It took several days for Pheros, Stahl, Gaius, and Sumia to travel all the way to Captain Libra's base, and this morning, they had been welcomed by undying snow.

Pheros turned around to face the trio on their Pegasus. "Don't worry. We're almost to Captain Libra. And I need to ask…where on Earth did you find that Pegasus?"

Stahl rubbed his neck. "We got it from the royal castle."

"Queen Cordelia had some of those damn things in her castle? Now I wonder what other rumors about Millennium Court are true."

Stahl and Gaius did not have the proper clothing for winter weather, so they were quite happy to hear that – especially Stahl, as he was also starving.

It was only a few minutes later that the four found themselves in front of a gigantic brown gate, with what looked to be three guards standing at the top. Amidst the snowy winds, Pheros sent a wordless signal to the three guards, and the gate was lowered down, allowing the four to ride in on their respective steeds.

Pheros turned around to face the trio again. "Welcome to the Longfort, comrades. Welcome to the Insurrection."

Stahl, Gaius, and Sumia looked around the base. It was a hustling base, full of heavily armored men and women, all performing tasks of various kinds. Some were blacksmithing, some were training with dummies, and a few seemed to be leading a group of captured Archanean soldiers away. More than a few members of the Insurrection eyed the three, if mainly because of the Pegasus that they had brought with them.

But Stahl and Gaius couldn't focus on them for much longer – they needed warming clothing. "Excuse me," Stahl asked, crossing his arms due to the temperature. "But could we get something….warmer to wear?"

Pheros let out an 'oh' in response. "How stupid of me – let's mount my horse and your Pegasus here and I'll get you some better clothes."

The four mounted their steeds and Pheros led them away, towards one of the smaller buildings at the base. When they got inside, Stahl and Gaius were both relieved to feel at least a little warmer already. They both let out deep breaths before Pheros threw basic white shirts, as well as nicer black shoes to replace the worn-out ones they had been given at the plantation.

"These are all we have at the moment," Pheros said in an apologetic voice.

Gaius had a small smile on his face. "Don't worry. It's nothing."

"You know, since you three escaped the royal castle…Captain Libra would want to meet you as soon as possible."

Sumia had a look of content on her face while Stahl smiled. "It would be an honor to meet him," she said.

Gaius let out a small chuckle. "We've heard so much about Captain Libra…we would honestly like to meet him already, you know…" he let out, and Stahl couldn't help but agree.

"Any idea where he would be at the moment?" Sumia asked, wanting to get down to business.

"He's often planning out his attacks and strategies on the other side of camp. Follow me," Pheros said, and she let the three out of the building and back into the snowy outside, which didn't bother Stahl and Gaius as much anymore.

The three let the base itself sink in some more – the Insurrection seemed well-organized and in order. They certainly looked like they could overthrow the entire Archanean Empire in the near future, which put a smile on Stahl's face.

But as the four walked forward, Stahl suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see none other than Gangrel, all clad in Insurrection garb.

"Hey there…'Munches', was it?" Gangrel said in a happy voice, and Gaius, Sumia, and Pheros all stopped and turned to see what was going on.

"Erm, it's Stahl, actually…" Stahl clarified, and Gaius couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Ah, right. Stahl….I see you and your friends finally found your way to the Insurrection."

Stahl pulled on his shirt. "Yeah, we finally did. When did you get here?"

"I went looking to join the Insurrection along with a bunch of the other slaves after the revolt. We looked around for a few days, but then the Insurrection found us and brought us here to the Longfort."

Gangrel then proceeded to pat Stahl on the shoulder. "Thank you, Stahl. Thank you for helping me regain my faith in this world…"

Stahl couldn't help but blush, and opened his mouth to say something…only to be interrupted by two familiar faces. One of them was Basilio, all chained up and being led right towards Gangrel. The other face took Stahl and Gaius by complete surprise.

"Olivia?" Gaius whispered, making sure that Olivia wouldn't hear him. He didn't know about Stahl, but Gaius hadn't really thought about what might've become of Olivia. But he was glad to see that Olivia was with the Insurrection and not the Archanean Empire.

In addition to the Insurrection clothing and armor that everyone else wore, Olivia also had her hair hanging out in its entirety, with no braids. And behind her was a large group of men and women, with Stahl and Gaius recognizing some of them from the plantation.

"Gangrel!" She said, her tone more commanding than the other Olivia could ever hope to reach. "We have finally found your master. The one who brought you all that pain and hell."

Handcuffed and beaten, Basilio spit out a drop of blood and looked at everyone with desperation on his face. "Please, I beg you! Let me live! I promise I'll retire to some random village, or become a hermit in the woods. Just please spare my life."

Gangrel shook his head. "Not a chance in hell, Basilio."

