fic: living chemical child (ffvii/fma)

[jukeboxhound_backup]

Aaaaa the possibilities STILL EATING MY BRAIN.

Living Chemical Child
III. Circulation.

Main Pairing: Established Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud
Canon: FFVII (original game only) + Fullmetal Alchemist
Rating/Warnings: Light R - alchemical torture (naturally), some sexuality, meandering thoughts on alchemy and philosophy, general unhappiness.
Summary: It wasn't like Hojo had left clear instructions on how to reverse a sacrifice to the Gate.  Unbetaed.

Word Count: 774

III. Circulation.

(n.): A process of continued distillation used to evolve
one's subject matter. It is not unusual to let a
substance circulate for a month or longer.

"Apparently the Mercury Alchemist has taken a leave of absence."

Roy was so busy eyeing the stack of photos that had ominously appeared on the edge of his desk that it took him a moment to realize what Hughes was saying. "General Sephiroth? Why?"

A light shrug. "Haven't been able to figure that out yet. Lieutenant Fair has been running around Central like a madman, which suggests that this sabbatical wasn't exactly planned."

Roy leaned back in his chair and thoughtfully twirled a pen. Of the few generals that the military had, Sephiroth was the only State Alchemist, and also the youngest, younger even than Roy. Whispers of conspiracy had followed him for his entire career. "His annual assessment?"

"Except he wasn't scheduled to present anything for another several months. I'm thinking it has something to do with Hojo's death."

The pen in Roy's fingers immediately stilled. "That is…unexpected."

"Not when you consider how many people hated the man," Hughes said dryly, then added more seriously, "It was murder. The coroner claims it was a long blade, like a rapier – "

"Or the Masamune."

"Except no one's saying that little bit aloud. Sephiroth's got influence and not a little bit of worship from the people." General Sephiroth, a hero of the Ishbal Civil War, whose popularity with the people was surpassed only by one, more charismatic, Flame Alchemist.

"And the Fuhrer?"

"Just smiles and says he looks forward to seeing whatever Sephiroth's come up with for this year's research."

"Of course," Roy muttered, glancing past Hughes towards the closed door of his office. He could hear the murmurs of his men and what sounded like Havoc pleading with Hawkeye to put the gun down, please, it won't happen again, no really.

"The question now becomes the next course of action, knowing that one of the generals has left Central."

"The others aren't exactly blind. Hakuro, for example, will be especially careful of anyone looking to take advantage of the situation," Roy pointed out.

"Not everyone, however, has me on their side." Hughes' smile had an edge of dark amusement. He took off his glasses and started cleaning them with the hem of his shirt. "There's another bit of intrigue here," he said casually, and Roy arched a brow. "One of the men in Sephiroth's unit has disappeared. A kid, really, he's only sixteen or seventeen, just a specialist."

"And?"

"Well, there were some rumors not too long ago of inappropriate conduct, although people couldn't seem to decide if the conduct was on the part of the general or the lieutenant. A few seemed to think it was all three. Maybe the kid and the general decided to elope. Ah, the romance of it! Love against all odds!"

Roy rolled his eyes, unimpressed. Such rumors were almost expected and were rarely taken seriously without real evidence; he'd overheard enough of them concerning himself and Fullmetal since the kid had first become a State Alchemist. At twelve years old, no less.

"I know, you're thinking that every commanding officer faces those accusations at one time or another – "

"Maes," Roy broke in, "what was it that earned Sephiroth his rank as a State Alchemist?"

Hughes blinked. "I'm no alchemist, but from what I remember," and Hughes had a memory for details like no one else Roy knew, of course, "he was trying to find a way to power crystal spheres with latent energy that could be used by anyone, even non-alchemists. …You're thinking of Ed, aren't you?"

Roy started going through the papers on his desk, looking for the most recent intelligence concerning Fullmetal's whereabouts. If only the kid knew how right he was when he accused Roy of spying. "If Sephiroth was using stones and crystals in his research, I imagine he would've been tempted by the true Philosopher's Stone at some point. Perhaps he'd know something that could help Fullmetal in his search."

"And if Ed, in his usual way, blundered into discovering what was going on, that would just be a coincidence. And if it just so happened to have something to do with getting you a little closer to the top, well, stranger things have happened."

"Indeed."

…

Somewhere halfway across Amestris, Ed sneezed.