Author's Note: Thank you for your beta work, Sephiroth Owa13. As always, it was a lifesaver! ^_^

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII and all its characters (damn). I just play with them every now and then! :D

Chapter 37: Come What May

Sephiroth stirred slightly. The first thing he felt was the warmth from the sunlight, streaming in through the window to the left of the bed. The second thing he felt was a weight on his chest and warm breath along his skin. He lifted his head and smiled slightly at the sight of Tifa's head resting on his bare chest, her hand near her cheek. The memory of the previous night was still fresh in his mind. She had been so vulnerable and shy. She had wanted so desperately to please him and the thought that he would be disappointed by her lack of experience had been strangely endearing. He had known she wouldn't be anything less than perfect for him and he hadn't been disappointed. In fact, he was looking forward to more encounters with her. He grinned to himself at the vague promise of a shower. He trailed one hand up and down the length of her spine, while the other lifted her hand to his lips and he began placing light kisses on her palm, gently trying to coax her out of sleep.

Tifa began to stir and eventually she lifted her head and looked into his eyes, smiling sleepily. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Tifa," he answered. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a log," she said, raising a hand to stifle her yawn. Again, she smiled that beautiful sleepy smile of hers and stared at his face, as if she was committing every detail to memory. "Did you know that you have freckles?"

He chuckled softly. "I had noticed them, but no one else has ever mentioned them to me before."

"Well, they're cute." She cuddled up closer to him and sighed happily. "I had a good time last night."

Sephiroth continued to gently stroke her back and smiled. "I did, too, and I'm…relieved."

Tifa tilted her head and looked at him. "Relieved?"

"I didn't know how to tell you that I loved you. In fact, I was just going to keep my mouth shut on the subject, but Genesis convinced me to speak up."

Tifa chuckled softly. "Well, I had a similar conversation with Cissnei. If you hadn't said anything, I probably would have blurted out how I felt, but in a much less romantic and eloquent way."

"A SOLDIER and a Turk teaming up for love? That's…ironic."

Tifa nodded and sighed. "Is it wrong for me to think that staying in bed all day is completely acceptable?"

Sephiroth's thoughts returned to the initial desire he had in waking her. "Yes, it is wrong."

Tifa frowned slightly. "What? But I…"

"You owe me a shower."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Is that where your mind is?"

The hand that was brushing up and down the length of her spine took a detour to the curve of her backside and Sephiroth gently squeezed her. "My mind has been there since I woke up, love."

Tifa squealed when he squeezed her again and pressed herself closer to his body in a vain effort to escape his hand. "Seph…"

"Moving closer only encourages me."

Sephiroth smiled down at his lover and knew that he would love her forever, in this life and the next.

Cloud wandered around the garden of Godo's palace. He found a stone bench beneath a tree and sat down. What was the matter with him? Why wasn't he happy for Tifa? Zack was right. They all had Jenova cells inside them now. What made him less dangerous for Tifa than Sephiroth? We carry those same Jenova cells, Zack had said and he was right. In truth, he really wasn't any better than Sephiroth. What the hell was he doing? Tifa was his friend and if Sephiroth made her happy, then more power to her. So why couldn't he be happy for her?

"Why so serious, Cloud?"

He turned his head and saw Elena standing a few feet away from him. He shrugged. "I'm just doing some soul searching."

"It looks more like you're torturing your soul, not searching it."

Cloud grinned in spite of himself. "Yeah, you may be right. How are you doing? Are the Turks treating you right?"

Elena smiled and sat beside Cloud on the bench he was sitting on. "They're like a family, just like Roz always said. It's a completely dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. That's what I need right now…somewhere where I belong."

Cloud could totally relate to that. He had no family left and neither did Elena. Whether he liked it or not, the displaced staff of ShinRa currently fighting for Wutai was his only family. "I understand the feeling, Elena."

"I thought Rufus would be more intimidating, but he seems more friendly than I imagined he would be."

Cloud chuckled. "It only took Tifa handing him his ass twice, Sephiroth nearly killing him, and two years on the battlefield to knock him off his high horse."

Elena smiled. "Well, that would do it for anyone." She was quiet for a moment before turning slightly so her body faced his. "I just want to thank you for bringing me here with you. My sister deserves some justice and I wouldn't be able to give her that on my own."

"We're all seeking justice for something." Cloud's thoughts drifted to his mother. She had been the kindest woman he had ever met and she hadn't deserved the death ShinRa had made her suffer. He was shocked when he felt soft lips press against his cheek. He turned and looked at Elena.

