A/N: Well, I know that it's been awfully a long time, and it took me a while to post this because it took me forever to finish Chapter 37, but here it is now. Thank you for leaving me reviews, and I hope that this chapter might make up for that cliff-hanger syndrome if you've been having-if you have one. The princess is finally participating in war matters, thank Gaia. XD But this story is actually one of those sorts that don't have a feminist quality to it. Yes, Natalie is a damsel in distress, but what the heck. It's good material. I'll have you know that I'm working on another FanFict that hosts some bizarre crossovers, but I'm not posting it anytime soon. Anyways, enjoy this bit, and leave a review if you wish. :)

Chapter 36: The War Rages On

1 Week and 3 Days Later...

The blinding flash of the bombs lit up the night sky, causing a fire storm in the city below. Citizens' bodies were strewn everywhere; cars were overturned, buildings and skyscrapers crumbled to the burning ground; flames ate hungrily at the city greens, consuming flammable objects in their path. Clouds of ash and smoke covered the clear starry sky, shrouding the expanse with formidably tangible darkness. Through all the chaos and confusion, war tanks began swarming the rejected city. Gunfire was everywhere, and aerial raids continued. Crackling flames were at sea as well as warships exchanging destructive fire. There were children wailing in the streets, crying for their deceased parents. Bloody bodies were everywhere, burning and rotting amongst the rubble. There were people fleeing for safety, trying to find a means of comfort. Shadows of vaporized people were left over in the remnants of the buildings' facades.

People could barely walk. Most of them were crawling, trying to get to safety. Their clothes were burnt and torn, dusty and ragged as they tried to find water. And amidst the disgruntled and confused crowd of war victims, there were several media men trying to cover the incident and do their job at the very least. They were trying not to get killed too.

A lone figure stood in the distance, watching the despair and sudden desolation come over the industrial city of Edge. At the back of his mind, he tried to assess the damage that had just been caused and how much Rufus would be willing to pay for rehabilitation after this war. Ceres' allies had launched the attack, and along with that was his company. In the past week, the Coalition had brought out one of its greatest threats—Deepground soldiers—and Ceres and her alliances were trying to cope with the rising death tolls that the NWC would leave in their wake.

How very tragic and overly depressing this whole mission turned out to be...

vVvVv

"Do NOT deploy the A4-1 missiles just yet!" The silver-haired teen screamed into the comm.

He didn't seem to care at all. Even as every head in the military control tower turned toward him, he remained unfazed. Panic was striking and vivid in his suddenly stormy serpentine green eyes. They were fighting a war and they were losing ground...again. Gosh, Vincent would totally kick his ass for this. He was trying to knock some sense into this man, but boy was it horribly frustrating and this guy was too damn stubborn.

"Enemy's drones are closing in."

"I don't F***ING care! Do I NEED to explain?!" Kadaj shrieked over the noise of the machines and the monitoring systems, eyes glued to the monitor that displayed coordinates and locations of their men and the enemy's current position. And judging from the teen's reaction, things were not going well with the entire operation.

"Let them fire at will." One of the men suggested calmly, trying to placate Kadaj's rising ire.

"We only have one shot. Hell no!" Kadaj snapped, irritated beyond all comprehension that Valentine's army wasn't as adapt in paying attention to superiors as he had thought.

"Drone a kilometer away." Cloud's voice interrupted through the static from the comms, warning the silver-haired teen of the oncoming attack that was bound to destroy their forces if they were to hesitate further.

"Just a little closer." Kadaj forced out through tightly gritted teeth, his jaw locked. "Stats on the ground assault!" He barked out, awaiting a reply amidst the noise of the static.

"Combat being waged near Shin-Ra's base." Came the instant reply that had Kadaj wondering if they were winning or losing.

He couldn't ask for details right now, could he? A full-blown report during the assault could jeopardize the entire ambush. The silver-haired teen didn't want to take that risk. The world war was going on almost for decades when it was actually just a week. Princess Natalie's tragic wedding day had issued the official beginning of that war, and by then Cloud and the rest had figured out that the NWC had planned and organized the ambush all along. Kadaj was fortunate enough to think ahead and preserve a future world leader if they were going to win. If the Rosso hadn't been deployed, the Nyx prince doubted the princess of Ceres would be in good hands today, because she was as good as dead in Sephiroth's ruthless clutches.

"Requesting permission to deploy the missile, sir." A man's voice rang out from the comm, informing everyone in the control room how close they were losing the battle if they didn't do this now.

