Author's Note: Ugh. Quotes are hard to find. But I found them. Yes, this little thought sequence Tifa has contains genuine quotes from Cloud and Vincent. Hope this story is moving along well, next chapter I plan on a fight scene, hope I can pull it off.

Chapter 13 – May You Always Be the General

I'm so confused...

She sat on the stone floor awkwardly, her muscles beginning to complain from the position. She didn't know how long she had been there, but it had to have been quite awhile. She had stopped crying when Vincent left; somehow crying alone didn't make her feel better.

Cloud can't be dead...he's too...stubborn for that.

"Everyone has to find their own reason."

She stiffly stood up, groaning at the difficulty of movement. She peered out into the stairs...no one was there. She exhaled slowly, hesitant to face her companions.

Gods, I shouldn't have been so mean to Vincent...he's been through the same thing before. Eerily the same...

"Too much hope is the opposite of despair. An overpowering love may consume you in the end..."

She gasped at her own thoughts. Something was all too similar. She shook her head wearily.

Stop inventing things...Hojo is dead. There is no connection....

"I was wrong. The one who should have slept was...you, Hojo!"

She let herself practice a smile. She knew that she had to put on that same old face or else she would lose her concentration, lose her grip.

Tiveph...you've given one more good reason for me to kill you...

"If this is all a dream, don't wake me up."

She put one foot forward. She only hoped that Sephiroth wouldn't take the opportunity to make his usual jabs at her.

Later...

"Sephiroth and I have discovered something very interesting about the Cetra," Nanaki said, whilst Sephiroth stood with his arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently. Tifa had giggled at the scene she had witnessed moments before: Nanaki curled at Sephiroth's feet, reading to him, while Sephiroth looked like a bored child.

"We've discovered what Vincent was researching when we were here five years ago," Sephiroth nearly burst out, the impatience far too much for him. Tifa raised her eyebrows.

Where is he anyway...

"Do you remember him mentioning 'preternatural psyche grafting'?" Nanaki asked, large feline eyes focused on Tifa. She nodded.

"Well, it was something a Cetra came up with, his name was Tiphareth," he continued, still watching Tifa. The words elicited no response from her.

"Oddly enough, this was the only remaining document of his," Sephiroth butted in, tired of the cat's voice, "He was either banished or worse, from what I can tell..." With this, Tifa suddenly came back into reality.

"What exactly is preternatural psyche grafting?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Nanaki turned his head downward.

"Soul splicing," Sephiroth said, ignoring Nanaki's hesitance, "He's been attaching souls to objects, machines, books...and demons." Her eyes grew wide.

The hell...

"How in the gods' name did he come up with that idea?" she asked, her eyes flicking between the two before her. Both shrugged.

"That does not matter," Nanaki answered, "what matters is we understand how Vincent came to have his demons." Tifa nodded.

"It's also reversible," Sephiroth added, awaiting Tifa's reaction.

Gods! We have to tell him, now! He'll be so happy...

"There's a catch, isn't there," she eyed them suspiciously, having no indication from them that this was a good thing. Nanaki sighed.

"It is painful," he said, eyes still downcast, "It is very difficult...and we no longer have the means to do it."

I wonder if he found out...before. I wonder if that's why he disappeared that time...

"We still should tell him," she said, staring down at Nanaki, "He needs to know. Maybe he'll be able to...someday. He'll be around a long time." Nanaki nodded slowly.

"Where is Valentine, anyway?" Sephiroth asked, peering outside the library. He swiftly exited the room.

"What is it, Tifa?" Nanaki asked once Sephiroth was gone. She took a deep breath.

The world has gone mad...

"Well..." she began, a prickle of tears in the corners of her eyes, "...Cloud is dead." Nanaki's eyes grew wide.

"Are you sure?" he spoke each word as if it pained him. She nodded. He lumbered to where she was standing, and curled up around her feet. She bent down to join him, petting his fur. Neither spoke, they sat, waiting for time to call them.

Meanwhile...

"Dammit, Valentine," Sephiroth muttered, wandering the stair cases and towers of Cosmo Canyon. He covered ground quickly, his tall man's stride and his growing impatience making short work of his search. He stopped for a minute just outside the observatory.

Someone was up there.

He peered into the observatory, thinking Vincent was there. He was greeted by a different face, however.

"Hello, Mother," he said, his voice cold. The woman smiled, green eyes trained on her son's face. Then her expression turned stern.

"He is with Tiveph now," she said, pushing her glasses up further on her nose, an unconscious action. He nodded, relaxing his stance.

"You don't approve, do you?" he asked, her brow furrowing in an answer.

"Always with your own agendas..." she replied, "reminds me of your father." He frowned.

"Yes, but you're not entirely Lucrecia..." he said, holding his hand up as if to physically brush her off, "Only a form of her."

"If you keep up like this, you will only fall into his plan," she said tersely, annoying with his words. He glared.

"Maybe so," he said, his mouth tugging up on one side, "but I still get what I want."

"May you always be the General...Sephiroth," she said, quietly, slipping out of sight. He grinned.

"So Tiveph has Valentine?" he mused, striding out of the observatory, "It will be ever so interesting to tell poor Lockhart the news..."

Later...

"What?" she strained, hearing of Sephiroth's news. He was sitting near the Flame, opposite to Nanaki and her.

Now I know I shouldn't have told him to leave...I don't want anymore death...

"We have to go find him," she said, her voice deceptively confident. Sephiroth scoffed.

"Tiveph could be anywhere," he said, gesturing his arm in a wide arc, "The Planet is at his disposal." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"Not everywhere," she said, staring him down. He shrugged.

"I might..." he began, eyes upward in deep thought, "...have an idea where he might be." She stood bolt upright.

It's a start. That's all we need.

"Then we have no time to waste!" she made off towards the buildings to retrieve her gear.

I'm not letting you do this alone. I don't care how stubborn you are...

"You seem to know an awful lot for someone who should have been dead five years ago," Nanaki stated, side glancing Sephiroth. The other man shrugged.

"A general's ultimate strength is to appear as if he knows everything," he said casually, reclining back. Nanaki gave him one more cautious look before sauntering inside to check on Tifa.

"...the better to fool you with..." he said quietly when no one else remained.

Who was it that said Sephiroth was a good guy in this story? Well, just so you know, you were wrong. Hehe.