[ Where is Tifa when you need her? The golden question, but Cloud manages to meet Aerith's gaze for a moment as she asks. His eyes are shifting around a lot as he recounts the tale. Not looking at Aerith or the nearby bonfire. Seeming smaller, almost, in their gaze. ]

Right. Tifa's dad actually was the one who helped guide people up the mountain, when we were little. It's a pretty dangerous climb, so you usually need a guide. Tifa managed to browbeat her dad into letting her take us up.

And Mt. Nibel was feeling pretty capricious that day. The usual route was out, so we had to take a detour, and a rope bridge gave out while we were on it. We lost half of the escort Shinra had sent with Sephiroth and I on the way up. And that was before you factor in the monsters on the trail.

[ He trails off, suddenly, his eyes looking down at the ground, his brow furrowed. There's that creeping feeling, that something about what he's saying, what he's reliving, is the same as those memories this place gave him. ]

But that was nothing compared to what we found inside the reactor. That's... [ His voice gets low. ]

That's where it all went wrong.