IluvAUs: I'm alive! I'm finally back after a long hiatus. While I was 'slumbering in my coffin', I came up with a rather nice fanfic idea that I wanted to start on. Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Seven, or any of the characters or music therein. Understood? Now, let the tale begin!

Prologue

I looked across the warehouse, searching for my opponent. Her body was in shadow, but after a moment, I discovered her location from her eyes. The unnaturally bright eyes that were typical of a young vampire. I drew Cerberus out of its holster, and heard mocking laughter echo around the godforsaken place.

"You honestly think you can defeat me vith that leetle toy?" she taunted. "Darling, I'm a vampire! I'm immune to bullets and other sooch nonsense!"

I smirked. For once, I had the ace up my sleeve with this one. "Normal bullets, perhaps. But what about bullets coated with holy water? Are you certain you are safe from those?"

She stepped out of the shadows, the pale moonlight throwing her body into sharp relief. Her snow white skin glowed from the light, creating a great contrast with her bloodred hair, eyes, and attire. Her motions were astonishingly feline, and I was honestly surprised she didn't sink into a crouch.

"You're bluffing." she intoned.

I raised an eyebrow. "Am I? Can you really afford to take that risk? If I hit my mark, you will die."

She smirked. "Ve'll see about zat!"

Without further warning, she pounced, and I pulled the trigger. The force of the bullet stopped her in her tracks, causing her to collapse uncerimoniously to the ground. She was clutching the lower right side of her torso, where a small stream of stolen crimson was trickling between her fingers. Obviously, she had eaten before I arrived. Not only that, but where the bullet had pierced her skin, there was an angry burn mark and a small hiss as though acid had been poured into the wound. Shame I hadn't hit her heart. Things would have been so much easier for the both of us.

"You… bastard…" she whispered. "How dare you? How dare you?"

She made another more sloppy lunge, and I fired once again. This time, I did not miss. The bullet entered her chest and pierced her unbeating heart. She screamed in agony, and were she not in such extreme pain, she would have no doubt tried to attack me again.

" Absurd… to think that a hunter like you… could best Rosso the Crimson…" she murmured as she collapsed to the ground.

Rosso the Crimson, as she had called herself, was no longer among the undead. Now, she was just dead.

I pulled out a Fire materia. The remains would have to be burned in order to keep the infection from spreading to the animals. Rosso had evaded my capture before, but her pride was her weakness, and in the end, her downfall.

"May whatever god that exists have mercy on your soul." I muttered before activating the materia. As the former vampire burned, I took my leave. It was time to get back to headquarters.

IluvAUs: Well? How is it so far?