FAR FROM THE TREE CHAPTER 28
Authors' Note: Yes, indeed. We are fully aware of the first 7 years of Aerith's life in captivity. As for a label for how Angel is related to Aerith, it would be like a sister. Thank you all for your comments and reviews; we appreciate each and every one of them.
-THE NATURE OF FAMILY-
The sound of water droplets echoing along cave walls bounced around the group as they made their way deeper into the cave. The further they traveled from the entrance, the more the light receded, transforming into the eerie iridescent glow from so much natural mako. Cloud and Vincent led the way, followed by Angel and Genesis, while Sephiroth wasn't far behind, he and Angeal bringing up the rear.
They were about to turn the last corner, and the blond stopped.
"I don't know how you'll react," he said, looking over his shoulder at Sephiroth. "Just know that we do want to help her; we just don't know how. She seems stable enough, which is why we haven't moved her. She also seems to be aware of what's around her. She knew we were there last time."
Sephiroth appeared perfectly calm. Genesis gave the silver general a nod of encouragement and waited for Sephiroth to go first.
When Sephiroth first entered the cavern, he immediately focused on the largest crystal, and his heart rate elevated when he saw the woman sealed within. Almost immediately, his mind's eye forced him to see Jenova in the mako reactor, but he shut his eyes and shook his head rapidly to clear the image. That had been the lie; this woman... was real. She was truly his mother, and he felt himself walking closer, hoping this was true and he had finally found her.
Cloud just leaned against the rock wall, clearly a little uncomfortable. Angel reached out for Cloud's hand and grasped it tightly, and Cloud gripped her hand in reassurance.
As Sephiroth drew near the crystal, it seemed to pulse softly, even though the woman inside never moved. A voice sounded in his mind, alarmed at first and then warm and inviting.
"Sephiroth? You're alive?" A pause. "Sephiroth, I'm so happy to meet you, at last... son."
Vincent stood near Cloud, hand at the ready to draw his weapon at a moment's notice. Angeal remained by Genesis, offering their silent support for Sephiroth. Angel placed her free hand on her forehead, wincing slightly.
Sephiroth closed his eyes at first when he heard her voice. It was so foreign and different when compared with Jenova's invading thoughts. Where the alien witch's call carried the hypnotizing grace of a snake, this voice was warm and comforting like a mother cat nuzzling her kitten.
"I've finally found you... but... I feel like I've betrayed you. Here you've been all this time and I was so blinded by the influence of others that I never stopped to question if they were true... I was so desperate... Can you forgive me... mother?"
The crystal pulsated with the words in his mind.
"There is nothing to forgive, Sephiroth. I am proud of you, how you have overcome your past and taken responsibility for it." There was a pause as the light flickered. "It was I who betrayed you, my precious son. I hope you can forgive me, for my transgressions are many."
Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked back up at her, allowing himself to memorize every detail and unconsciously comparing her features to his own. Unlike the rotting corpse, he could clearly see himself in her. The facial features, the long, elegant hair, the serene superiority she carried even frozen in crystal mako said plenty of how she carried herself in life.
"It's... not really an accomplishment. I would rather have avoided making such mistakes in the first place. One person undoing so much damage doesn't erase them from history. I have much to atone for, debts that I can never repay." He shook his head when she said she betrayed him. "Mother, is it not unlike how some parents give up their children for adoption because they fear they lack the ability to care for them properly? I choose to see it that way. Whether you wanted to or not..."
He paused, remembering the vision he had seen which Angel revealed of a woman who had just given birth and was begging to see her child, but the doctors turned a cold shoulder and refuse to answer her. "I was taken from you... how could that be your fault? We both have come to know how twisted and cruel Hojo was. He wasn't the best father either."
Cloud's nervous energy silently grew, and he felt the urge to grab the hilt of his sword growing stronger. Angel leaned against Cloud as she watched mother and son reunite. She glanced over at Vincent.
"Does Sephiroth know?" Angel asked him quietly, so as not to disturb Sephiroth and his mother.
The gunman regarded the girl. "Does he know what?"
"That you are his blood," Angel replied simply.
Vincent seemed confused by that statement.
"What do you mean?"
Angel's eyes widened. "You don't even know... I'm... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said anything."
Vincent stared at Angel, contemplating her words. "Please, elucidate."
