Disclaimer: Hi! Rinoa here. The author is taking a break from writing disclaimers so I'm here to help him get out of legal trouble. Me and my fascinating world does not belong to the author because that would be just plain terrifying.

The Devil's Cry: A FFVIII Fanfic

Chapter 7

Mourning the loss of their mentor, Rinoa, Irvine and Squall moved on, anxious to save Selphie. Zell had gone out of the front gate to bury Quistis and put her to rest.

Then, Zell yelled too. "Don't come any closer! No! Don't! NO! NOOO!"

Silence fell…

Squall ran towards the front door and tried to push it open but it would not. Frustrated, Squall kicked the door as hard as he could.

With a sickening crack, the door flew open. Everyone's eyes widened.

They saw what had jammed the door. It was Zell's arm…

The rest of his body was a few feet away, face down, a pool of blood around his head.

Rinoa gasped and turned around, looking nauseous. Irvine inched forward until he was next to Squall, looking at the arm with a look of disgust on his face.

Squall shook his head… Not another one, he thought.

Memories flooded back again…

Back in the orphanage, "Go, Squall! Punch him!" Zell had cheered when Squall was fighting Seifer.

Years later, "Put it there, man!" Zell had said, offering his hand for Squall to shake.

"I am not a chicken-wuss!" Zell had yelled at Seifer.

"Ultimecia shall be my breakfast tomorrow!" Zell exclaimed.

Zell Dincht. The brilliant SeeD who excelled in martial arts. Funnily reckless. Hot-headed. Funny. Dead…

Squall sighed as the tears pricked his eyes again. He blinked, trying to hold them back.

"All this would not have happened if I had looked after Selphie." Irvine said solemnly, looking upset.

"Don't blame yourself, Irvine. We all make mistakes sometimes…" Squall said, patting Irvine's shoulder.

Rinoa was crying again. "Why does this have to happen to us? Why are we always the one who gets into trouble?"

"It's because we are thought to be powerful. People expect us to do great things. And as someone once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'" Squall said, putting an arm around her shoulders as they sat on the stairs.

Irvine was still staring in shock at Zell.

"We had better go before we get attacked too…" Squall said, helping Rinoa up as Irvine walked towards him.

Irvine nodded silently.

The three of them got up and headed back towards the passageway.

They walked down the long corridor flanked by scary looking suits of armor until they reached a three-point fork.

They glanced at each other. "Lets go separate ways for now." Squall suggested.

Rinoa made a sound as though about to protest but Squall told her that it was for the best if they wanted to find Selphie.

Reluctantly, the three of them parted and went to their own separate routes. Squall took the middle route, Rinoa took the right and Irvine took the left.

Irvine's Point of View(POV)

Reluctant as I am to part, I know that spreading out will enable us to find Selphie faster. I'd do anything to find Selphie.

Several Grim Reapers appeared… These ghostly apparitions carried a huge scythe. They were said to appear when chaos existed.

Irvine raised his shotgun and, furiously, fired several rounds at them. One of the three Reapers vaporized.

One of the remaining two raised its sharpened scythe high and slashed it across Irvine's chest.

Irvine let out a startled gasp. He placed his hand on his bleeding chest and muttered, "Cure." His hands glowed white and the wound closed and the bleeding stopped.

He raised his shotgun again, ready to exact his vengeance on the Reapers. When he looked up, he found that the Reapers were fleeing.

Scared? Irvine thought.

Then, a thought struck his mind. What if they weren't running from me, Irvine thought, what if they were running from something more powerful coming up behind me?

Slowly, Irvine turned around. Next thing he knew, a sword stabbed into his stomach and an axe sliced off his hand. Gasping, Irvine looked up, desperate to see his attacker but he couldn't see anything due to the fact that, streaming before his eyes, were visions from his life.

As his blood flowed freely, Irvine saw the moment when he joined Galbadia Garden. The moment he had become a SeeD. The moment he joined Squall and his gang. The moment of his first kiss with Selphie. Then, his mind focussed on Selphie.

Selphie, his sweet, adorable wife-to-be… Selphie… I'll be joining you soon… Irvine thought as life slipped out of him. Finally, he was aware that he was dying… But it was too late… His eyes shut and Irvine Kinneas died…

Oblivious to the demise of their friend, Squall and Rinoa rushed on. Bravely fighting enemies to rescue Selphie… and wondering whether they, too, will fall prey to this unseen phantom…

End of Chapter 7

Author's note: And so it begins… one by one, Squall's friends are falling prey to Baal… Will Squall and Rinoa survive to banish Baal? Please R&R…