An hour later Weiss and I came out of the shower, draped in only one towel each. Yang and Blake wanted some alone time and considering the fact that Weiss and I were technically together now, we could kill two birds with one stone. As we came out, I saw Blake wrapped up in Yang's arms, purring contently.

"Hey," Yang said. "you two have fun in there?"

"That sounds like something dad would say," I replied. Blake's ears perked up, having heard my speech. She raised her head and set it back down into Yang's chest. Weiss shook her head and walked over to her dresser, grabbing a change of clothes. I joined her, selecting a fresh set of tights. I looked over to Yang who shot me a snarky look.

"There is no way I'm getting up," she said. "Not with this time bomb on my chest." I stared her down. "I mean I'm your sister, Blake isn't looking, and as of an hour ago you wanted Weiss to see you naked." Weiss ignored her, stepping towards the bathroom, fresh clothes in hand. I grabbed my clothes as well and returned to the bathroom to change. A few minutes and we came out of the bathroom again, Blake sitting up against Yang.

"So where are we supposed to meet this Paladin guy Mikal?" I asked aloud.

"Do you not know him?" Weiss asked.

"I don't think any of us know him," I replied.

"I mean know of him," Weiss said. "He's been in Remnant for a while, on and off."

"He phases in and out of our world," Yang said. "But he's never been to Beacon."

"What has he done here? And where are you guts finding this out?" I asked in disbelief. Weiss pulled up her Scroll, and swiped around. She held it up, and the screen read: /r/BeaconAcadamy.

"What is that?" I asked her.

"It's a blog that was set up for the students," Weiss said. "It talks about everything going on at the school. But more importantly, there are tons of posts about Mikal." I looked closely, several links and pictures with Mikal the central subject.

"Well how do you know so much about him?" I asked her.

"I've hacked into the Shcnee corporation data files," Weiss answered. "It seems that Mikal has had some activity back in Atlas. The files say he was observing our military forces."

"That actually seems suspicious," I replied.

"Thing is, I have never seen him before," she said. "All I have ever seen is the Paladin Garb. That's why I though our guest was Mikal."

"Hey, where are we supposed to meet him?" I asked.

"Beats me," Yang said. "Guy never told us where." As if on cue, Weiss's scroll buzzed and flashed. She checked it.

"Air-ship docks," she said.

"Let's get going then," Yang said, slamming her fist into her hand.

We arrived at the landing pads, only one occupied. Several men dressed in black and red armor, like Benjamin's, were carrying boxes and other containers of supplies. I looked at Weiss, our eyes linking. I grabbed her hand, and slid close to her.

"You think we should be doing this in public?" Weiss asked me, tugging at my hand.

"Come on, it's totally fine," I told her, nuzzling into her shoulder. "Yang and Blake are doing it." Blake was rubbing up close to Yang too. I smiled and rubbed closer to Weiss. In the corner of my eye I could see two figures talking. One was wearing the same armor as the rest, blocking the second figure. The second figure then slid to the side, noticing us. Likewise we recognized him in his dark green suit, leaning on a cane.

"Well girls, you seem to be early," Ozpin said walking over, the armored figure following him. His skin was pale, exhausted rings circling his eyes. His blond hair fell into his blue eyes, slightly obscuring his right eye. He stood at an average height, about a foot shorter than Ozpin and several inches taller than me, but he stood wide and strong, his chest pushed out. But the defining feature was a permanent scowl and squinted eyes, shifting between me and Weiss, and Blake and Yang. "This is Mikal, leader of the Paladin Order," Ozpin explained. I let go of Weiss and Blake of Yang and we stood in front of Mikal. He looked like an angry man, his eyes looking for something, discerning every detail.

"So this is the infamous RWBY?" he asked dryly. He stepped forward, sizing us up and down. As he analyzed us, his eyes switched over to Yang, and they went wide. He stood in front of her in shock, their eyes level. "Well I did not expect that."

"What?" She asked him.

"You are rather tall for a woman," he said.