Angel gripped Cloud's hand tighter, shrinking down a bit.
"I feel a blood connection between you and Sephiroth..." She leaned up closer to Cloud to whisper something to him. "Are you sure he's not a vampire?"
Angeal stifled a snicker.
Cloud looked over to Vincent and failed to fight back a sly smirk. "Honestly, I'm not sure. he was sleeping in a coffin when we first met."
The gunman's face, as usual, was unreadable. He silently looked back at Sephiroth.
Genesis let out a cough which caught the general's attention. "Seph, it seems there's been a bit of a revelation behind you, during this family reunion, and it seems to be more complete than you realize."
The fiery ex-commander looked over to the three standing behind him. "Sorry, we enhanced have very good hearing, you know."
Sephiroth pulled himself away from the main crystal to approach the gunman. Cloud's battle spirit surged. Sephiroth gave him a look that said the blond was acting foolish, and Cloud relaxed then. The silver-haired warrior focused on Vincent.
"Is it true?" He realized he should be asking Angel as she seemed to be the only one who knew the truth unless his mother also knew.
Angel nodded, still regarding Vincent with a little uneasiness. Vincent looked over at the crystallized woman that he loved and then back at Sephiroth.
"I did not know," Vincent admitted.
Angel suddenly winced again, pinching the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb.
Sephiroth studied the gunman with a critical gaze, and he could also see a resemblance to him. It was very possible. Could it even be proven with all of Hojo's tinkering with DNA? He looked at the girl to ask, but then he noticed her discomfort the same moment Cloud did.
"What's wrong?" the blond asked.
"It could be the sheer amount of mako in this room," Genesis offered. "I can feel it flowing around me, and it's so potent I feel as if I could easily bend it to my will."
To show his point, he waved his hand around and a small translucent glowing orb gathered in his palm with ribbons of energy swirling around it. "There are very few places on this planet with such a high concentration of raw magic energy."
He clenched his hand into a fist and the orb vanished with energy sparkles raining down as they faded.
It saddened Sephiroth to suggest it, but he didn't want the girl to be in pain. "Do you wish to leave?"
She shook her head. "I'm okay. It's a headache... nothing more."
She smiled at him reassuringly and then at Cloud. "I don't know how to help the woman in the crystal. I do know that I would not be able to shield her from... Jenova. The only way she would ever be free is if we destroy Jenova."
Vincent then spoke up. "If we vanquish Jenova, Lucrecia will be free?"
Angel nodded, "She would be free of any control. She is in that crystal because she chooses to be."
"Jenova has control over her?" asked Sephiroth as he struggled with the unfamiliar sense of helplessness. He couldn't sense Jenova's presence in his own mind, but he assumed it was Angel's doing. To hear that Jenova's will was so powerful over his real mother, it disturbed him more than he was comfortable admitting.
"She willingly encased herself in that crystal? Is that what you're saying?" asked Cloud.
He gently transferred Angel over to Sephiroth as he approached the crystal.
"So when I asked if there was a way to help you, you didn't think it was a good idea to tell me you chose this fate willingly? There is a way we could have helped you."
He couldn't help the shaking fist at his side as he struggled to control his anger. "I could have easily brought a friend here with powerful healing abilities and pure healing water filled with the Lifestream's energy."
The voice that was in Sephiroth's mind now sounded through the cave, echoing off the walls. "The crystal is for the protection of the planet and everyone on it. I cannot control the monster within me... Even now, as we speak, the monster is attacking your friend through me... tearing down her defenses..."
Cloud backed up a few paces, cowed by the ferocity of the response. She definitely carried the same commanding respect as her son.
The light within the crystal flickered. "The only way I can ever be free is through Jenova's destruction. It is then that I may once again join the world."
As if to demonstrate her point, Angel groaned slightly, squeezing her eyes shut. She clutched Sephiroth's hand firmly, placing the heel of her other hand against her forehead.
Sephiroth's eyes widened as he scooped up the girl in his arms. He turned his regretful gaze back to the woman in the crystal.
"Mother... I will return when Jenova is dead and then... I promise I will free you."
With that, he forced himself out of the cavern as he rushed to give Angel enough distance from the silent threat of Jenova.
"Jenova has attacked my family time and again," Cloud told the woman in the crystal, "I guess we're not so different in that light. You locked yourself away from everyone to protect them... I understand that. You once asked me to kill your son... which I did... on three occasions. I won't be doing it again. My only target is Jenova."
