Author's Comments: Mmkay, so, if you don't like fics where the game characters come into the real world, don't bother reading this, though there are some funny twists in it to make it seem at least a bit more believable than some out there. This story is based loosely just a little after the Dirge of Cerebus game (it's what inspired me to make this fanfic, so sue me… actually, don't o.O) and there are so many arguments about the different characters that no matter how much I searched I couldn't find solid evidence for several things.

First: Vincent is single, obviously. Instead of dealing with Shelke and Yuffie (both obvious contenders in his love campaign) I'm just going to explain how they are NOT in the picture now.

Shelke reminds Vincent too much of Lucrecia, and not enough to actually be her. He still loves Lucrecia, so he was initially attracted to both Shelke and Shalua (mainly Shalua, I'll bet) because they reminded him so much of his lost love. But Shalua died, so that took her out of the picture, and Shelke just seems too young for him – even if her real age is totally different from her physical age.

I think he considers Shelke as more of a sibling or daughter-figure than anything, seeing as she has the same non-aging syndrome that he does, looks so young, and needs someone to take care of her since her older sister died and she's learning how to live life again. He was more than likely undeniably intrigued by her at first, since she has so many mannerisms of Lucrecia, but after a time he realized that they were totally different people, and her mannerisms just brought back painful memories after a time. So there goes that relationship in this story – haha!

And Yuffie… ehh, I just don't think she'd be good for him. Too bubbly. And there is a difference between bubbly and animated.

Also, there are only the three FF7 characters in this story because I kinda felt like sticking to the original battle team system (only three people!) and Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent were my main party when it was too dangerous to stick Red XIII in (like when I need a healer, Red XIII ROCKS otherwise).

My last comment – Sarah is loosely based on me, since I feel like I need a fantasy once and a while too. Actually, she's almost exactly like me. Though I technically have no clue what I'd do in situations like the ones she's put into, I'd bet I'd do something of the same.

Wait, THIS is my last comment! Okay, for reasons of my own, I think there IS living flesh underneath that gauntlet, but I don't think he can take it off (like, one of those rings that you put on, then gained weight, and now even soap won't get it over your knuckle sorta thing). I believe it was put on because of some accident with his arm perhaps, that disfigured it or something, and the arm itself probably didn't work as well as it should, and the prosthetic over the real flesh keeps it in working condition. Also I'd bet it was painful to remove, so he just never does. So, the gauntlet is only semi-prosthetic, but cannot be removed. So there! It all works out.

And now, I will leave you to the tale of…

Dance with the Devil

Sarah Owens was a girl that always had her head lost in the clouds, imagining the grand adventures and fairy tales that people can only read about. She had an awesome imagination. She could get lost in her own thoughts for hours, and often did, which sometimes caused her to miss important information in school or bump into passerby on the sidewalks – her friends refused to let her drive because of this, too. Or at least, what friends she had. The day dreamer often missed out on chances to make friends, even if she was a kind hearted girl, because she was too quiet; only her old high school friends and a few others actually knew her animated personality as she got comfortable with them.

Today was not a day for daydreaming, but she did it anyway.

She pulled her collar up around her chin, keeping the frigid wind at bay. Winter didn't used to be this harsh in Oregon. Even though it was so close to spring, the icy wind and rain caused traffic to be deadly, since no one knew how to drive in icy weather. This was Oregon, for heaven's sake!

"Sarah!" a voice from behind her snapped her out of her thoughts as she headed toward the parking garage a few blocks away from her school. "Wait for me!"

"Hmm?" Sarah murmured as she turned around to see who disrupted her thoughts, and smiled when she recognized him, "Oh, hullo Colin."

He caught up to her once she stopped, reaching out to brush a strand of her dark reddish brown hair out of her face. It was cropped short and layered in the back, but the front was long, so it always fell into her face, and seeing as Colin was one of her closest friends, he took the liberty often enough to brush it out of her face for her. "Did you forget that I was staying at your place today?"

"What? Oh! Sorry. Guess I kinda spaced it." She said sheepishly, but returned the amused grin he gave her. "Well, I'm heading to the parking garage now, care to follow me?"

"Dur." He replied, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and steering her toward the parking lot. "You're never all the way here, are you?" he asked her teasingly, prodding her side to get her attention – and making her jump. She was extremely ticklish.

"Fantasy is better than reality most of the time. No stupid people there." She gave him a look, causing him to grin again, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Gimme the keys, I'm driving today."

"Aww…"

§§§§§§

The blonde haired young man, looking to be in his early or mid-twenties, crouched at the edge of a cliff face, looking down at the valley and large buildings far below them. He was fairly tall, well muscled, wearing a tight black suit, dark leather armor over his chest and as a belt, as well as a shoulder pad over his left shoulder as armor, cloth draping from that to cover his arm. An overly large sword was strapped to his back. His blue eyes were intense, as he watched the scene below. Behind him stood two others, a man and a woman, one leaning against another outcropping of boulders and the other crouching just behind and to the left of the blonde.

The man leaning on the ledge and against the rock wall was tall, a crimson mantle draping over his form, the cloak draping out behind him, the end tattered and ripped as a cloak that had been worn for a very long time. His hair was a tangled mess of black locks, untamable, only hampered from falling entirely into his face by the red bandana that he had around his head. His face was hidden mostly by the turned up collar of the cloak and mantle, revealing only blood red eyes looking forlornly toward the ground, lost in his own thoughts. His arms were crossed underneath the mantle, hiding the clawed gauntlet on his left hand.

The third, and only woman in the group, leaned over Cloud's shoulder, following the blonde's gaze to the buildings below. She wore a black vest over a tight white tank top, a black skirt with a short front and long back protected her legs. Her hair was a very dark auburn color, nearly black, and her eyes were a soft brown.

None of them spoke for some time,

"So are we going in or what?" Tifa spoke finally, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" replied the blonde Avalanche member, "I'm thinking the best way to get in would be through the side door there." He said softly, pointing toward the left side of the building. Along that side were many crates, as if the occupants of the building hadn't finished moving everything in. This left many hiding places, though that area was also more heavily guarded, but not by much. The building itself was just a large warehouse looking thing, few windows, many of those boarded up.

"Sounds good. Shall we be heading out then?" The crimson mantled gunslinger spoke then, straightening, and walked toward the two by the edge, not near enough to be seen by guards, but enough to see the goings on as well. He had opened up a little since the incident in which Chaos left his body, but even now he was still the quiet man in red they always knew. During missions with Cloud or the others he seemed to drop back into his old self, or when he was put on the spot.

"Mmhmm." Cloud said, backing away towards where Vincent stood, Tifa following close behind. "If we come up from the South, it should give us a clear shot. Let's go."

A/N: A short beginning, but that's because I have too much written already, and this was the only clear break. Comment if you like it! This being my first fanfic (Actually, second.. but the old Vampire Hunter D one I deleted from an old account because it was before I figured out how to make chapters... Actually, I'm still worried about the chaper thing, but I'm hoping that I can figure it out.) I want constructive criticism, if there's something wrong with the story, PLEASE tell me. No flames though. They just sort of prove how stupid you are. Flames will be cooked and offered to Vincent for dinner. Heard he liked them with spaghetti X3