"Excuse me?" Yang questioned confused.

"Women are generally smaller than men," he said confidently. "Not significantly, but consistently." She stared back at him in confusion. "Trust me honey, it's not worth it to kill over."

"I wasn't thinking that at all," Yang replied.

"Oh," Mikal replied surprised, his face becoming lighter. "well then, I wasn't expecting that either."

"Why would you?" Yang replied.

"There are a few, controversial, organizations where I'm from," he explained. "and of course it bleeds into freaking everything."

"Yes, well," Ozpin said. "Mikal's presence is a result of a long and arduous negotiation process to allow his soldiers a presence at Beacon. In exchange Mikal has promised both military support and Paladin training for our Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"You can just say Hunters," Mikal said. "Brevity is Wit." Ozpin leered back at him. Mikal looked back at us rolling his eyes. "Regardless, I wanted to speak to the all-stars of this school. I have heard only good things for this rookie team."

"Well it's nice to get recognition," Weiss answered in her smug voice; Her cute smug voice.

"Until an hour ago," Mikal said flatly, his face shifting alongside it.

"What?" Blake asked him.

"Don't play dumb," he said. "You and I both know what I'm talking about. Benjamin relayed the info back to me. He merely confirmed the suspicions I had about your team prior to meeting you."

"What suspicions?" I asked sheepishly.

"You are horrible at lying Ruby," he said. "Your tells are all too obvious." He stepped forward, glaring at me. He slid back slightly. "You and I can speak about this in private."

"Just me?" I asked him.

"You're their leader," he said, "You should be representative of them. Meet me on the ship." He said turning on his heel, marching towards the large shipping vessel.

"Don't worry Ruby," Yang said. "We'll meet up later." I looked to Weiss. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"It's okay Ruby," she said. "I'm feeling a lot better. Despite what they believe, the Paladins seem to be incredible healers."

"Even so," Ozpin said walking up. "You should follow me to the infirmary, just to get some vitals." Weiss nodded.

"And Ruby," he said. "After your conversation with Mikal, I would like to speak with you as well. Come meet me in my office." I nodded back to him, as he took Weiss by the shoulder. She looked back, winked, and blew me a kiss. I waved back to her, and turned back to face the looming freighter. I walked up to one of the armored men and tapped him on the back. He turned around, his face contorting into a scowl.

"What do you need?" he said, trying to sound courteous.

"Mikal told me to go talk to him, but I don't know where to go," I told him.

"Follow me," he said flatly, turning back to the ship. As I followed him, I noticed several long metal plates bouncing against his legs, colored yellow in the center with black outlining it.

"So is that a battle skirt?" I asked him directly. He stopped and turned around, an unamused look on his face.

"Technically it is a Kilt," he said dryly. "It is colored to designate our specializations, the same with our armor. My armor is black with yellow trimming, designates Protection Paladins. Yellow with red trim is Holy, like Benjamin; and Black with red trim is Retribution, like Mikal. Now, any other exposition?" I shook my head, and he led me up the ramp. We entered the cargo hold, boxes all around. Several other Paladins carried boxes and other materials out of the freighter. We walked up a flight of steps and turned into a hallway lined with several doors, most likely the crew's quarters. At the end of the hallway was another staircase that led up. When we arrived at the steps another hallway ran perpendicular to the steps. At the end of the hallway was another set of steps and another hallway, most likely another hall of barracks. Between the staircases was a large wall with a set of double doors. He stood by the doors and placed his hand against the side of the door. The doors slid open and he directed me in.

This room was far different. Several banners hung on the walls, some depicting the cross symbol, others depicting fruit and weapons. In front of me was a balcony which had a pair of staircases on either side. On my floor were several tables with chairs surrounding them. I walked over to a table on my right. It had several monitors on it and was strewn about with papers. I touched the mouse, the screen popping to life.

"Ruby!" echoed in the room. I looked up and saw Mikal leaning on the railing. "I see you have found your way to my study. Come up here so that we may speak." I walked up the steps to an oval shaped table with a large gap in the middle. I heard the distinctive clank of a plate, as Mikal set down a plate of cookies on the table.