Worried for Angel's sake, he turned and followed Sephiroth out of the cavern. Genesis however stood back and turned to her.
"I think you scared him, my lady."
"Watch over them, protector of the planet. Watch over them all," she said to Genesis.
Vincent approached the crystal. "Now that I know there is a way to save you, my path is clear. I will return for you, Lucrecia."
"I await that day... Vincent."
Angeal followed Cloud and Sephiroth out of the cave, catching up with them.
"Is she all right?" Angeal asked, watching the girl with concern. Angel clung to Sephiroth, still wincing and moaning.
"My head... hurts... can't... think..."
Sephiroth heard the silent whispers of Jenova tickling the edges of his subconscious as he hurried through the tunnel. As the sound of rushing water grew louder and the air became damp and fresh, he looked back over his shoulder as he ran.
"We will meet up in Cosmo Canyon."
"What?" asked Cloud clueless as to what Sephiroth meant. The ex-general didn't explain further as he charged straight for the waterfall, his wing unfurling and he lifted off, exploding through the wall of water as he took flight and soared high above in order to catch a powerful air current that would help him gain speed to glide to Cosmo. Cloud stood at the edge of the cave glaring at Sephiroth for just taking off like that.
"What the hell!" He looked to Angeal next who had appeared behind him.
Angeal smirked at Cloud. "You wanna go after him?"
Out of his right shoulder, two white feathery wings shot out.
"I can give you a lift." he offered.
Cloud closed his eyes and inwardly groaned. He really didn't want to, but at the same time it definitely beat going back the way they came to get there... would probably take less time too. Swallowing his pride, he sighed his frustration away.
"If you carry me bridal style, I'll take those wings and shove'm down your throat."
Genesis and Vincent brought up the rear, the red-clad commander smirking at the display.
"You're not afraid of heights, are you, flightless bird?"
Cloud glared at Genesis then. "What did you just call me?"
"The puppy refers to you as a chocobo, does he not? It's only natural that you would fear the sky."
Cloud wordless held out his arm for Angeal to take.
Angeal grabbed Cloud under the arms, giving the blond a moment to prepare, and then took to the skies, flying the way Sephiroth had flown.
Before Genesis had the chance to offer, Vincent shook his head. "I'll walk."
Genesis merely shrugged before unfurling his own wing and followed the others. Sephiroth noticed the others following and slowed to allow them to catch up.
He looked at Angel which he held tightly in his arms. "My apologies, I merely wanted to get you away from Jenova's influence."
The group looked like an odd flock as Sephiroth cast a curious look over at Cloud, who returned the look with a glare of his own.
"Not. One. Word."
Genesis swooped around towards the front and smirked at them.
"Oh, come now, you can't deny how good this feels. The wind in your hair, the pure freedom of no limitations, soaring through the wisps of... well... you should feel right at home, here."
The offended look on Cloud's face made it difficult for Sephiroth not to laugh.
"Was that a shot at my name?!"
As the group landed, Cloud made a notion to put a few steps between him and Angeal, showing how much he hadn't enjoyed the flight. It felt more like a 'let's all gang up on Cloud' joke, which he didn't approve of. He found himself almost wishing they were still evil so he could have a good reason to stab them... almost.
Sephiroth lost all humor as he turned, still holding Angel. "I do not understand. I headed for Cosmo because the planet's voice is so strong and natural there. I thought putting distance between us and the cave would help her fight against Jenova's influence, but it doesn't seem to be working."
Angeal looked at the girl in Sephiroth's arms.
"It is an improvement," he commented. "It doesn't seem as intense as it was in the cave."
"It's... getting better..." Angel finally spoke up, though it was difficult to miss the dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Perhaps, we should speak to one of the elders there," Angeal suggested.
Whatever plans they intended to carry out were interrupted by a shadow passing over them. Landing about 25 feet away was a young man with long, silver hair and glowing cyan eyes. A large, black-feathered wing stretched out behind him.
Angeal couldn't help himself, leaning over to Genesis and whispering, "His is bigger than yours..."
"What have you done to my sister?" he demanded, his voice booming. Angel widened her eyes, shaking her head.
"They did nothing to me... brother... mother did this to me."
"I see they have tricked you, sister," he dismissed, "and they will pay."