The silver-haired teen blanched in response. Everything was yet to soon. They couldn't—not yet—lest they miss this shot, but then another voice rang out amidst the chaos and confusion rampant in his own deranged mind.

"Just launch the missile, damnit!"

His eyes widened in bewilderment at the sound of the new comer's frantic voice. Surely that wasn't... Kadaj turned around, scowling at the blonde standing in the doorway. What the hell was she doing here? He sighed through his nose in utter exasperation and frustration. These people obviously did not understand the basics of the battle itself.

"S***," he cursed under his breath, and growled at her. "And what would you know, Princess?" He snarled, the words leaving his mouth through gritted teeth.

"Do it, or we lose the squad!" She yelled, somehow wishing that he'd take her advice and hear her out.

Her skin was flushed, the area around her cheekbones a deep shade of red that suggested the height of the humidity in the island's headquarters. Standing behind Natalie was Agent Harlow, a newfound friend to whom she sought military advice. She figured that if she was going to stay here, she might do all she can to maximize her contribution and not act like a damsel in distress or a weight to anyone. Because these past few days, she had discovered that even Tifa and Aerith knew about war tactics, and she felt so stupid knowing nothing and just slacking around, staring at everybody acting all cool and badass without even trying.

After hearing them all convene in a war meeting, she knew then that she'd had enough...

[Flashback]

8 Days Ago...

Natalie was walking the elaborately designed halls, on her way to the mess hall to meet Tifa and Aerith—extremely happy to see both of them again on the same day she'd arrived in the foreign island. She had felt lost then, only acquainted with a few members of the Rosso and having Cloud and Zack as company, but even they were out of the vicinity most of the time. With the war already in full swing, both were kept very busy seeing as they were key members in Vincent's mighty arsenal—along with the Nyx prince. At the moment, Natalie didn't want to think about him. It had only been two days since she got here because of his silly orders, and he had been nothing but cruel to her. She was still hurt with the way he was treating her, but she knew she had to at least keep herself busy—try retaining her training as a princess. Lucky for her, he had been avoiding her as well.

Sighing, it didn't take long to reach the mess hall. It was quieter than usual with only a few men, but upon seeing two brunettes conversing in a table pushed far against the wall, it was all the sight she needed to conclude that they were her two best friends. She had been so happy seeing them again. Her pace quickened, calling a soft greeting when she was within range of their hearing distance.

"Hi girls..." She greeted, smiling warmly.

Aerith smiled sweetly in response while Tifa's mouth stretched into a wide grin. The princess was about to take a seat when the dark-haired young lady stood up, grabbing Natalie's and Aerith's wrists and pulling them up.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked with wide eyes, mirroring Aerith's expression.

"To that war meeting Zack and Cloud were talking about." Tifa replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe.

"Won't the men be bothered?" Aerith asked in that soft voice of hers, doing her best to keep up with Tifa as she dragged her and Natalie along.

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Please. Natalie's the princess. She needs to be involved in this stuff. And we're not going to be petty liabilities. No way."

Natalie sighed internally. She knew her best friend was right, but she knew nothing about war—reared up and taught about the finer things in life. Perhaps it wasn't too late to learn a thing or two, and yes, she did not like being a liability and she couldn't stand to do nothing. Yes, she was still upset about the tension between her and Kadaj, but she had to do everything she could to try and forget and at least try be happy for the sake of her friends, and the fact that her little baby was going on two months now. Never show a sign of weakness...

"Alright..." Natalie relented, allowing Tifa to pull her along.

vVvVv

"The next attack is set to commence a day from now." Cloud was saying, tapping a finger on the cherry-wood desk. "We don't have the luxury of time."

The war meeting wasn't how Natalie had expected it to look. She thought there would be plenty of them, but what greeted her and her friends were a total of seven men, talking battle plans amongst themselves. They were seated around a rectangular table. The entire scene was so casual, one would have thought they were simply discussing sports. Among them were Cloud, Zack, Kadaj and his brothers, the man known to Natalie as James Harlow, and another man she did not recognize.

"With the new stash of materia we have, we can't fight back competently neither can we launch an ambush in one of the Coalition's territories." Yazoo quipped, shaking his head.

"Aren't they mastered?" Zack asked pointedly, a scowl marring his features.

"Nope," Kadaj replied. "I personally checked, and eight out of ten of them were low level materia. We can't use every mastered materia at our disposal just yet."