"Thank you for coming Ruby," he said formally. "I thought it would be easier to speak to you and have you relay the info to your friends, rather than deal with the backlash of four angry girls. Not sure if I could take a punch from Yang."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. He passed about the table, his hand tracing its outline.

"Benjamin explained to you what the Paladins stand for, did he not?" I asked me, a sly smile on his face.

"Yeah," I replied. "He said something about whether or not you believe in the book or something."

"Ruby, I consider Beacon and its teams to be far more valuable as allies than a threat to the Confederation," he said. "Which is why I have come here. I can take your very capable brothers and sisters and turn them into Paladins, and the Grimm will begin to fall."

"But wouldn't that mean they would have to leave Remnant?" I asked him.

"They don't have to," he replied. "You see, if I were to establish a Basilica here, your friends would not have to leave. They could continue to attend the school and would still interact with you."

"For some reason I feel there is a catch," I said. His face went dark.

"Ruby, the Paladins are an incredible force," he explained. "Men who do God's work. I want to ensure that you will not interfere with that work."

"Why would I do that?" I asked him.

"You have some, qualities that seem worrisome to a man like me," he said. "A man that works to please God." He sat down in one of the chairs, and pulled out a knife from thin air, tossing it between his fingers. "Hammer space by the way. You see, that little relationship you have with Weiss, and your sister's relationship with the catgirl."

"Blake," I interrupted.

"With Blake, seems to be more than just friendship," he said. "As if it would indicate an ideology opposite God's."

"What does it matter?" I asked him.

"God and subsequently the Paladins frown upon the lifestyle of homosexuality and other non-heterosexual lifestyles," he stated.

"I'm not gay," I retorted. "I like guys, and Weiss; but just Weiss, not other girls."

"Interesting," he said flatly. "Never thought I would actually encounter that."

"Someone gay?" I retorted cleverly.

"One: I have met several gay people," he replied. "And two: single target sexuality. For some reason I believe you. She's still a girl though, and that does not excuse you."

"And why is that?" I asked him. "Because some book tells you?"

"Yes!" he exasperated standing up. "Because that book is the word of God. Didn't Benjamin tell that shit to you? Or do I have to repeat it yet again?" he stared with aggressive and frustrated eyes. It seemed this was not the first time he had explained this to someone.

"I remember what he said," I said flatly.

"Good," he said. "Cause you would not be dumb enough to say that the Bible is just some book. You have yet to see, just what I am capable of when I am angry." He slammed the knife into the table, the ornamented knife dug deep into the wood. Three red gems glinted in the light, marking the image of a cross.

"The point is Ruby, I don't care how much of an ally you can be, how strong you are, nothing," he said menacingly. "I serve God, and if that means killing you, I must. Don't make waves Ruby. Because I will do what I must to defend what is written in that Book."

"You're bluffing," I bluffed.

"Five years ago I would have just killed you," he said inching towards me. "But you are more valuable as an ally. Do not make me have to kill you, and your little girlfriend too."

"I thought you were supposed to love and help people," I quickly replied, trying something to calm him down.

"Aye, He is a God of Mercy," he said pulling the blade from the table. "But He is also Just. I give you this warning, because the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom."

"What?" I asked intimidated.

"I sense your fear," he said. "And I don't need no powers to detect it, your body is shaking, one foot backwards as if to run." He took a small step forward. "And that's good. Fear is a respect of power. The power I hold is the power of God. And when you fear God, who can stand against you?" he said leering into my eyes. "If you stand against Ruby, how will it turn out?"

"Power?" I yelled back at him, my feet spaced apart, my body ready to attack. "Power does not equal good! Might does not make right! You think that you can lord some idea of power over someone and expect them to bend? Well that person is not me!" he stared at me, and slowly a smile crept across his face, a deep laugh bubbling up through his chest.

