Chapter 1: Friends That Stick Together

"Squall, have you ever noticed you are like an autistic child?"

"No, I mean really. You never talk, so that's why when you do, everyone listens." Squall glared at Seifer. They were simply standing outside the courtroom waiting to come back from recess. Both were in uniform, Squall's the deep blue of a seed and Seifer's the clownish orange of a prisoner. "When you get on the stand tomorrow, play real quiet and then say, 'He is the best man I've ever known.' People will be so blown away that you actually spoke, the judge is sure to let me off."

With another heartfelt glare, Squall hissed, "Grow up Seifer. This is important."

Seifer held up his hands and clanked the handcuffs at Squall threateningly. "These kind of gave me that impression."

A flash of worried energy zipped by. "Are you threatening your guard?" asked Selphie as she pinched Seifer's shoulder sharply.

"Ow!" Seifer shifted his body out of her reach. "Is she always so violent or does she just save it for me?"

"I save it for jerks that no one likes," she said, hands on hips and chocolate frosted head tilted. "And don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Is Zell ready for the stand?" Squall asked Selphie. He was ignoring the bickering of the two.

"He's going over stuff with Quistis. You know, what is classified et cetera." Her eyes snapped back to Seifer after addressing her commander. "And don't expect him to cover your butt."

Seifer acted surprised at the insinuation. "I wouldn't dream of it! I'm sure he's already preoccupied with covering your... Ow!" Selphie's fingers had pinched harder than the previous time. Seifer jerked his body away from the mean little girl.

"We're just friends you jerk!"

Squall frowned. "Ms. Tilmitt, please refrain from assaulting the prisoner. We are in a courthouse."

Straightening up, she apologized, "Sorry commander." She wasn't really, but she didn't like being chided by Squall. She knew that she should be behaving more Seed-like, but Seifer just rifled her so easily.

"Can you please state and spell your name for the court?"

"Heh. I guess it'd be hard to get this wrong huh?"

"Mr. Dincht, if you please."

Zell coughed nervously. Only one minute on the stand and he had already messed up. He felt sweat building on the sides of his forehead by his ears. Oh, why had he decided to wear his hair down? It was only more professional looking if it wasn't covered in body oils. "Zell Dincht. Z-e-l- l-d-i-n-c-h-t.'"

"And Dincht is your adopted mother's last name?"

"Yep. I mean, yes...sir." Zell hoped that they didn't ask his birth name, because he still wasn't sure what that was.

"You were raised at an orphanage by Edea Kramer weren't you?"

"Yes."

"So, you've known the defendant how many years?"

"Um, about 15 years." That had been a long time of knowing Seifer, though for a good chunk of that, he hadn't been able to remember that they'd been raised together at all. Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to talk about that, because of Squall's turning their amnesia into a top-secret coverup.

"Would you say that you know the defendant well?"

The sweat finally escaped his skin. "Yes sir." A voice was repeating over and over in Zell's head pleading that they not ask him what he thought of Seifer. 'Please don't ask if I like him, please don't ask if I like him.'

"Would you say that Seifer Almasy is a nice guy?"

Aaagh! He glanced at Seifer's face. It was usually cocky and mean, currently it was dark and anxious. Zell didn't want to be responsible for Seifer's execution. He also couldn't lie under oath.

"Mr. Dincht, would you say he's a nice guy?"

"Um..." His knees felt wobbly even though he was sitting down. Memories of all the things that Seifer had said to him or done to him over the years passed through his mind. Not even counting all the things he had done during the sorceress incident, there had never been a time in his life that Zell would have called him a nice guy.

"Mr. Dincht? Please answer the question."

"No!" blubbered Zell. "He's not nice; he's always been a big bully!" Zell's fist punched the stand at the same time that Seifer tapped his head on the desk in front of him.

&&

"What is your opinion of Seifer Almasy?" This question evoked a wide array of responses from those on the stand.

"I cared enough about him to date him. Just for a summer. We weren't really that close. He's kind of hard to get close to. I think he has a shell around him. He only insults you if he likes you, because his feelings scare him. But, he's a good person underneath it all. I think..." - Rinoa

"I don't really remember him all that well. See, I hadn't seen him since we were kids. He was kind of a loner though. He picked on Zell and Selphie a lot, but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy." - Irvine

"He's a big meanie! He always bumps me in the elevators. He popped the heads off my dolls. He started a missile launch at Trabia Garden. And he tortured Squall!" - Selphie

"He's a little confused about what he wants from life, but he's a good guy. Selphie and Zell were right about the bullying, but he doesn't mean it. I've been his instructor for the few months prior to the incident. He is a little mean, yes, but he isn't a killer. Well, he is a killer. But all of us at Garden are killers. Ha, I hadn't really thought about that." – Quistis

In his cell that night, Seifer sprawled out face down on his cot. Squall was leaning against the wall next to the urinal. His face was sullen, serious even for Squall.

"After they execute me, I'm coming back as a ghost and haunt those morons." An imperceptible smile flitted across Squall's pinched face. "I mean, did you hear Rinoa? You try and feed someone to an evil sorceress and they just don't trust you anymore."

Seifer flipped over onto his back and gazed with distraught interest at Squall. "What? I heard you make a sound."

"Just wondering if you were remembering that or just thinking about what Rinoa told you."

Seifer chuckled. "You mean that you were wondering if I slipped up with my amnesia act huh? That's it Squall! Three months after crawling back to Garden- Dr. Kadowaki in particular- the truth comes out. I never really had amnesia at all. I just thought it would be fun to turn myself in so that I could attempt to prove my innocence. Isn't it a riot? Ha ha ha." It pissed Seifer off. He was sick of hearing the doubt.

Squall walked towards the cot and waited for Seifer to move over. Eventually, he did just that, allowing Squall room to sit. Side by side, they were together in the gloomy quiet, Seifer supine and Squall sitting with one knee bent and one leg straight out.

"I never didn't believe you."

Surprised, Seifer looked at his friend. The battle with Ultimecia had aged Squall. Coming to take care of the trial probably wasn't helping. "The others don't believe that I was possessed by her. They think I did it for the power and respect. That it was my 'romantic dream.' If I hear that phrase one more time..."

"You said it to me before, in Dollet."

Seifer nodded. That he remembered, though sorceresses and knights had been far from his mind then. "Didn't mean that though. Believe it or not, my dream isn't to torture my friends. Well, it wasn't before the interrogation today."

"Then what did you mean?"

Seifer cleared his throat loudly. With Squall's intense gaze on him, he had to change the subject...and fast. "Do you think I had control of myself?"

Squall glared at him, irritated by the subject change. "We'll see tomorrow, won't we?"