She blushed and shrugged. "You looked like you could use some comfort, Cloud." She got to her feet and began to head back toward the palace. She stopped and faced him once more. "Don't waste the entire day moping."

Cloud watched her walk away and only realized once she was out of sight that he was smiling.

Genesis grinned when Sephiroth entered the war room looking exhausted, yet completely satisfied. "I take it my little gift was put to good use, huh?"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Genesis, we're not talking about this."

"Your refusal to give me any details proves my gift was just the thing you needed."

"Genesis, stop harassing Sephiroth," Angeal said. "Not everyone likes to over-share intimate details of their lives like you do."

Genesis shrugged. "Whatever, Angeal. You're just not as invested as I am. Zack would appreciate my interest in the status of this relationship."

At that moment, Zack entered the room and smiled when he saw Sephiroth. He hurried over to them and grinned. "So, did you and Tifa finally do it last night or what?"

Genesis tried to smother his laugh behind his hand while Angeal rubbed his eyes. The look on Sephiroth's face was priceless, though, and Genesis was glad he was there to see it. It was a combination of surprise, anger, and embarrassment, something Zack was either ignoring, or just didn't understand. If looks could kill, Zack would be dead a thousand times over.

"Zack, we have to discuss tact…again," Angeal said before pulling Zack away from Sephiroth.

Sephiroth sighed and looked at Genesis. "You all have too much time on your hands."

"We just want to see you happy." Genesis smiled and touched Sephiroth's shoulder. "Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Genesis, what does that even mean? That can't possibly apply to our current conversation."

Genesis grasped his chest dramatically. "Of course it applies to our current conversation, Sephiroth. Tifa is clearly the Goddess' gift to you and your relationship with her is shrouded in mystery. We wish to seek out as much information about the state of your relationship and will not rest until our souls are satisfied."

"You should be ashamed of yourself for using LOVELESS in such a blatant attempt to secure gossip, Genesis," Sephiroth answered. "Your Goddess would be disappointed."

Genesis chuckled. "You can't blame a guy for trying."

Vincent entered the room with Yuffie and the young princess made a beeline for Sephiroth and, to Genesis' amusement, Sephiroth looked uneasy.

"So, aren't you gonna thank me?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Thank you for what, Princess?" Sephiroth asked.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "For protecting you with my awesome charms, duh!"

"Yuffie." The stern warning in her father's voice made her turn her head quickly.

"Yes, father?"

"A word, please?" Godo shot her a look that made it clear arguing with him would be a bad idea.

"Yes, father," she answered obediently. Any trace of obedience disappeared when she turned and looked at Sephiroth once more. "You need to work on your manners, Demon. And you're welcome."

When she was out of earshot, Genesis chuckled. "Well, she put you in your place, didn't she?"

Sephiroth sighed and shook his head. "That impertinent girl is something else."

"Impertinent, yes," Vincent agreed, moving closer to Sephiroth and Genesis. "But she means well. She really believes in all those charms she adorned your coat with and she wanted you to be safe."

"Has she been a brat on your mission?" Genesis asked, the thought of spending an extended period of time with her made him shudder.

"Despite her youth, she understands the importance of our mission and tries her very best to be respectful of everyone," Vincent said. "Even those who choose to remain neutral or loyal to ShinRa. Obviously, in private she becomes…passionate about our cause."

"So, she throws temper tantrums when you're alone with her?" Genesis guessed.

A faint smile curved Vincent's lips up slightly. "That would be an accurate description, yes."

The door opened again and Tifa entered the room, followed by Tseng, Rufus, and Lazard. Cloud was the last one to arrive before everyone took a seat. Godo looked at General Tamotsu.

"Perhaps you would like to start off this meeting?" Godo suggested.

Tamotsu nodded. "With the expansion of our front-lines to the mainland and the incorporation of new allies, we have been able to dedicate some of our forces to focus on protecting Wutai on all sides."

Godo nodded before looking at Sephiroth. "And what news is there from the Gongagan front-lines?"

"My unit successfully secured Gongaga," he answered. "However, when we arrived, ShinRa's forces were in the process of setting the reactor to explode. While Wutai has no use for securing mako reactors, the explosion would have killed many residents. ShinRa's ready to play dirty and I think it's an indication that they could attempt similar actions in other places that have reactors in their vicinity."