"All authority is God's Ruby," he said. "It does not matter if it is seized through power, or representation, or a royal bloodline. Those that lead, lead because God decided it. The Paladins are a display of the great and Awesome power of God. And that power can move mountains, but that power is also what will toss the wicked into the depths of Hell, the power that turned Sodom and Gomorrah into a heap of cinders." He paused. "Tell me Ruby, are familiar with the Tale of Sodom and Gomorrah?"

"I'm afraid not," I said.

"How can I put briefly?" he asked himself. "The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were the most wicked and evil of all cities, worshipers of idols and evil. And when God saw that there were no righteous men, aside from Lot within the City, he destroyed them. He sent his messengers to save Lot and his family, and the wicked city of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in a rain of fire and brimstone." He plucked a cookie off the plate. "I could go into far more detail, but that is its own sermon Ruby. In essence, Lawful Good doesn't Lawful Nice." He chomped on the cookie, breaking it in half. In that instant, I felt and incredible uneasiness, some unseen force about to appear.

"I, I," I struggled to say. "I am leaving now." Hopping off the balcony to the bottom floor. I made it to the door when I heard him speak.

"You know if you just break it off with Veiss, none of that has to happen," he said. "Same with Blake and Yang. I know you can't control them, but you can control yourself. Also," he snapped his fingers, and the plate of cookies appeared in my hands. "Expected you to eat them all the moment you saw them. So you do feel guilty. Regardless take them, and keep the plate." I huffed and opened the door. "One last thing Ruby," he said. I turned my head back to him. "I may seem like an angry man, but am merely passionate about what I believe. I feel an intense conviction, as do the rest of my men. To you it may seem bigoted, but to us, we wage a war against a world that would have us destroyed. It is my hope that you see in more than the crusader, more than the Warrior King," he said.

"I do not want you to be my enemy Ruby, and right now I do not consider you to be. But circumstances may turn you against me. I say this, because no one is too far gone. The Paladin Order is filled with men and women who were the worst examples of humanity; the operative word being were. Even Saul persecuted Christians, and then he became Paul, the greatest asset in the establishment of the Early Church. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." I turned back and walked out of the doorway and out of the ship, putting that conversation out of my mind. As I walked down the ramp, Blake and Yang were standing there waiting for me.

"He gave you cookies?" Yang asked, plucking one off the plate.

"Yeah, that and a lecture," I said, grabbing a cookie for myself. "He threatened to kill me."

"What?" Blake asked aghast. "he wasn't serious was he?"

"He seemed really serious," I said. "He was really dark about it; he explained tons of reasons why. And the weird part is, he ended it with some attempt at comforting me."

"There is no way he's being serious Ruby," Yang said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "He's just bluffing. I'm sure he's putting up a tough façade; he's probably just a friendly bear underneath that rough exterior."

"He said that he would kill us for being together," I said.

"What do you mean, together?" Yang asked.

"He said he would kill me and Weiss for being together, and you two too," said.

"Just for that?" Blake asked. "that man is crazy."

"Perhaps we should speak now, rather than later," Ozpin said, walking over, Weiss at his side.

"Ozpin," I said. "I thought you took Weiss to the infirmary."

"I asked Ozpin to cover for me Ruby," Weiss said. "I needed to talk to him alone."

"I'm sorry I had to fool you like this," Ozpin said. "But I believe it would benefit us all if we spoke about Mikal, without his presence."

We sat in his office, Ozpin sipping on a cup of coffee. He set the cup down, and began to speak.

"How familiar are you four with Mikal?" he asked.

"Just what the advance reports said," Yang said. "His and the Paladin bios."

"Those reports are significantly limited," Ozpin said. "They contain only the necessary information about the Paladin Order."

"Seems like an organization so big would have more than a page's worth of necessary data on it," Blake replied.

"Which is precisely why I called you here," he said. He stood up and looked out the window. "Three months ago, three men dressed in red robes appeared at Beacon, demanding that they speak to me. Without any clearance or permission they charged into my office, screaming some nonsense about an inquisition. I quickly had them apprehended. They seemed to not put up a fight, but then one of them told me, that it was just the beginning. He said their master would be coming soon."

