself in the dust-ash and coals, Ruby opens the boiler, and flaming ghost Jaune (and- soon- the ghost of Yang back from the Neo fight after it turned around) are able to force Roman away from the controls. Team RWBY shuts off the train, stopping the Breach before it can occur. It's a crashing stop, but safe, and the Breach is avoided, sparing the people of Vale- and the ghosts wandering amongst them- from a Grimm attack that would have cause so many more ghosts.
Roman and Neo escape in the chaos of the crash and Grimm in the tunnels, but Team RWBY and JNPR are to be commended. In fact, they are, even Jaune, who is photographed at an awards ceremony floating his medal in the air. The photo hits the media, goes viral, and gets Ren and Ruby and Jaune invited to Ozpin's office to discuss a matter of life and death.
Ren, Ruby, and Jaune show up, see Ozpin and Ironwood awaiting them, but are puzzled to see Penny there too. Ironwood starts the session, ends the season with question for Jaune.
How would you like a new body to live again?
(And- far away- Mrs. Arc is doing dishes when she's called by a daughter. Her darling baby Jaune is on TV- kinda. With a swish of a black dress, Mrs. Arc goes to investigate.)
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The Exorcist/White Fang plot largely overshadows the Cinder plot, but Cinder still exists as the manipulator behind the scene. Cinder is behind the White Fang's new use of ghosts, as part of her own ploy for personal power. Rather than the Maiden- who didn't exist at this point- Cinder is someone who can consume ghosts, and so her gambits is to trick the White Fang and Exorcists into giving her more ghosts to consume.
During all this, Ozpin and Ironwood are trying to manage the situation in a more ghost-positive way. Ozpin seems to be angling things so that Jaune- still a public secret- becomes the way to usher back in a society that recognizes and keeps ghosts and spirits, rather than let the exorcists banish or destroy them. Ironwood is more concerned about public safety, but is onboard with that. Penny is actually the masterpiece/endgame of it all.
Meanwhile, there are some open questions.
How can Jaune survive over the long term?
What's up with Neo being possessed by multiple spirits, when spirits can't possess living bodies?
Why can Penny affect ghosts without a weapon spirit in her weapons?
Who is the unknown ghost at Beacon who led Ruby back to Jaune?
Why is Ruby showing symptoms of pregnancy?
Season two's events are mostly analogous to canon- a White Fang investigation arc, the dance, and the Breach- but Season 3 was just a hypothetical at that point and had no further planning. Aside from the tournament, it was intended to cover two main things- to serve as Ozpin's proof to the wider world of the existence (and potential) of ghosts, and bring-in Jaune's family into the story once they realize his (un)death. How that would have gone…
Well, Ozpin fears Jaune's mother for not-just-comedic reasons, Exorcists would go 'oh shit' if they realized they'd been trying to exercise her son, and there'd no doubt be much embarrassment on the part of the Teams upon meeting her.
But the best part? Even before Season 3 released, Ghost-Jaune's Mom had a name planned. I swear I'm not making this up on the fly.
Mrs. Arc?
Mrs. Salem Arc.
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Author Notes:
But damn would that have been a good way to end the season.
Season 3 tomorrow.