"What would be the purpose of that?" Yuffie asked. "It's seems kinda dumb to cut off their own power supply. I mean, isn't mako the whole reason ShinRa wanted Wutai? Didn't they want access to more mako?"

Sephiroth nodded. "They did, however, a few civilian casualties to destroy one mako reactor, would be seen as an acceptable loss in ShinRa's eyes. It could also serve to turn the people around the planet against our cause if all they can see is loss of human life and the inconvenience of losing the power supplied by the reactors."

"With that information, I think it may be worth another attempt to secure Corel," Vincent added. "The princess and I were unable to sway them to our cause, but if ShinRa is attacking its own facilities to spite us, it's very possible they'll attack towns and cities that don't side with us in an effort to keep them from joining us out of fear."

Godo turned and looked at Tifa. "And what is the status of AVALANCHE?"

"Well, Biggs and Wedge are in place in Junon," she said. "Jessie, Bob, and I are still going to attack Midgar's reactors. Cid is due in Midgar for an update meeting with ShinRa, so I'll be able to go in with his party again to see if their security has increased. Once we have an idea about the security measures in place, Reno can begin his plans for dealing with those changes in security to allow us into the reactors without being caught."

"When will Mr. Highwind have a ship be ready for testing?" Tamotsu asked.

Tifa shrugged. "Cid thinks it should be within the month. Bob will be returning to Rocket Town with Cid after this round of meetings with ShinRa is complete. Bob and Cid are confident that Bob will be able to pilot the ship within three to four weeks, maybe less."

Angeal frowned. "That will leave just you and Jessie in Midgar, Tifa."

Tifa nodded. "It's not ideal, but we can't really do much about it."

Angeal glanced at Sephiroth. "Could we send another operative into Midgar to replace Bob?"

Sephiroth nodded. "That would be best."

"We could have another one of my former clones go back with Tifa," Genesis suggested. "Once a few adjustments in appearance are made…"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I think we should send Strife back with Tifa."

Genesis couldn't believe his ears when Sephiroth suggested Cloud of all people return with Tifa. "Sephiroth…"

Sephiroth ignored Genesis and stared at Cloud. "You successfully assisted in the bombing of Reactor One, so it seems to be the logical choice for you to continue. Are you up for the mission?"

Cloud looked just as stunned as Genesis felt. He was staring into Sephiroth's eyes as if unsure he had heard him correctly. "Um, yeah. I can do that."

"Perhaps a redistribution of troops should be considered?" Godo suggested.

Sephiroth nodded. "I think General Tamotsu has the situation here in Wutai under control, however, we should we organize our distribution along the front-line. Also, I think it's time to consider an assault on ShinRa."

"My father has refused all communications I've attempted to initiate," Rufus reported. "The old man is stubborn."

"At Rufus' suggestion, I too attempted to open a dialogue with the president," Lazard added. "However, he refused to speak with me as well."

"We've discovered something disturbing," Tseng said. "Reno received a communication from the members of the Crescent Unit who have infiltrated ShinRa that the Science Division had several highly classified projects start up under an unknown supervisor. He was able to hack into some of the records."

Genesis didn't like the way Tseng was looking at them. "What did he find?"

"Hollander has returned to ShinRa," Tseng said.

"Damn," Angeal muttered.

Genesis could barely contain the rage he felt at the mention of Hollander's name. "Sephiroth, send me in there and I will kill him."

Sephiroth shook his head. "No. If you go in there, you could be killed…or worse."

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "I think it's worth the risk."

Sephiroth turned his chair so that he was facing Genesis. "This is something we should discuss in the meeting regarding our redistribution along the front-lines."

Godo nodded. "Please let us know when you have a plan, General Sephiroth. Until then, I think Mr. Valentine and my daughter should return to Corel immediately. Thank you for your updates."

Once Godo had left the room, Yuffie jumped to her feet and approached Vincent. "Okay, Vampy, I'm going to pack and I'll meet you in the grand hall."

"I have a name, your highness and I prefer you call me that, instead of 'Vampy'," Vincent said.

"Whatever," she said with a dismissive shrug. "Don't be too long!"

Vincent shook his head. "It's a good thing Chaos is not the dominant being or she wouldn't last ten minutes in his company."

"Maybe you should introduce the two of them," Sephiroth said, a wry smile curved his lips up at the corners.

