Fated Encounters, Part 2

Cloud kept working towards the train station, still favoring rooftops and alleys. Crowds of people milled the streets aimlessly, without a purpose as security buzzed menacingly. Finally Cloud made it it to the main plaza of Sector 8. And then he saw ... her.

She didn't make the best first impression. She appeared to be struggling with literal invisible demons. Her dress was too long and hid what Cloud envisioned to be a pale, slender frame attached to a gorgeous face, mesmerizing green eyes, and reddish brown hair. And then he appeared again.

"You are too weak to save anyone. Not even yourself," Sephiroth taunted him. The past crumpled him, and he looked up to see the beauty, looking concerned at him.

"You okay?" she asked. Cloud flushed. He'd made a poor impression too.

"Fine," he said shortly. The girl pulled out a yellow Wutai lily, tucking it into his shirt.

"On the house," she said perkily.

"Listen, a bomb just went off..." But Cloud didn't get to finish his sentence. The girl started writhing frantically, and she gripped Cloud's shoulder and he saw ... them. The ghosts were real. Spectral figures in dark cloaks. Cloud desperately swung his Buster sword at them while the flower girl ran off. And then he was alone, except surrounded by squads of angry Shinra troopers. Shit.