"So what do you suggest we do? Our Intel informed us of their plans, and Cloud's right." Harlow agreed. "Time isn't on our side." He stated, sounding dejected.

"We have powerful missiles in our infantry, but they're quite rare, and they can only be used once." Kadaj explained, looking at every man in the table through a fringe of silvery hair that hung across his face, pretending to ignore the three intruders in the room.

"Then use 'em." Tifa's voice rang out. "You don't want them to win, do you?" She asked, interrupting the men's conversations, earning her a hard glare from said group.

"It is much too risky!" The man whom Natalie did not know roared, slamming his fist on the table none too gently. "Those missiles are extremely dangerous. One wrong move could cause it to misfire and shoot down its carrier..." He was talking when Kadaj interrupted him.

"Unless the pilots are well-versed, and they have a clear shot." The young monarch mused. "It's risky but I believe the lady is right." Kadaj admitted begrudgingly, glancing at Tifa and quite impressed with the passive look on her face as if she discussed these things everyday.

"Someone will have to commandeer the entire process from a hidden location." Loz remarked, chewing on the inside of his cheek, glancing at the princess standing in the doorway with her friends.

"But you can't possibly-! And if it were to happen, who do you suggest should command?" The man with the gruff voice protested, sounding outraged with the decision the group was reaching.

"I will." Kadaj spoke, staring at the older man pointedly—a stare made to intimidate and it was working, daring him to contradict his choice and tell him wrong.

"Then we'll use the missiles?" Zack asked curiously, wanting confirmation.

"We have to if we're going to want to win." Tifa interjected again. "It is risky but with the right direction and accurate calculations of distance and a clear stat of the weather we're going to launch the missile in, I believe everything will be fine." She smiled sweetly upon the men's shocked stares. Natalie was in pretty much the same state.

Yazoo smirked, waving his hand to usher the girls to sit in the extra chairs around the table. Natalie zoned out after that, only paying attention slightly as they prattled on. She was aware of her best friends' active participation in the meeting, but she almost wanted to hit herself with the slight tinge of envy that crept over her heart. She almost felt like an outsider. All these people... She was supposed to be a ruler, and yet, she knew nothing about battle tactics. How was she supposed to protect her people if she kept up her naivety. She had to grow up. She had to learn...

After that fateful meeting, she had approached Harlow and asked him to tutor her in the ways of war. She felt very timid inside, but her demeanor betrayed none of her inner emotions. She had to do this—she knew.

[End of Flashback]

"And if we lose the squad because of your impulsive decision, what would you do then?" Kadaj spat, wanting to glare at her, and for a moment forgetting how much he secretly loved her so much he didn't want her caught in this battle. He couldn't keep his senses off of the status reports being shown in the computer in front of him, and the coordinates that would take them ever so closer.

At the sound of that exclamation, Natalie's composure faltered. What if she was wrong? For a moment, the princess glanced at Agent Harlow over her shoulder, trying to gauge his specific reaction. She found it was no help at all. He was merely stoic.

"Launch the missiles. Obey your future queen." She found herself declaring, only taking a moment to glance at the prince who gave her a disapproving look.

For the next few minutes, silence reigned in her mind even as the bustle and the chatter went on around her. The time passed was really just a few minutes, but everything felt like a span of hours to her. She saw the surprise and the terror register in the face of one of the commanding Intel officers in the room. Another look at Kadaj and she caught the distressed look on his face as he barked out another order to disengage. Natalie physically blanched at the faces around her. Did she lead the battalion to a death? Just over the past week, the company had managed to contact one of Ceres' alliance, and forged another friendship. Aerys had doubted at first, but after consecutive victories in battle, the besieged city had agreed. But winning a battle didn't mean winning the war. More work had yet to be done.

"Enemy's base destroyed..." Came Cloud's voice from a the huge comm in the room, and the next thing that happened was oblivion.

There were sighs of relief and more commands, and even Kadaj looked extremely relieved. But when she looked at him, he didn't even spare her a glance. He just went out of the room. The happy expression on the princess's face faltered as she watched the silver-haired teen leave. Didn't they win? Wasn't he happy? She looked at Harlow and found him smiling at her with approval with a tiny tinge of pride at the fact that he was her tutor.

vVvVv

"Your highness, I have to say you have done a great job to win this battle." One man spoke to her amidst the noise and the music in the function room where the party was currently being held.