"Mikal?" Blake asked.

"Exactly," Ozpin replied. "The next month, in red and black armor shining gold and white, Mikal stood in my office." Ozpin returned to his desk, opening a drawer and pulling out his scroll, setting it on the desk's surface. "He informed me that those three were the advance guard he sends when he begins an Inquisition."

"Inquisition?" I asked him.

"Mikal has fought many battles," Ozpin said. "Most of which were ideological. He tries to fight battles with words before he must fight with arms."

"If Benjamin is any example of Mikal, I'd fight with arms rather than words," Weiss said. "While Benjamin did help us out, he did say some rather offensive things."

"On what grounds?" Ozpin asked.

"Like what I said earlier," I said. "Mikal wouldn't hesitate to kill me just for being with Weiss. Same thing with Yang and Blake."

"I believe you are not seeing the whole picture Ruby," Ozpin said. "He said the same thing to me, albeit with a different context. He told me he would kill me if I would become an enemy."

"He seems like a rather hostile man," Blake said. "One to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Rather close minded too," Yang said.

"You sound surprised," Ozpin said. "He is a very religious man, as is the nature of his Order. If there is one thing he did talk about, it was the nature of the Order. It is a very traditionalist order, focused on a strict adherence to their holy book."

"So they are fundamentalists?" Weiss asked. "Where dissenting thought automatically equals damnation and vilification?"

"It is hard to advance when people do not think the same," Ozpin said sitting down, interweaving his fingers and leaning on his hands. "I don't agree with his methods, and I am not justifying his rationale, but just because I disagree doesn't automatically disqualify his beliefs. Like I said, he has fought many battles; mostly debates of ideology. But this adherence to what he believes shows incredible resolve. In a world that constantly challenges his Faith, he stands strong, even when it means sacrificing relationships and popularity."

"So, it's more important for him to be right than to be liked?" I asked.

"That's the caveat," Ozpin said. "He thinks he is right. And he could be. All the things he has ever done could have been the right thing to do and when we are all dead we stand before God, and Mikal will be blessed for his actions, while we will be punished for our lack of faith. Or, Mikal could be wrong. There is no sure way to know."

"But his beliefs just seem like hate," Blake said. "All he wants to do is kill or hamper anybody that disagrees."

"To him it may be love," Ozpin said. "Does a parent not discipline their child so that they can learn from their mistakes? A child may see a toy taken away from them as a harsh punishment and a sign of hate from their parent, but that isn't the case. From Mikal's perspective, he is trying to help people. To him, if the culture abhors certain behaviors, the negatives won't arise from them, purely because they are less likely to occur."

"Are you taking his side?" Blake yelled at him.

"I am merely stating facts and observations," Ozpin said calmly. "I am on no one's side. The very fact that you react this way is a reaction to his perspective and life. It is no different than his reactions to you. Mortals at their core fear what they do not understand. And when we are afraid, we will do whatever we can to no longer be afraid." I looked at my teammates, each wearing a scowl on their faces. Ozpin sighed and stood up.

"You are at the point in your life when you start encountering people with opposing viewpoints," he said. "But the important part is to understand where they stand and have empathy for them. You don't have to agree, you just have accept they think differently."

"But they just seem hostile," Blake said. "All the Paladins seem to be are a bunch of hateful bigots."

"Based on but one point of Doctrine?" a voice spoke out of thin air. A light formed in a single space and a silhouette formed, revealing the armored man we were speaking about, Mikal.

"How did you get in here?" Blake hissed at him.

"Told you to spring for the Magic proofing Ozpin," he said walking over. "You seem to be the only one actually angry Blake, so I'll talk to you directly. Do you oppose the Paladins purely because we consider non-traditional sexual lifestyles to be sin?"

"That is a loaded question," Blake said.

