As the Phantom Thieves caught up and got reunited, there was a particular topic that came up in their conversation. The only reason they were all here, back to normal and freed from Marie's control, was due to the Flag of Liberation that Erina could wield. At least, they thought only Erina could wield it, but Toshiro surprised everyone with his actions earlier. As such, Ann had to be one that brought it up. "You know, I was really impressed with you, Toshiro! You really showed up for us. The way you stood your ground against the enemy...I gotta say, you earned my respect with that one."
"Yeah, you really did pull through for us right there." Ren added.
"Your steadfast actions allowed us to secure a victory. For that, you have our thanks!" Hifumi smiled.
"Well, speak for yourselves." Mika was quick to add. Even though Toshiro showed a backbone for once, it was already too late for him to get into Mika's good graces.
With the exception of the woman who will never praise him, Toshiro felt pretty good about that. While he was making an attempt to remain modest, he was doing a poor job at it. "Oh, haha, really? It wasn't that big a deal. Well, maybe a little bit of one."
"It is thanks to you that Yusuke and I are freed from Marie's control." Makoto hated every waking second of that. Toshiro really came through for them there.
"I shudder to think what sort of abhorrent acts I would have committed had I stayed under that vile woman's thumb." Yusuke shook his head.
"Hell yeah, you were cool out there!" Ryuji added.
"Oh, come now. That's enough flattery. I was just doing the right thing, hahaha!" Toshiro laughed softly. Smugly.
"I am detecting a 'smug and braggy' tone from Toshiro." Sophia remarked.
"He's riding a victory high. I think we should let him have it for just a little bit." Zenkichi replied. Even if there were a few people that disagreed. Akechi and Mika for example.
"I'm still curious about that flag, actually." Morgana crossed his arms. "I thought only Erina could use the power of the flag. So I wonder what's going on here?"
When that was brought into question. Toshiro couldn't help but wonder himself. "To be entirely honest, I'm not exactly sure what happened. All I knew is that I was trying to do the right thing, and the flag's power manifested. But I can't say I did anything in particular to activate it. So that might have been the flag's own doing."
"While we may not understand the inner workings of the flag just yet, it is clear that it has served as an anchor for us while in this Kingdom." Akechi spoke.
"If not for that flag, we would be in a lot of trouble." Sophia remarked. "We wouldn't have been able to rescue anyone."
"So if we're handing out the praise, then we should give some to Erina as well!" Ann beamed.
"She was the one who passed the flag to Toshiro." Hifumi nodded.
"Yeah, Erina! That's a damn fine flag you've got there!" Ryuji remarked.
"Three cheers to the real stars of the battle: Erina and her flag!" Futuba snickered.
"Woo-hoo!" Sumire cheered.
Toshiro, however, was in complete and utter shock that he got left in the dust like this. "Is there really not a single shred of praise left for me!?"
"Doesn't seem likely." Ichinose giggled. Oh, how it was so amusing to watch these young adults intentionally and unintentionally bully this grown man.
"You'll get used to it." Zenkichi nodded from experience.
"I DON'T WANT TO GET USED TO THAT!?" Toshiro exclaimed in response.
Erina could only let out a sheepish laugh in response. "Ahaha...I have to say, it's true that I fully trusted Toshiro to succeed when I handed off my flag. When I passed it over, maybe I shared my feelings with it?"
"You're saying there's a possibility that the flag has a mind of its own, or perhaps it's started to develop sentience..." Makoto was pondering the numerous possibilities in her head.
Haru then giggled with a thought. "What if it started talking to us? I think that would be amusing."
"I'd rather have Morgana around as the only talking weird thing." Ryuji said in response to that. He did not want to entertain that thought.
"Who are YOU to be calling someone a weird thing, huh!?" Morgana shot back in response.
"I think we're getting a little off track..." Sumire said with a slight sweat drop.
"Normally I would dismiss this conversation, as it is a flag. But in the Metaverse, a number of things are possible." Akechi said.
"I think it's weird and that we don't need to think any deeper into it. The flag helps, that's all we need to know." Mika said while filing her nails.
Toshiro was still in shock. "Seriously?! We're just going to move completely beyond me!?" His recognition lasted all of one minute!
"I think we should start getting back on track." Zenkichi would be the one to veer the conversation back to their next steps. "It's nice we have everyone back, because now we're all full power. But going forward...Marie's forces are insane in terms of numbers."
"Yeah." Ren nodded. "Thanks to Lavenza's help and the Sub-Personas, it helps offset the fact we aren't at full power. Even then, we can't afford to make any mistakes. If we get caught again..."
"It would be ideal to ride our momentum to Marie's defeat." Yusuke was hopeful with that.
"But I doubt that is possible." Hifumi shook her head. "As Zenkichi said, Marie's numbers are great. Even under normal circumstances, we would wear down under the sheer quantity of her soldiers. I dislike admitting this, but I do not think our odds of victory are high..."
"It must really be bad if Hifumi-chan is saying that." Mika understood the severity of the situation from that.
"I think I have a way to even those odds." Erina spoke up and everyone turned to her. "For a while, we'd heard rumblings of a place where captured Rebel Corps members are held prisoner. Not to be confused with the prison where we rescued Ann, Futaba, Toshiro, and Sumire."
"How many prisons does she need?" Sumire rubbed the back of her head.
"Just a little bit ago, I received a report that we've finally located the entrance to the prison." Erina said.
"Yes!" The veteran Rebel Corps member from before spoke up. "All too many of our comrades have been incarcerated in this terrible place!"