After the crushing victory landed on the foe, and the NWC's forces retreated from a base, Cloud and Zack had declared a party in honor of Natalie's strategy. Well, the princess really thought the celebration was inappropriate seeing as most of the people were suffering from the effects of war and blood, they really shouldn't be celebrating, but when the men began taking out the bottles of liquor and beer began to flow, she really couldn't refuse. At the beginning of the small celebration, she had reminded everybody to keep in the mind the state of wellness of the suffering people.

All the noise and the free-flowing liquor reminded her all those months ago when she and Kadaj had made a late night trip to Blackwell's for a drink and a party. It turned out her friends were very optimistic about the idea. A lot of them thought this momentary relief was a good way to let the stress of the battle out even though the war was far from over. She even spotted Kadaj's brothers conversing freely with the crowd, and her best friends having the time of their lives. And as always, everyone always took a party as opportunity to have random conversation with the princess.

But there was only one person Natalie was hoping to speak to... The silver-haired prince seemed to be doing a good job of avoiding her altogether. It was frustrating and quite annoying to say the least. She knew things between them were delicate and fragile, but she wanted to speak with him. She was rather willing to compromise, but she wasn't so sure about him.

"Yes, I was only trusting my instincts." The princess explained with a smile on her face, eyes darting around the bright lights around the room to try and locate a certain silver head.

"But of course, your grace's intelligence isn't one to be underestimated." The man complimented, but something else—or more accurately someone else—caught her eye.

"My duty is to the people as always. Do excuse me, sir. I have to speak with your commanding officer at the Intel department."

Putting manners aside, she disappeared from his view before he even got the chance to express his thanks for having the opportunity to speak with her. Well, she'd have to deal with all that later...

vVvVv

The bright party lights were strangely annoying for once. Kadaj didn't take particular delight in the celebration at all. Sure, he was glad about the victory in battle they had achieved today, but he was also slightly concerned about Natalie's sudden involvement. He wanted her safe. Maybe he could allow her in the Intel area, but he knew how persistent she could be. Once she set her mind to something, it was hardly likely that she would back down. What he feared was her future insistence to be put in the field. She wasn't stupid, but if the need arose, he knew she would do it.

He knew she was here somewhere, and he wanted to avoid her as much as possible. He simply wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Enjoying the party, brother?" Loz asked out of nowhere.

Kadaj sipped from his glass of Scotch and looked at his older brother. Yazoo was talking to a military man, and the youngest suddenly scowled at the inquiry of how he was doing.

"Not particularly. Say, do you have word on Bane?" The prince asked stoically.

"He says he's on his way to aid the field ambush three days from now." Loz explained somewhat innocently.

Kadaj just nodded without a word and took another sip, taking great satisfaction at the feel of the burning liquor coursing down his throat—the warmth spreading through his chest. And it was at this exact moment that he was suddenly annoyed with the presence of the crowd. Without further ado, the prince headed for the balcony that overlooked the island's beach. It was dark with just a splash of light from the glass torches attached to the building's facade, and the breeze was blowing gently tonight.

He exhaled at the momentary feeling of freedom, and for the briefest of moments, forgot about the entire death sentence that loomed over all of them. Everything was quiet—far away from the noise and buzz of the alcoholic party. Everyone was sure to be wasted in the morning, but he knew the high officials had to avoid the hangovers. They had a war meeting in the next thirteen hours, and they were all expect to be in top condition.

And there was also this current issue with Natalie. Their impromptu meeting hadn't been a pretty one. Kadaj felt bad—guilty—that his actions had hurt her. He saw the pain in her eyes and there was something else. There was something she wasn't telling him, but he decided not to prod. It was probably not his business anyway. But that didn't stop him from feeling concerned. He wanted to make sure she was alright.

"Kadaj?" A soft voice called out.

So much for wanting to stay away from her...

He didn't actually acknowledge her presence though. He knew her voice; he knew the way she spoke, and he could easily sense the sudden timidity that had taken over her usually calm and collected composure. Amazing how timid she became when she was around him.

"May I have a word with you?" She spoke, coming up beside him.

"Speak." Was the monotone reply that almost made her will crumble.

"Kadaj, just stop this. Please. Why won't you talk to me?" Natalie almost pleaded, pale hands braced against the black railing that bordered the balcony.

"I did ask you to discuss the matter just now, didn't I?" He replied, refusing to look her in the eye as he took a sip of the Scotch once more.

Natalie sighed heavily. "What you're doing, you're just making matters between us even more confusing and complicated." She explained exasperatedly.

