Past Costa Del Sol, the Corel Mountains towered over the land on top of a high plateau. Cloud and the others trudged up the long and winding trail, passing over lush green plains and stretches of dry, thirsty rock as he got into the foothills.
Through the centre of the mountain pass, a sparkling blue river washed through the mountains underneath a long wooden bridge that spanned the gap above a deep canyon.
Off in the distance, a low rumbling and a thick mist of water showed that the river came to a sudden drop-off, probably no more than a half mile away from where he was right now.
It was getting close to sunset when the path turned and went alongside the mountains instead of into them. To the west, the sun became a blazing ball of molten red and orange as it sank beneath the tall mountain peaks.
The Mako-rich mountains shone with an unearthly glow in the crimson sunset, causing shards of pinks and green to fill the air. As stars began to pop up in the soft purple sky, the path again turned west into the mountains, climbing over a small hill littered with shrubs and boulders.
Limp, dead trees hung their branches lifelessly, and the grass was brown and brittle, snapping easily under Cloud's footfalls. They found a man lying down on the floor against a rock. He seemed to be resting, but he looked terrified.
"What is it?" asked Cloud, curiously.
"I just passed a guy in a black cape back there. I tried to tell him that it was dangerous ahead, and he ignored me. But that look was his eyes was unnervingly cold. Scary…" said the man.
"Sephiroth…" said Cloud, frowning.
"There was a man in a black cape, here, too?" asked Aeris, surprised, looking at Cloud anxiously. Cloud grasped her hand in reassurance and nodded.
"Aw man, what a drag!" complained Yuffie.
"Hmm…I'm moving on ahead," said Red XIII.
"Let's hurry on!" agreed Tifa, eagerly.
Cloud glanced at Barret, but then he suddenly noticed that Barret was looking down the path ahead very regretfully, as if he would rather not go along it at all, and he was being strangely quiet all of a sudden. Unusually quiet, especially for him…
Barret then sighed wearily and shrugged, and walked slowly along the mountain path, very slowly. Cloud watched him carefully. Even if he was on their side, he was getting suspicious of him at the moment, the way he was acting all of a sudden.
Aeris struggled along beside Cloud, grasping his hand in hers, and Cloud held it tightly, and they both smiled at each other for a moment, while behind them, Tifa scowled.
Aeris was in a cheerful mood indeed, despite not having an easy time walking along the rocky path in her long pink dress, so Cloud had to help her along.
Aeris shaded her eyes with one hand, holding her Cloud's hand in the other, as she looked ahead at the setting sun behind the mountain.
"It's all so beautiful…the sun, the mountain, the winding path, that single tree at the very top…" said Aeris, looking around as she walked along the mountain path with Cloud.
"True indeed, Aeris…but still, none of it compares at all to the girl beside me," said Cloud, grinning, and Aeris blushed and smiled in response, holding his hand more tightly.
Yuffie looked around nervously at the cliff that dropped off only a few feet to her right, as she scrambled over a pile of loose gravel ahead of her.
"Ah geez, a two hundred foot drop to the river below. And Barret's acting like a zombie, hey Cloud, what's up with that anyway? Why's Mr. Yo-I'm-out-to-save-the-Planet-so-shut-up-fool so quiet all of a sudden?" asked Yuffie. Cloud shrugged.
"Beats me. But you're not going to get me to ask him when he's in this kind of a mood," replied Cloud.
Cloud and the others walked further along the path, now knowing that they were on the right path to Sephiroth. The sunset could be seen in the background of the mountains.
But as they walked further along the path, they discovered a Mako Reactor – the Corel Reactor. Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Red XIII and Yuffie stared at the Reactor, not knowing that Shinra had built a Reactor here.
"I wasn't expecting this," said Red XIII.
"A Mako Reactor! I didn't know that this was here," said Cloud, amazed.
"It sure doesn't look like it's been very well maintained," said Aeris, exhausted, and trying to catch her breath from climbing the mountain path.
They all glanced at Barret, but to their startled astonishment, they saw that Barret was staring darkly at the Reactor with a deep, bitter and burning hatred, a fire in his eyes that Cloud had never seen there before, not even from Barret.
His one huge fist was clenched as tightly as it would go, and he was shaking and shivering in complete rage, boiling with overwhelming anger.
Then he suddenly stormed off in a rage, and Cloud and the others quickly ran after him, wondering what was wrong with him. They ran down the stairs leading to the Reactor, and caught up with Barret.
Aeris was about to ask him something, but, noticing this, Barret turned around and glared at her so hard that she stopped short nervously, her eyes wide, causing Yuffie to crash into her from behind.
"OW!! I don't know what his problem is, but he's giving me the creeps. Hey, is that a roller coaster track up there or what?" asked Yuffie, looking along the path ahead.
"I doubt it, considering it goes straight from the Reactor," replied Tifa, acidly, still glaring at Aeris and Cloud's hand-holding, which neither of them noticed.
"Well then, maybe the cars are just shot out by Mako energy. Wouldn't that be a rush?" said Yuffie, grinning.
"It looks like the train track splits in two, a higher road and a lower road," said Aeris.
They all walked up some stairs leading past the Reactor and back along the path. Quickly passing by the Reactor, Cloud and the others continued on, following the train tracks leading out of the huge entrance to the Mako Reactor.
The tracks pushed through a small valley, and led out to a broad, open and large canyon spanned by the tracks as they wove up and down.
Even in the far distance, Cloud could see the tip of the sun as it bobbed down beneath the far peaks of the huge and vast Corel Mountains, which weren't quite as big as the Mount Nibel mountains at Nibelheim, but were still large all the same.
The air was starting to cool, and night was swiftly approaching from the east. Already, more stars were popping up as bright pinpoints against the dark blue of night.
They walked further along the path and they came to an old, massive, abandoned roller coaster, which they would have to use as a path.
They jumped across the cracks in the roller coaster, and they crossed the roller coaster safely and they came to an automatic bridge, but the ends of it were facing up, so they couldn't cross it.
"Oh, Cloud, that's it! We can't go on until the bridge is let down. I think there's a switch in that shack over there. But I'm too tired," said Tifa.
"Come on, Cloud. Let's rest a minute," said Aeris.
"I'll just stay down here and wait," said Yuffie.
"Okay then," replied Cloud, nodding.
Cloud, Barret and Red XIII walked back to the roller coaster and took the other direction along it to the shack.
"Go, Cloud! Go!" cheered Tifa, excitedly, watching them, and now it was Aeris' turn to scowl.
Cloud pulled the switch in the shack and the bridge came down. Yuffie, Tifa and Aeris walked across and they went along the path.
Cloud, Red XIII and Barret all walked back along the road, then they went back to the roller coaster, and they took the route to the bridge.
They walked across the bridge and they continued along the path, until they came to a big, old bridge, which was a huge drop above a massive canyon below, so they would have to cross the bridge carefully.
Cloud, Barret and Red XIII quickly crossed the bridge, caught up Yuffie, Aeris and Tifa who were all waiting for them, and afterwards they all arrived at the town of North Corel.