Sephiroth's wing wrapped protectively around Angel to shield her while Cloud grabbed the hilt of his sword. His eyes flashed with recognition.
"That voice..." He slowly drew his sword then. "When Jenova spoke through Denzel the other night... there was a male voice as well that wasn't his... that was you, wasn't it?"
The man smirked. "Yes, it was. You keep me from my family... so I will turn yours against you."
Rage flared through the warrior.
"Coward! If you want to fight, then come straight for me! Here, let me make it easy for you!"
He shot off like a rocket towards the man, sword drawn and ready to clash.
"Strife!" Sephiroth shouted.
"Not wise," Genesis added, drawing rapier, preparing to render aid.
The man stretched out his hand towards Cloud as he barreled forward. A single bolt of lightning shot out from his fingers, branching out several times, each one connecting with the warrior and snaking over his skin like a spider web.
Cloud's eyes immediately shut from the pain that wracked through his body, forcing him to his knees, but he managed to thrust his sword into the ground, trying to channel most of the current into the dirt to avoid damage to his vital organs. His body jerked from the blast. Genesis soared overhead and sent out a powerful blast from his fire materia before casting Barrier on the blond to shield him from further elemental attacks.
Angeal drew his blade, running towards Cloud.
"Please... stop!" Angel cried, though her voice couldn't be heard over the crack of the lightning strike.
Cloud stood after the attack had worn off, small currents still dancing around him as he pulled his sword free.
"I don't need help," he called to the others.
"Your anger blinds you to the threat," Genesis snapped at him. "You fail to see the danger. His strength... I sense, may be a challenge for the three of us combined."
He looked over to Sephiroth. "Keep her safe, You're strong enough on your own."
As the fire slammed into the man, it seemed to sink into his body, leaving him unscathed by any flame. He strode forward, malice in his eyes.
"Give me back my sister!" he growled, glaring at Cloud and flicking a small glance at Sephiroth. "You have poisoned her mind long enough!"
"We're not the ones poisoning her mind," Angeal shouted.
"I know that voice!" the man raged, "YOU are the one who ripped her from me when we were children!... KANE!"
With a guttural snarl, the man held out his hand towards Angeal, and a large ice shard formed. He used it as a spear, throwing it at the winged warrior.
Genesis appeared and with his sword glowing red he sliced through the shard, causing it to shatter. He then glared at their foe.
"This is bad, my fire attack wasn't deflected, it was absorbed!"
Sephiroth returned the harsh stare in kind. "No, you give up Jenova and come to our side. If you truly care for your sister you'll stop before it's too late to turn back."
The man's gaze remained on Angeal, his eyes burning with fury. He stretched out his hand, palm facing the sky, and contracted it into a fist. As he did, a black sphere formed around Angeal, shrinking into a small point as it distorted the area around it. The ex-Harkon gasped deeply, sinking to his knees and dropping his sword. He clawed at his chest, desperately trying to catch his breath.
"For years of torment, Kane!" he shouted.
Cloud rushed in, roaring in anger as he tried to get the enemy's focus back on him. "Don't ignore me! I'm the one who sent your precious mommy to hell! And you'll join her if you don't pay attention!"
The man's eyes flashed brightly as he switched his attention to Cloud, the world around him darkening. From deep within, a sharp pain shot out to every part of him, sapping his strength.
"GIVE... MY... SISTER... BACK!"
Cloud froze as his eyes rolled back from the pain that exploded from every nerve. His mouth dropped open on its own and a series of agonized gasps escaped uncontrolled. It felt like he was being pulled apart!
"ENOUGH!" Sephiroth raised Masamune high, unleashing a powerful earthquake which caused the ground around the enemy to crumble, off-balancing him and forcing his attack to cancel.
Cloud crumpled to the ground, barely rising to his hands and knees, as his body lurched with the effort to take in ragged gasps. It had been a long, long time since he had felt a pain like that.
Sephiroth approached the man then, Angel still held protectively in one arm while his wing was wrapped around her to shield her.
"You claim to be a son of Jenova?" He urged, trying to see if he could get through to him in a way that perhaps only he could. "I'm sure your mother has told you about me, her most powerful son?"
"Seph," Cloud choked, "What...are you doing..."