The prince scoffed bitterly, hating the fact that he had to keep up this facade, but was also regretting the simple fact that his initial reactions were kind of the truth of how he was really feeling about this entire mess. He felt so angry without having a concrete explanation as to why. It was confusing him and irritating him and annoying him; pushing him to the point where he had to let out some of his anger on anyone who was willing or unwilling to take the fire that raged behind his next words. The stress of their situation took a greater toll on him than he first thought.

"I wasn't aware of something between us at all." He turned to face her, gripping the glass tighter once he got a good look at her face being illuminated by the faint glow of the torch lights. "Honestly princess, I don't understand why you keep pushing this on me—on yourself more importantly." He prattled on even as her face began to fall into a disappointed expression. "The day you came here, you had your work cut out for you. The main reason I had the company rescue you was for the good of the entire world, and I had hoped you would stick to the deal as much as we stick to ours."

"I'm not here to talk about the world. I'm here to talk to you about us. Seriously, what happened between us? The day you left Ceres... I know I snapped at you, and I'm sorry, but that was months ago. So much had happened in a short span of time—months. Please tell me you're not holding this grudge against me. If that's the reason why you're being so cold to me, I'm here telling you I'm sorry. I was...confused and upset that night. I didn't understand why you wouldn't take me with you. I thought that maybe you didn't love me at all like you told me. And then...the news came out that you were assassinated. I... I was devastated at the news. All those times, I thought you were dead, and it's the reason I didn't want to fight anymore. I agreed to whatever they wanted for me. But after the attack on my wedding night, and my friends brought me here, I found you're not dead after all. Kadaj, please tell me what happened." She explained, leaving out the part where a doctor had come in and confirmed the truth behind her strange illness. Up until now, she still had terrible morning sickness, but she figured that was part of the entire pregnancy stage.

Kadaj sighed deeply. "I died, princess. Whatever happened in the span of time in between is not important. I'm back from the dead, I'm here, and I have my mind set on winning this war. It's all that's important." He explained, a slight mirage of his former self slipping into plain view.

"And what would you do after?"

He looked her in the eye then; serpentine green eyes boring straight into dark blue. "What I plan to do after the war is my business."

"I-I'm sorry." She stuttered, dropping her gaze at the sight of his otherworldly eyes; eyes that drank in the view of her soul's nudity that happened in the span of a summer paradise. "I apologize not just because of what I said now, but also because we kind of got off on the wrong foot." She murmured, hoping he would accept her humility.

"Very noble, princess." He spoke, trying to hide a smile. "Let's just keep it professional from now on." He said, looking her dead in the eye again before turning his back to her to start heading back in the party. He just couldn't stand to be in the same room as her anymore.

Truth be told, he didn't want to see the pain-stricken look on her face. He didn't like seeing her get hurt because of his attitude and he didn't like disappointing her. He wanted her to be happy, and if sacrificing his own feelings were needed in order for her to attain that, he would do it. He loved her, that was true, and he knew his mind had been made up a long time ago. He would give up his life for her if the circumstance called on him to do so.

A soft gasp left the princess' lips at the sound of that declaration. "You... You're not the Kadaj I remember." She whispered in bewilderment, watching as he began to walk away. Now how was she supposed to tell him she was carrying his child? He would probably tell her to have the baby aborted for crying out loud. That only made her all the more afraid. Now her entire evening was ruined. So much for setting things right.

Kadaj glanced at her over the back of his shoulder. "Maybe that Kadaj died months ago."

It hurt. He had to face that truth. It hurt that she had married his rival brother, but he couldn't blame her. This was the consequence of having to spread the news that the prince of Nyx was dead, and although he had few regrets, it couldn't compare to the kind of relief it provided. It made a number of things much easier, but the sacrifice it required had to be great.

"What about the Kadaj that told me he loved me?" She whispered; a last attempt to try to bring him back so they could talk. Her thoughts were correct though, he paused for a few moments.

"Face it, your highness. You don't belong to me and neither I to you. There's nothing we can do about it."

With that said, the silver-haired monarch sauntered towards the thickening crowd of dancers without another word. Natalie stared after him in bewilderment, perplexed and unable to comprehend what he was trying to make her see or what he was trying to make her realize by making everything so much harder for them both. Unbeknownst to her, a deep sigh made it's way out of her suddenly parched lips.

She turned back to stare at the view visible from this high balcony. Everything was shrouded in a blanket of unfathomable trees swayed in the wind, their comical whooshing sounds blending perfectly with the roar of the waves. Even nature seemed to be in a sour mood tonight.