A/N: Well, now that I'm working on the 39th chapter, I decided it was in my best interest to not keep you waiting further. Here it is. And if it's not too much to ask. Reviews please? :) I deeply appreciate them. Thank you and enjoy. :D

Chapter 37: Operation Sabotage

The room was eerily devoid of motion or signs of life. The silver-haired figure sat perfectly still on the edge of the bed, hands folded together in a steeple just beneath his chin. Long silver hair rested calmly against the bed sheets; green serpentine eyes narrowed in concentration. The war had gone on for quite a while, and the results were far from satisfying; thus, he found himself in this current situation, thinking deeply about their next move—alone.

Ceres and her allies had won the previous battles against Rufus' troops, but a battle wasn't a war. On top of all that, his traitorous bride was nowhere to be found. He had vague ideas and numerous suspicions of her whereabouts, but none were confirmed yet. Even his convicted brothers had disappeared without a trace. Over all, he had been getting reports of Ceres recruiting the help of a certain vigilante company. Unlikely that none of his comrades had found out the truth behind this mysterious company.

He kept thinking for a while; of how Genesis and his fiancee were taking charge of Banora's neighboring countries that seemed to be easy. A week ago, Frederick had tried to offer peace to his realm again, but the Lord of Nyx would not relent. Marrying Natalie wouldn't have stopped him from conquering the world anyway, but why did he want the young monarch so much? A wary smile crept onto the corners of the silver-haired man's lips. Perhaps it was just his insatiable thirst for blood and physicality that drove him to this wicked carnal obsession.

At long last, the ruler of the Kingdom of Night stood up, and paced in the darkness of his lavishly decorated quarters. The drapes that covered the glazed windows were midnight black, and on the walls hung paintings that hosted dark subject matters. Ever so slightly, Sephiroth ran a finger along the top of the dresser, positioned next to his bed, the smooth wood felt fragile beneath his touch. He stopped his tracks when his gloved finger reached the base of a fat white decoration candle.

What were the odds of finally breaching Ceres' walls and pulverizing this unknown company? It was at this moment that his phoned—which was lying around on his bed—buzzed. Glancing at it, the man picked it up, pressed the receiver button and put the device to his ear.

"We have new prisoners." A female voice came from the other line, her voice dripping with monotonous glee.

"I presume that the battle has been won." Sephiroth mused.

"And the Coalition holds key captives. What are we to do with them?" She asked, the sound of clanking boots resonated in the background.

"Bring them to the main base. A mass interrogation is in order." Was his simple order, before hanging up. These nations had to know who was boss, and they would...in a short span of time.

vVvVv

"Who the hell gave you the right to destroy that facility, kill a number of my people, and tell ME to my face that they are SACRIFICES OF WAR?!" An outraged Natalie shrieked to a neutral faced Kadaj.

The silver-haired teen exhaled through his nose, trying to keep calm and not just rage at her for her idiocy yet again. Ever since that meeting on the balcony, and Natalie's constant involvement in war plans, he found himself lowered in an even deeper ditch than before. How was he supposed to concentrate when she was breathing down his neck every second that he issued a command?

"We are trying to protect those innocent civilians. When I first came here, an agent told me the company does what's best." The princess folded her arms across her chest, and glowered at Kadaj. "Don't tell me you're clueless as to norms and codes of conduct of your own independent group?"

Kadaj growled low in his throat. "And this is exactly why I didn't want you involved in this. For Gaia's sake would you quit chastising me about every decision I make?! It's like you know better than everyone just because you had wormed your way into recent war meetings! You don't know anything!"

Natalie winced. Well, that hurt, but still... Her fists clenched against her sides as a small growl escaped her clenched teeth.

"That's what you keep telling me, and you know what?" She snarked, stepping closer to him and putting a finger right at his nose. "I don't want to hear your negative remarks."

"Nobody said you had to listen." Kadaj shot back through gritted teeth, swatting her finger away while watching the monarch closely, waiting for another reply when an alert signal from one of the underground machines snapped him back to his senses.