The silver warrior glanced down at the blond beside him before focusing back on their foe. "I once believed mother was the most perfect being but even she makes mistakes. She fails to see the needs of her children. She is so caught up in her plans for her perfect world that she ignores what her children believe to be perfect. My idea of a perfect world is one where I am not hated, and I am accepted for who I am, standing in my rightful place among my friends.
"Your sister wishes for a similar world. What about you? Do you wish for a desolate empty rock sailing endlessly through space with you as its only survivor? Because that is what Jenova wishes for. A world of emptiness and death."
The man narrowed his eyes at Sephiroth, looking between him and Angel.
He lies...
"You lie," he growled, "I was warned that you would try to deceive me. Using my sister as a shield... you will pay."
He took flight, hovering just out of reach.
"You ask me what world I want? I want a world where my family is whole... and where my mother's enemies are vanquished."
Angeal managed to get back to his feet and shot a glance at Genesis.
"She is... a liar," Angel's voice was so soft that it was nearly inaudible, "Please... brother..."
"I don't know what magic you have worked over my sister's mind," he sneered, "but I will free her... no matter the cost."
Sephiroth glared angrily up at the man. "What reason do I have to lie? I am infused with Jenova cells just as you are, perhaps more! I am what she wanted, the harbinger of destruction she longed for, and I nearly succeeded in granting her wish. One lone, stubborn hero stood in our way and he defeated me. Why? Because he had what I lacked. A true reason to fight and the passion to carry it out!"
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, stunned by the unexpected praise. He tried to rise but cried out as his muscles spasmed making him shudder from the pain.
Sephiroth allowed himself a slight smirk as he admitted to what he wanted to say all along. "I'd like to think of Angel as a younger sister, just as you see her. My extension can reach out to you as well if you forsake Jenova's foolish desires. Give up this idea that she will lead you to happiness, for all she will give you... is the gift of despair. "
Look at what they've done to your sister!
For some reason, both Sephiroth and Cloud heard Jenova as she urgently spoke in the man's mind.
"What have you done to her?" he growled.
They are trying to trick you! They tricked your sister!
"I will not fall for your tricks!" he spat. "Give her to me, and I will spare you."
Sephiroth smirked then. "Jenova... you sound pretty desperate. Is he perhaps your final link to influencing this world? Is that why you're trying so hard to delude him into thinking your way is the only way?"
Cloud shuddered painfully as he forced himself to his feet. A powerful Curaga from Genesis made it a little easier as the pain faded.
"She's using you," The blond finally spoke. He was still angry, but willing to reason with him if he was being treated as a puppet. "Do you really think your sister is so weak that she needs so many people to trick her? She came to us for help. We didn't seek her out."
He hovered there, his expression conflicted. "No... Mother does not... lie. Only humans lie..."
He grabbed at his head, seemingly confused.
Don't abandon me, child! It's what they want!
A moment later, he flew away from them until he was no longer visible.
"...so ...tired ..." Angel mumbled before becoming completely limp in Sephiroth's arms. The moment she did, the familiar static returned to Cloud and Sephiroth, though much weaker than it had ever been.
*FFTT*
The man was still holding his head as he flew to get away. Mother was not happy with him. He was running instead of ending them and taking his sister back by force. But he had started to consider what they were saying and questioned if their words held any truth. What they said made sense. If that was really Sephiroth, why was he offering to help him? He was mother's favorite son, the one she said was lost to them... that the blond had taken, but he was right there with Angel held protectively in his arms. Sephiroth was protecting her!
Something shot through his chest, and he let out a painful cry as his wing buckled. He fluttered for a moment, gasping for air. There, from down below, through the echoing shockwave of sound from a gunshot stood a warrior in a flowing red cape. He aimed to strike again, and he felt his mother take control of his wing and guide him away from what would have been his death. She was not done by a long shot.
*FFTT*
As they watched him fly away, Genesis wanted to chase after him, but he knew it was dangerous to pursue a foe so dangerous, especially when considering his main skills would be turned against him. He turned to Angeal who was recovering from the attack. It said a lot to know how easily the defensive rock had been brought to his knees, having the air sucked from his lungs and watching his eyes darken from the assault.
Looking over at the blond who had been hit with a massive nerve assault also told Genesis what kind of threat they faced. It wasn't something they couldn't overcome, but they could just as easily lose if they didn't pay attention.