Olivia turned her eyes back to Gangrel. "So, you're willing to help kill him?"

"Of course, Olivia."

Olivia proceeded to let go of the chains that she had been using to drag Basilio around. "He's all yours."

Gangrel pulled out a dagger, while the other former slaves pulled out various other types of weapons. Basilio yelled and cried out in desperation, but it was clear that there was nothing that could be done now. Olivia backed away from the scene, and she, Pheros, and the trio watched as Gangrel and the other slaves stabbed Basilio to death, all the while he screamed in agony.

Stahl heard a sigh, and glanced down towards Sumia. He couldn't tell exactly how she was feeling about what was going on before their eyes, but it looked like she was feeling incredibly mixed.

After about a minute, the slaves backed away, and Basilio's bleeding corpse was visible to all.

Olivia simply stared at the dead slaver before commanding, "Dispose of him."

Gangrel and three of the other slaves obliged and carried Basilio's body away. Olivia turned her eyes towards Pheros – and they widened when she saw who was with them. Olivia began to approach Sumia.

"Is that…are you…Sumia?" Olivia asked in a genuinely interested voice.

"Yes." Was all Sumia said to answer the pink-haired lady's question.

Olivia smiled. "It is a privilege to meet you. And wait…these two men…they must be the ones you've been seen traveling with. You guys helped bring down Basilio and Flavia's plantation and slayed Henry!"

Gaius smirked and let out a wry smirk. "Yeah, that would be us."

"And you, Sumia, you managed to escape the royal castle…"

"Twice," Pheros clarified, to which Olivia looked even more surprised. "I saw them traveling on the last dark Pegasus in the land."

Olivia then took a moment to clear her throat. "Captain Libra would love to meet you three."

"We were heading for him, anyway," Pheros clarified, which Olivia seemed content with.

"Good. Follow me."

Olivia began walking in the direction the four had been going in. Pheros initially looked puzzled before she walked all with the others. They walked throughout the base for a few minutes, and Stahl and Gaius continued to see soldiers training and blacksmithing. Sumia looked impressed as well – but not as excited (in what would be her own way) as the prince and the thief thought she would look.

It wasn't long before their path was stopped by a large building, with more light illuminating from it than any of the other buildings showcased. Olivia walked straight towards the building, with the other four following right behind her. When they entered the building, they were greeted by a room decorated with maps, and what appeared to be several high-ranking members of the Insurrection.

Among them was Captain Libra himself.

This Libra had a fully visible forehead, and his hair only came down to his neck. He looked to be planning and discussing matters with the generals and lieutenants. He paused when he noticed the group of five standing right in his direction.

"Olivia, Pheros…" He said, ceasing his discussions to approach the five. His attention was then taken by Stahl, Gaius, and Sumia. "And you there, lady…I recognize you from some of the Thorn Queen's propaganda posters. You must be Sumia."

"Yes, that would be me."

Captain Libra then eyed the two men who stood with her. "And you must be her fellow travelers."

Stahl and Gaius both smiled and nodded.

"We have heard of your exploits. How you defeated both Basilio and Henry. Such feats are hard to just brush off, of course. You three have been making a name for yourself. I find it rather...intriguing, seeing you three before me."

"We could say that about you, Captain," Sumia replied, running her hand through her hair.

Pheros then cleared her throat. "Captain, these three actually managed to escape imprisonment from the royal castle, and on the last Dark Pegasus, no less."

Captain Libra cupped his chin in interest. "Yes, the bards should love that. Three prisoners singlehandedly fighting their way through the entire royal castle and escaping on a Pegasus…"

That wasn't entirely accurate, and Stahl raised his finger to make that clear. "Well, actually, Libra…"

"I wish to be referred to as 'Captain.'"

Stahl let out an 'mm' in response. "Right…Captain, it wasn't just the three of us. There was a knight by the name of Cherche who freed us and helped us escape. She betrayed Queen Cordelia, and she gave her life to save us."

Both Captain Libra and Olivia looked at Stahl with what seemed like disappointment on their faces. "I see…." Libra said, still cupping his chin. "Perhaps…perhaps we will erect a statue in her honor once we take hold of Millennium Court."

Stahl let out a small smile to that. "That would be nice."

"Wait, wait," Gaius said, holding up his hands in confusion. "We escaped the castle not too long after dealing with Henry. How did you guys not know of that?"

Captain Libra placed his hand on his chest and let out a laugh. "That's just how the Thorn Queen works, my friend. She's been trying to cover up such blunders because she doesn't want people to know the truth. She doesn't want the people to know how close we are to overthrowing her rule."

The captain then let out another chuckle. "Hell, she tried to burn down that town by the Midmire to stop sympathy in the south, but the south is still beginning to support us. The war is going down in our favor, gentlemen," Libra grinned after that last part.