"I'd like to go there and liberate them as soon as possible! Will you help me with that?" Erina asked the Phantom Thieves.
"As if you needta ask!" Ryuji spoke for everyone. "We're here to help you overthrow that asshole Marie! So we'll do whatever we can to help!"
"What Ryuji said!" Haru nodded in agreement.
"Wait, hold on." Toshiro interjected with his concern yet again. "We lack the necessary intel for that. First, we should find out everything we can. Only then can we form a careful strategy. We need to appoint a recon team to scope out the area while we conduct simulations, then discuss operative arrangements..."
"Yeah, uh-huh. Sure. Let's just go." Erina said, completely ignoring every bit of planning that Toshiro wanted to conduct.
"Did you even hear a word of what I just said!?" Toshiro exclaimed. Based on Erina's smile, she did, and she was just moving on from it.
"Do we have any idea how heavy the security may be at the prison?" And here came Makoto, asking a reasonable question.
"We do not knock the exact number of the guards stationed there." The Veteran rebel answered. "However, we do know that the entrance is heavily guarded!"
"After we crashed the plaza. I'm sure Marie is on high alert." Futaba said with a sweat drop. "She was not happy about that, at all."
"I loved seeing the frown lines appearing on her forehead." Mika snickered. "I have a dozen other insults I want to say to her face!"
"Try not to provoke her too much before we're in a good position." Zenkichi asked nicely.
"May as well head over and check the stich our ourselves." Ryuji suggested.
"Then we shall guide you to the prison!" The veteran rebel exclaimed. With the Phantom Thieves in full force, this was going to be their first operation!
.
.
The veteran led the group to the area outside of the detention facility. This building was much larger than the prison where Toshiro was being kept. The group stood around a few corners to get a good view of the area. "There it is!" The veteran pointed to the large building ahead. "The contemptable prison they've thrown our compatriots in!"
"We need to avoid being spotted. We're not sitting too far out the corner, are we?" Toshiro asked. But he could feel Oracle behind him, nudging him out of the corner. "Wh-? Hey, quit shoving me!"
"Then quit setting yourself up for it!" Oracle exclaimed.
"Hey, let's get serious, you two." Wolf rolled his eyes. He didn't think he'd have to be snapping another adult back into action like this, but this was his life right now.
Queen sighed at the sight of the front gates. "There are a lot more guards than I hoped for."
"Perhaps we could try drawing them away somehow." Dragon pondered. "Dividing and conquering would be the best way to go about this..."
"Wait." Sophie lifted her hand up. "I think two of the guards are talking about something."
"Where did he go!?" One of the Legionnaires asked.
"Can't be far! We'll find him!" The other guard exclaimed.
Upon hearing this loud conversation, a few conclusions could be drawn. "Are they looking for someone?" Noir asked.
"Did someone escape?" Ichinose tilted her head. That meant there was a way out somewhere!
Erina's eyes scanned the area, and then she saw it. "Over there!"
A wounded Rebel Corps member limping by, weakly. He wasn't going to last long, because he collapsed to the ground. "Someone...help...please..."
"What the...how'd he get there!?" Mona gasped.
"What can we do? Even if we were to help him, there are too many guards around...!" Fox said in a hushed whisper. They couldn't just stand there, but they ran the risk of ruining their plan if they went to help!
"We don't have time. We have to help." Joker shook his head. There was only one option in his eyes.
"I see we're on the same page!" Toshiro nodded. "So, let's retreat for now, and..."
"No!" Erina vehemently objected to this. "Do you expect me to abandon my own right in front of me?! If we leave now, he'll just get captured again!"
"I never said we'd abandon him!" Toshiro shot back. "All I'm saying is, we can't afford to be reckless here!"
"Bleeding hearts, all of you." Akechi sucked his teeth in annoyance. "If we're agreeing to rescue him, there's no point in debating how we do it. We either do it now, or never."
"I'm with Crow." Skull said. "We can't hesitate here! And I know everyone wants to help."
"Oracle, how does it look?" Violet asked.
Oracle was doing a quick scan of the area. "Marie may have the advantage in numbers, but it doesn't look like they're all gathered in one spot. From what I'm picking up, the Legionnaires are spread pretty thin right now."
"They're in manhunt mode right now." Wolf added. "This is a pretty big area, they can cover more ground that way."
"But it makes them easy targets to pick off!" Panther grinned. "If each group is really that small...!"
"Then what's the hold up? Goooo!" Viper said, shoving Joker in the back. He was the leader so he had to be the one to get moving."
"Ack!" Joker grunted. But Viper was right. They had to get a move on.
"Meanwhile, the rest of us can start cleaning up this area before the guy gets captured again!" Skull said, turning to Fox and Queen. "You guys ready to bust some heads with me!"
"Gladly." Fox said while placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. "I owe a debt to Marie and her forces, and I intend to return it tenfold."
"I'm rusty." Queen said while clenching her hand into a fist. "So this will make great practice." Skull wasn't going to say it, but his expression did: the Phantom Fist of the North Star was back. Queen, however, just gave Skull a cold glare that made him go silent.
"This way, we can start thinning out Marie's ranks while rescuing our comrades at the same time!" Erina grinned.
"Finally, a plan I can get behind." In Crow's eyes, they took far too long to come to this conclusion. But he was glad to take any excuse to destroy Marie's forces.
"Alright, that takes care of the plan. Joker, let's go!" Mona said. With a nod, Joker, Erina, Mona, and Violet went to aid the escaped Rebel Corps member. As for the others, they broke off into separate groups, preparing to divide and conquer Marie's forces. This was the first part of their counter attack. The rescue operation was underway!