Reno jerked his hand back as if he'd been burned. Don't touch it! reverberated in his skull. It was just enough hesitation to throw him off guard. The lightning bolt hit him and threw him back, skidding to a stop a few feet away. It was still surely better than whatever would have happened had he grabbed the crystal.

"NO!" Reno screamed as Cloud disappeared. This was bad. And it wasn't getting any better.

As the otherworldly screams filled the air, someone would have to physically stop Reno from running to the hospital.