"Sir, our agents have been found."

Upon hearing the statement, Kadaj cursed under his breath. He shot a look at Natalie, telling her to shut up or she would regret his next words. He noticed the visible flinch and another part of him reacted, like that simple reaction left a stinging pain in his heart. He hated it when she would be like that, but he had no choice right now. He turned around, hiding the slight show of concern on his pale face.

"Fall back..." Kadaj replied, walking closer to the computers located in the room where several high officials were seated and transacting a number of businesses and military movements. "The next time we commence this, I'm personally going to oversee the entire operation."

Dark blue eyes widened in slight surprise at the words that flew out of the prince's mouth. They should have known that this mission would fail, and she should have known that Kadaj was more than willing to push through with other means. By hook or by crook, she knew he would find ways to steal the intel needed to win this war. Thanks to whatever had alerted their enemy, now they would have to start from the beginning, and the foe now had knowledge of their objectives. It was very possible that security would be doubled.

"Are they okay?" Natalie's voice rang out, stepping closer to one of the computers.

"Ready a chopper." Kadaj spoke, tired of staying put and giving Intel when his skills in battle were needed, and apparently ignoring Natalie at the same time. "I'm joining the Plan B Operation."

vVvVv

One day later...

Under the cover of night, two figures crept around the walls of the outer base, avoiding the probing strobe of lights that randomly lit the path of patrolling soldiers. Cloud had his back to the rough stone wall, the tranquilizer dart gun clutched tightly in his hands, and his sword strapped to his lower back as electric blue eyes scanned the current battlefield. The current mission was a recreation of the original one since it failed. When that happened, Kadaj had arrived in one of the company's bases to offer his assistance.

And here they were again, trying to retrieve information from a locked-down database. Normally, it would have been easier to just hack the system through the world wide web, but that was clearly impossible. The computers that contained the information they needed didn't have access to the internet, and everybody knew it was the safest way to guard the info. Banora might be quite untouched, but that view of safety would not last.

With one last look at the wide area between them and Banora's laboratory department, Zack gestured with his hand, telling his companion to follow while the coast was clear. Cloud nodded once in agreement, creeping out of hiding and scurrying in the shadows to another hideout so as not to get caught. The blonde wordlessly peeked out, noticing the gloominess of the facility and how disturbing it really looked under the cover of darkness. Three patrols passed the vicinity, their boots stomping heavily on the concrete grounds. Cloud squinted as he waited alongside Zack, impatient for the guards to pass.

"They're gone..." Zack whispered inaudibly, sprinting to the spot where Kadaj relocated them in a moment's risky decision.

Using their personal communicating devices within the area could be dangerous. The facility was equipped with sensors that could detect frequencies and signals foreign to their own. Banora's laboratory department had its own uniform communication signal; one that would be dangerous to interfere with. The company's ignorance to the lab's high security had been the mission's downfall. The current mission was a second attempt, and hopefully, this one would be successful. It was a good thing that every agent who had gone along in the mission had come back alive, but this time around, different people had gone to find the item—five pairs to guard their directed posts, and another pair to retrieve the key information. It was exactly why the group had planned the operation with great care, specified the details, and made sure everybody was oriented and that no one stray from the pre-organized program.

Cloud sighed deeply, crouching low beside a power generator, it's glowing green button giving his skin a sickly greenish gleam.. He raised his wrist to the light, checking the neon numbers on his watch. According to the meeting, Kadaj and Yazoo would have retrieved the item in exactly fifteen minutes...

vVvVv

The silver-haired princes slipped through a door that automatically slid closed after he'd come through. Hands pressed flat against the drab walls, Kadaj peeked around the corner. Upon seeing that the coast was clear, he checked his watch. They had exactly fourteen minutes left. Kadaj looked at his brother just as Yazoo pulled up a digital map of the area on his wrist computer. The same green eyes scanned the holographic screen, and he pointed out the direction they were to head in. Kadaj dug the tranquilizer gun out of the waistband of his dark jeans, placing it at an easier reach in case of need.