Vincent nodded, his eyes staying on Sephiroth. "Be careful. Hollander isn't the sadist Hojo was, but he is a man out to prove himself and sometimes a desperate man is a bigger threat than a pure sadist."

Sephiroth nodded. "I will keep that in mind."

Vincent nodded and left the room.

General Tamotsu weaved his way through the remaining people and approached Sephiroth. "If you need any information, we can have the Crescent Unit members infiltrate the labs for you."

Sephiroth inclined his head. "Thank you, General. I will let you know how your men can assist us in this matter."

Genesis watched General Tamotsu leave the room and almost as soon the door shut, the room erupted in voices, everyone desperate to be heard. Sephiroth looked like he was developing a migraine and the constant barrage of opinions was too much. Genesis rolled his eyes and pulled off his right glove. He put two fingers in his mouth and unleashed an ear-piercing whistle. When everyone turned and looked at him, he smirked. "Well, I had to make you all shut up some how. Would you have preferred a fire spell?"

Angeal shook his head. "Okay, we've obviously just learned some disturbing information."

"Genesis, can you give us any insight on Hollander's motivations?" Tseng asked.

Genesis shrugged. "He is a small little man intent on humiliating those who have wronged him. At first it was Hojo and ShinRa. However, now that ShinRa has generously accepted him back into the fold, he will most likely view Angeal and myself as his new enemies…along with Sephiroth."

"What did Sephiroth do to him?" Tifa asked. "I never once saw Sephiroth mistreat Hollander. He even trusted Hollander to treat my wound."

"He is Hojo's greatest achievement," Genesis answered. "That's all Sephiroth ever had to do to make Hollander hate him."

"What did Hollander escape with the night he fled Wutai?" Lazard asked. "We know Jenova has been destroyed, but does he have anything he can use against the three of you?"

"When Zack and I tossed their cell, we found Hollander had escaped with Hojo's notes on the experiment he was running on Zack and Cloud," Angeal said. "He also escaped with samples he took from Genesis and Sephiroth."

Sephiroth shook his head. "Even with such a small sample of material to work with, during our attempt to find Genesis a cure for his degradation, I allowed Hollander to do any lab workups necessary using my cells. Hollander will have enough information accumulated to fill in any gaps Hojo's material could have."

"There's more," Rufus said. "This isn't in the information Reno found, but before you left for Nibelheim, Hojo had begun working on cloning you, Sephiroth. It was a going to be a response to Genesis' clones."

Genesis rolled his eyes. "Oh, well that's fucking fantastic!"

Sephiroth looked at Genesis and shook his head. "Genesis, histrionics are not necessary." He turned his gaze back to Rufus. "How many viable clones had Hojo made before I took him to Banora?"

"A total of forty-seven were successfully incubated before I was forced to leave ShinRa," Rufus said.

"Why such an odd number?" Zack asked.

Rufus looked at Tifa and Cloud before turning his gaze to Zack. "Because that's how many people survived Nibelheim."

Genesis heard Tifa's sharp inhalation and immediately got to his feet. He unceremoniously pulled Cloud out of his chair and sat down in it, pulling it closer to Tifa so he could take her hand in his.

"Thanks a lot," Cloud muttered.

Zack got to his feet and let Cloud take his seat. "Come on, Spiky. You need to have a seat, too."

When Genesis saw Sephiroth instinctively take Tifa's hand in his and squeeze it, he focused his glare on Rufus. "Why the hell didn't you tell us about the clones before?"

Rufus shrugged. "When I left ShinRa, the clones had been successfully incubated and had survived the procedure, but they were all in comas. Hojo couldn't wake them, so I assumed they were all brain dead."

"We can assume that one of the mystery projects the Science Division started recently means Hollander has found a way to succeed where Hojo failed," Sephiroth said. "We can't let this stop us. We have to continue on with our plans."

"What do you suggest?" Lazard asked.

"I think as soon as Mr. Highwind's ship is in our hands, we should make our move against Midgar," Sephiroth answered. He turned and looked at Tifa. "Once Bob has the ship and is on his way to Wutai, I want you, Strife, and Jessie to leave Midgar."

Tifa nodded. "We can do that."

"For now, just focus on doing as much damage to the reactors as possible," he said.

Genesis shook his head. "Hollander is a problem, Sephiroth. Who knows what kind of plan he's working on to deal with us? And clones of you? That isn't something to be taken lightly."

A faint smile curled his lips. "Neither were your clones, but we managed and the same will be true of my clones."