"But is that a factor?" Mikal asked. "Are you going to vilify a group of people on only one point or do you know enough factors that justify your opposition?" Blake stood there, her face falling, unable to reply. "Blake, let me try to explain this incredibly complex situation as simply as I can. What I have consistently seen in these situations is that we as Paladins hold a Christian belief that many actions and lifestyles are sinful, and as sins we cannot justify them and subsequently oppose them. You, as a member or practitioner of such a lifestyle, feel personally attacked. When you hear that we oppose being gay, or whatever it is you are, you feel that as a member of that orientation, you yourself are being attacked." Blake looked away, unable to answer. "Blake, the same thing happens to me. When somebody says God does not exist I feel a personal attack. I feel there is undeniable truth to the existence of God, and someone denying that proof is saying that we are stupid or easily fooled." he passed his eyes across the room and sighed.

"What I am saying is, no one is immune to that," he said. "we all feel attacked when something we love is hated by someone else, and it hurts when we know someone is actively trying to stop it. But we see it as sin. We know that we can't stop people from acting in such a way, but we can provide an environment encouraging Godly behavior. In order to do that we need paragons of Faith, and those are the Paladins. Paladins are trained to fight, and sometimes, people take our weapons as a challenge and attack. We uphold the law and so we need to reestablish order, even if that means permanently removing the threat."

Blake walked over to Yang's side, grabbing her arm. I could see the disgust begin to form on Mikal's face, Blake deliberately trying to upset him. However Mikal merely sighed and continued speaking. "But, I believe it is more important to be united on what is similar than divide on what is different. That is why I have come here. Right now we need to look beyond our differences and focus on what unites us. There is little chance I will change your mind, so why beat a dead horse trying to?" I stood up confronting him.

"Then why did you say you would kill us?" I said.

"You twist my words Ruby," he replied. "If such lifestyles motivate you to oppose me, I will be bound by faith to end you. But if we can both humble ourselves, and look past our differences to unite against our enemies, then we have the potential to be great allies."

"I still don't trust you," I said.

"Ruby if I truly considered you an enemy, I would have already killed you," he said.

"That doesn't inspire trust," I said. He sighed and reached into his pocket.

"Then perhaps a peace offering," he said pulling out four slips of paper. "Four tickets to an opera hosted in the Capital City of the Confederation. Come and see our people, and see that we are not monsters out to hurt you. See that we can look past our pride and that we do not hate your kind." I grabbed the tickets and looked them over."So you will come?" I looked over to my team, Weiss and Yang nodded, Blake just clung to Yang. "It is settled then, we shall reconvene later this evening at your Dorm and I shall transport you to the venue."

"Good, I can leave," Blake said storming out. Yang hurriedly followed after her. Weiss and I both hurried out the door in pursuit. Weiss and I made it halfway through the hall before I heard a call behind me.

"Ruby," Mikal said behind me, Weiss running off ahead. He stepped forward. "It seems that Blake has distrust of traditionalists." He stared at me as I stared off. "Does she think me a racist?"

"Are you?" I asked him.

"Perhaps," Mikal said. "I am not accustomed to beast-men, but I do not hate them. But likewise, Blake may be conditioned to hate the portions of society more focused on convention than innovation." I gave him a confused look. "I believe that she is disguising her perception of me hating her for being Faunus through me hating her for being attracted to Yang. She's experiencing Cognitive Dissonance."

"What is that?"

"Well in this case," he explained. "Blake is so convinced that Religious and traditionalist folk are racist that when she encounters one that isn't, she has a hard time accepting it."

"That has to be incredibly difficult to deal with," I said. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand, placing a red stone in my palm.

"It would be best if I keep my distance from her, I'm guessing you will have a better time helping her cope with the pain," he said. "When you want to use the stone, pass your forefinger over the rough edge and a portal should appear. The house opens and hour before the show." He walked down the hall and disappeared into thin air as I speed by with my semblance, trying to catch up to Weiss and my team. No matter what was happening, I know that Blake would fare better sooner rather than later.