Just then, a gigantic, muscular man with long white hair and a long beard walked into the building. Despite the beard, Stahl and Gaius recognized him as Walhart, the ruler of Valm – now serving under Captain Libra, it seemed. And with him was what looked like a female Archanean soldier in handcuffs.

"Captain!" Walhart said, and he threw the soldier down to the ground. "I found a small group of the Thorn Queen's soldiers hiding by the entrance. I had them all killed except for this one. Thankfully, Captain, they had only just found the Longfort, but we could still get some answers out of this soldier here."

"Well, done. Walhart. Throw her in with the other soldiers, and waste no time on trying to get any information. And Pheros, you accompany Walhart and aid him in getting the information."

"It will be done, Captain," Walhart said before leaving the building, with Pheros nodding to her captain before leaving as well.

Captain Libra turned his eyes back to the trio. "So you rode out of the castle on a Pegasus? I would like to see it for myself."

Stahl, Gaius, and Sumia led Captain Libra to their Pegasus, with Olivia following close by, and the latter two looked awestruck at the steed.

"Fascinating," Captain Libra said, as he again cupped his chin in interest. "I didn't think I would see a Pegasus until we stormed the royal castle itself. But to see one now…it's quite majestic, I must say."

Stahl picked at his hair. "Thanks. It was the only Pegasus that could carry all three of us out."

"And man, was that quite the ride," Gaius interjected, remembering their rather bumpy ride. "We felt like we were gonna fall off the damn thing. We were surprised when we didn't."

"I see, I see…" There was a pause, as Captain Libra looked like he was pondering over what to do. "The current weather could risk complicating things, but I wish to have you three trained to ride this Pegasus. See which one of you is the best at riding it."

Stahl played around with the buttons on his shirt while pondering that idea. "That…that should be fine."

"This does mean you won't be seeing any action for quite a while. I would like you three to be focused on learning to ride the Pegasus."

"Fine by us, Captain," Gaius said, completely content with staying by one area for a while.

Olivia let out an 'hmm'. "Forgive me if I'm off, as we haven't had any Pegasus Knights since Medeus first took over…but if I recall, archers were always the biggest pain in a Pegasus Knight's side."

Stahl was about clarify that yes, archers were a bane for Pegasus Knights, but Captain Libra beat him to it. "Yes, Olivia, I do recall hearing the same thing. Worry not. We'll take that into consideration during the training." Libra then moved his attention from Olivia to the trio. "Speaking of which, I hope to begin your training first thing tomorrow morning. Take this day to get a little accustomed to our army. And welcome to the Insurrection."

Captain Libra walked away from the three, presumably going back to that building to continue discussing matters with his generals. Olivia looked at the three and seemed prepared to leave before a soldier came up to her and began to talk to her about…something. None of the three were really paying attention to that.

Stahl instead turned his attention to Sumia, confused by how quiet she was. "You know, Sumia, given how dedicated you've been to finding this place, I thought you would've been chattier around Libra."

Sumia didn't change her expression in the slightest. "I did give off that impression, didn't I? Well, I have been hoping to meet Captain Libra for quite a while now, but…well, it's just…I don't really want to talk about it right now. I just want to find something to eat."

Stahl smiled. "Trust me, so could I."

The soldier was done talking with Olivia, and she overheard their conversation. "Ah, yes. Follow me. I'll take you to our buffet."

That sounded wonderful to Stahl, and he, Gaius, and Sumia all followed Olivia. Luckily for them, that particular building was close by, and it only took about a minute to get there. And when they did, a golden light illuminated upon the four, and they were greeted by waves of food on the other side.

Stahl felt like a waterfall was coming out of his mouth. "This looks so good!" He yelled out before immediately rushing to the buffet, to which Sumia and Olivia raised their eyebrows.

Gaius' attention was taken by a row of candy and cookies. He remembered what happened the last time he had candy, all that time ago, but he couldn't help himself. He was just as overjoyed as Stahl was.

"This feels like heaven!" he said rushed to the food at the same speed.

Both grabbed as much food and sweets, respectively, and immediately sat down together and began chowing down on the food like there was no tomorrow. The way they ate so much food, and in such a quick manner, turned several heads. Olivia looked at Sumia, who lowered her head and let out a sigh.

"This is so good!" Gaius said as he chowed down some cookies.

"I know, I know!" Stahl said with a big grin on his face. After swallowing some bear meat, he took a moment to breathe – and to think. "You know….I'm glad to finally be on the right side of this war."

Gaius smirked to that. "So am I, Munches. So am I."

And with that, they continued to devour their food, while paying little attention to some of the stares they were getting.