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Rufus asked. When the room remained silent, he got to his feet. "Reno needs to speak with you, Tifa."

Tifa looked reluctant to leave Sephiroth, but still got to her feet and nodded before following Rufus and Tseng out of the room.

"Gen, could you go over the personnel files with me regarding your former clones?" Angeal asked. "I have some ideas to maximize our forces, but your input would be useful."

Genesis nodded and got to his feet. "What the hell, why not?" While he followed Lazard and Angeal, he noticed Cloud hanging back, surreptitiously glancing over at Sephiroth. He snorted softly and rolled his eyes. The kid was probably trying to figure out how far he could push it with Tifa before Sephiroth sliced him two.

Cloud barely heard anything Zack was saying to him. He was still confused about why Sephiroth would volunteer him to return to Midgar with Tifa, especially since Sephiroth knew he didn't approve of his interest in Tifa. What was his game?

"Yo, Spiky. You listening, man?"

Cloud looked at Zack. "Can you give me a minute with Sephiroth?"

Zack lifted an eyebrow before leaning close to him. "Um, it's one thing to destroy ShinRa property in a heated debate. They're use to it after promoting Genesis to 1st Class and giving him access to experimental materia. But Emperor Godo may not appreciate having to get someone to come in here and scrape your sad, little body off the walls after Sephiroth rips you apart."

Cloud glared at Zack. "I need to speak with him."

Zack sighed and shrugged. "Whatever, Cloud. It's your funeral."

Once they were alone, Cloud approached Sephiroth. "Why did you pick me?"

Sephiroth looked at him. "Why not? You said you no longer wished to be in my army, Strife. I am simply granting your request."

"But, Tifa…"

"Tifa's a grown woman and I trust her to handle herself with grace and dignity," Sephiroth answered. "You can love her and disapprove of our relationship all you want. The fact of the matter is, only one person controls Tifa and that person is Tifa. I can't force her to love me forever…just like you can't force her to love you in return."

Cloud narrowed his eyes and watched Sephiroth push himself to his feet before moving toward the conference room door. "You slept with her."

Sephiroth paused and glanced over his shoulder at Cloud. "That is none of your business, Cadet."

Cloud reached out and grabbed Sephiroth's arm, spinning him around so they were facing each other. "Like hell it's not my business!"

Sephiroth coolly lifted one eyebrow and looked at his arm where Cloud's hand still gripped him. "I'm sending you to Midgar with Tifa because I trust you to protect her as fiercely as I would if I were able to go, Strife. Whether we slept together or not has no bearing on my decision to send you back with her…and it is absolutely none of your business."

Cloud released Sephiroth's arm and watched him continue toward the door. "She can do better than you."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "And she can definitely do better than you."

Maybe electing Cloud to accompany Tifa back to Midgar was a bad idea. The kid clearly didn't trust him and after that little display, Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure he could trust him. It was too late to change his mind though. If he did, Cloud would know he had irked him with his verbal assault. Plus, what was to stop Cloud from just going to Midgar anyway? The last thing he needed was Cloud using a change in plans to plant ideas in Tifa's head that his distrust of Cloud could also be interpreted as distrust for her as well.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Sephiroth groaned softly before turning to face Genesis. He was relieved to see Angeal with him. Surely Angeal would be able to rein Genesis in, even if it was only a little bit. "Don't start with me."

"Sending Cloud is a huge mistake," Genesis insisted.

"What made you decide Cloud was a good choice to send back to Midgar?" Angeal asked.

"It better have something to do with hoping the little shit gets himself killed," Genesis muttered.

Angeal narrowed his eyes. "Genesis, that's enough." He turned his gaze back to Sephiroth. "Well?"

"I think we can all agree that Strife has feelings for Tifa," Sephiroth said.

"No shit."

Sephiroth ignored Genesis' mumbled comment. "Those feelings assure me that he will protect Tifa with his very life…just as I would in his place. "He can blend in and even get into places she can't. She trusts him and they are able to work well with each other. He also gets along with the other members of AVALANCHE, so we know they can all function as a unit."

"What about him whispering hateful words in our little one's ear constantly?" Genesis asked.

"Tifa knows who and what I am," Sephiroth countered. "I trust her to know the truth from Strife's twisted fantasy notions."

Angeal nodded. "Tifa's smart. She'll know the difference between fact and fiction."

Genesis shrugged. "Well, for your sake, I hope this little gamble of yours pays off."

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hope so, too.