The cure spell had helped a lot, but Cloud's muscles still protested with each movement, that didn't stop him from moving, though. He approached Sephiroth who was holding an unconscious Angel in his arms. They both could hear the static from Jenova's call ringing clearly in their minds.
Sephiroth looked to the blond and smirked. "I can hear her, and I find it amusing. She's calling me a treacherous son. I find it odd, that she would compare me to Rapunzel when she herself would fit the role of mother Gothal."
"You're comparing yourself to a fictional character," Cloud asked, unamused.
"No, I am comparing her to one. She claims to be the caring mother who knows best, yet she only caresses to deceive. The only thing she cares for is power and control over others. I told her I am done living in her tower and she got angry. You should see the images she's showing me right now. It's rather amusing."
He looked to Cloud then, curious. "What is she showing you? I know you can hear her."
"Nibelheim burning."
The general turned to the blond then who shrugged, and instantly regretted the action when he winced. "My mother, dead in my arms, Tifa bleeding at my feet… I think she's trying to get me to hate you again, but… it's not going to work."
"Oh?" asked the general.
Cloud turned to him then and Sephiroth recognized the look of pure respect and admiration. It was the same look both Genesis and Angeal had given him years ago when they had bonded together as best friends.
"What you said to him… I know we put the past behind us, and I've trusted you to lead missions and even come to my rescue, but…"
He clenched a fist to hide the shame. "I hadn't really trusted you… completely… until just now. That past will always haunt me, but I realize now how hard you're really trying. What I'm trying to say is… I-"
"You don't need to, Strife," Sephiroth cut him off, his tone anything but harsh. "I don't expect forgiveness, I only ask for a chance at redemption. I don't want you to forgive me for the past. You were in the right to hate me for that, but we are both grown men and we can work together to accomplish any mission thrown at us."
Cloud nodded with a smirk and offered his hand. Sephiroth returned it and the two buried the hatchet. "Lead the way, general. I'll follow you headfirst into any hellstorm."
Sephiroth returned the smirk. "And I would be honored to have you watch my back, Private Strife, or… should I say, First Class?"
The shock appeared but was quickly replaced with amusement. "Stupid dreams never die, do they?"
Sephiroth just regarded the warrior. "Stupid dreams do; honorable ones do not."
The sound of an echoing gunshot from a distance snapped their attention back to their surroundings as the group turned to look towards the mountain range where their enemy had disappeared to, it was also the direction Vincent would be traveling from.
"Sounds like Vincent tried to take him out," Cloud assumed.
"Let's just hope that he didn't use magic," Genesis added as he approached with a winded, but recovered Angeal. "We need to plan for his next attack, if we cannot get through to him we have to take him down. Magic only makes him stronger and his knowledge of attacks is rather... unsettling."
Angeal rubbed his sore chest, "I've never seen anyone use Gravity in such a ruthless way. I could feel my lungs being squeezed and the air forced out as if through a vacuum."
"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "The attack he hit me with was Shadow Flare. I've used it a few times on stronger monsters when I needed to end things quickly, but... now I feel I owe an apology to every zolom and griffin I've ever used it on."
"That was no normal Shadow Flare though," Genesis added. "He was tapping into Jenova's energy, the way you reacted to it was different than normal. It seemed like every cell was being pulled apart."
"You could tell that from just watching," asked Cloud impressed.
Genesis smirked. "I am a First Class commander, and I'm an expert with magic and materia. It appeared as if the spell was targeting the bit of Lifestream within you. The energy that connects your soul to your body and translates your emotions into power."
"I'm not following," the blond replied.
Genesis sighed, feeling like he was giving a lecture to a novice. "When you get angry or joyful in a fight, you feel a surge of energy, yes? That is the energy of the Lifestream you carry within which houses your soul and fuels your body to move."
"Sounds like the Lifestream was rather generous with Zack then," Angeal offered with a light chuckle.
Genesis just rolled his eyes before focusing on the girl. "Her energy is weak, she's been using her own life energy which is dangerous and she's done it numerous times. She's wearing herself out this way. She didn't pass out from this battle or anything Jenova tried to do; she passed out from sheer exhaustion."
He raised a glowing hand to her and placed it on her forehead, trying to restore some of her energy.
"She can rest over at Cosmo Canyon, and then Cloud can take her home," Genesis instructed, "but I wouldn't let her bring any more people back from the dead."