The brothers crept around a corridor, moving quick and as quietly as their feet would allow. There were red, white, and green lights winking at them from the alarm systems attached to the walls. They knew those were bound to go off at the first sign of conspicuous activity, and so the brothers resolved to moving quickly at casual patterns so as not to alert the building's security systems. And according to the graphic map on Yazoo's wrist computer, the main control room was only a few meters away and they had twelve minutes left.

Kadaj cursed when they found the room though, because the sliding doors were guarded by an eye recognition device that only acknowledged Lord Rhapsodos and the current officer in-charge, the Lady Cavallone. Now how were they supposed to get through.

"This proves to be a hassle." Kadaj grumbled in a quiet voice, watching as his older brother examined the machine.

Yazoo scowled at the current situation they were in. Their previous operatives hadn't gone this far, and now he wished they had so they would know what was coming. Keeping his eyes on the electronic device, Yazoo dug into the messenger bag slung across his shoulder and pulled out a pair of pliers.

"It could set off the entire building's alarm systems." Kadaj warned, checking his watch.

Yazoo's eyebrows knit together to form a concerned frown. His brother was right, but they had to try or this mission was going to fail again, and none of them wanted that. Steeling himself for whatever consequence this would cost them, he gritted his teeth and slowly uncovered the scanning device. After a few seconds of studying which wire connects to which, he chose to cut the one that would terminate the machine's services. And as expected, alarms blared, producing a high-pitched whirring noise that proved to be an annoyance.

"Cover me..." Was the only thing that Kadaj spoke before he barged through the metal door that had slid open.

It would only be a matter of time before security would catch up to the source of the commotion, therefore, he had to extract the information in two minutes at most. Growling, Kadaj entered the room and quickly dashed over to the server computer, jamming the hard drive into the appropriate compartment to install the virus that would permanently destroy the systems, and steal every hidden file and program in the computer.

The sounds of the alarm had stopped, alerting Kadaj to the huge possibility of capture. Although their team was well-prepared, none of them were willing to risk a man. It was a good thing the computer didn't have internet access, or else this hunk of electronic metal would keep freezing up because of various updates. Kadaj opened the system's database, typing away with a few codes, his fingers flying over the keys in a hurry. He couldn't hear anything outside, but it was only a matter of time.

He was finishing up copying everything when boots clanged loudly on the metal floors, and although Kadaj couldn't hear any sign of a struggle, the youngest Nyx prince knew Yazoo was taking care of everything, and so were the other party members. When Kadaj was done, he bolted out of the server room, Souba held tightly in his left hand ready for an oncoming fight. It looked like they would have to fight their way out of here.

vVvVv

"Ma'am, we have a hostage from a current robbery mission." One of her men stood in the position of attention, back straight as a stick, arms pinned at his sides, eyes trained at the far wall, careful to avoid eye contact with his officer-in-charge.

"Yes, I have been informed of the secondary attempt robbery mission on Banora's WMD Control Center." She drawled. Yes, she had been aware.

A primary group had tried and failed, but they managed to get away and so her fiance had commanded to guard the Center well, but the Coalition should have known better. Nobody knew who these people were or who their commander was, but according to intelligence reports, these people were members of a neutral company participating in the world war. Seeing as the men seemed to take the side of Ceres and the others, the Coalition had enlisted these people among their enemies; just another setback that had to be destroyed. This time around, during their secondary attempt, they had escaped Banora narrowly, and one of the men were held captive.

"What are we to do with him?" The soldier asked in a firm voice.

"Take him to the interrogation room and have one of our top interrogators question him. His Excellency would be glad to know the country's current accomplishment. When you are through with him, disclose every piece of information to me. That would be all."

When the man had left, the Lady Cavallone stood up and moved to the glass windows in her lavish office. The war was going well so far, and for the past few days, the odds had been in their favor with Nyx conquering more and more territories. Everything was going according to plan, until these people stepped in and interrupted their plans, setting them all back. These past few days, the Coalition seemed to be fighting the mysterious company more than their actual priority, and it only proved that these people were setting them back just by their participation in the war. Ceres was waging war with Nyx on her shores and her lands, but it seemed the Domain was doing it's best, and things weren't going to be easy—not with the mysterious company helping them out.

Shin-Ra was convinced that the vigilante company was one of Ceres' allies, but Heather was confused. The mass interrogation on one of their war hostages proved that they didn't know of such an alliance, and even they didn't know who was running it. That left the Coalition riddled with more and more unanswered questions, but now... A member of said company was being held prisoner in the building. They would know soon enough. Without meaning to, a sly smile crept up on the corners of the woman's lips.

vVvVv

The view from the palace was stunning. The city lights shone brightly on high rise buildings, giving off the illusion of safety and peace, but the king knew better. He knew it was just that: an illusion. Almost a fortnight had passed since the ambush on his daughter's wedding day and her sudden disappearance that left his queen distressed, the king had hardly slept a wink or had been in the right state of mind. Everyone in his domain was now living in fear. The capital's cheeriness and vigor was a facade to the rest of the world. The king knew... Outside of the capital, wars were being waged, and a portion of Ceres' land was the Coalition's campsite. That thought alone plagued the ruler's thought. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the capital would be taken as well. The military was doing it's best, and so were the domain's allies, but if the Coalition kept pushing this, the king regretfully admitted to himself that the seat of world power would fall into the enemy's hands.

Standing on the balcony overlooking the city, Frederick couldn't help but think of the events that took place in the summer, of how a marriage was arranged to unite two powerful kingdoms. Marrying the princess off was his last option, but after Natalie's disappearance, he knew he ran out of choices. His domain had to fight. On top of all that, his queen was busy commanding the formed search parties. Rewards were declared for any civilian—foreign or local—who would be able to give the location of the missing princess. A member of the security group had claimed that he had seen the princess with her friend on the night of the ambush. They were escaping to safety. Come to think of it, the duchess of Nibelheim was also searching for her runaway son. None of the people could really blame the king for thinking that Natalie's closest friends were behind her disappearance.

Sephiroth was pressuring him lately. He would surrender his land and his people, and even his daughter and the war would end, but Frederick refused—not just because of pride, but also for the betterment of the citizens—his loyal subjects. They didn't deserve a tyrannic leader, and the domain had grown in peace and prosperity for the last couple of years, with only a cold war giving off slight tension, and now that broke. Frederick Auguste might be a controlling parent, but he was a good ruler. It was the main reason why he was so willing to give his daughter away for the well-being of the Domain, and Natalie understood that...until that late troublemaking prince came along. Truth be told, he was disappointed when a princess had been born to them and finding out that Adriana wouldn't be able to give him anymore children.

No matter where Natalie was, Frederick could only hope she would come to her senses and return home. Ceres could only take so much before she would fall into the hands of a tyrant. Frederick was planning to release a bomb that would destroy the capital if the domain were to fall. That way, nobody had to suffer, and Ceres would only be a living memory on children's future textbooks. At least then, Sephiroth would find no use of the land of plenty. It was a cheap escape and a horrible end, but he already commanded his best generals to release the bomb when the moment would come...

vVvVv

"James Harlow, I believe?" The man crowed, looking up from his glasses across the table to scrutinize the agent who had conveniently saved his teammates' life after choosing to stay behind. He was busy reading the information sheet but he couldn't help but admire the young man's courage.

The interrogator sighed heavily, readjusting his reading glasses, pushing them farther up his nose. "Just like any other prisoner. You aren't going to open your mouth, are you?"

Harlow's only response was to stare at him blankly, hands folded atop the metal table as he listened to the interrogator's shadowy words. He didn't take his eyes off the aged man even as he leaned over the agent's prone form, intimidating him with his beady stare.

"You are going to talk. And you are going to tell me about your association with and everything you know about this company you zealously work for, whether you like it or not..."