Things you should know: First, this takes place near the end of the series, so there may be spoilers. Besides that, I thought I'd try starting in the middle of something and explain later. So, you shouldn't know what's happening. It's supposed to be a mystery. (The Fullmetal Alchemist will appear in chapter three, okay? Just don't stop reading when you see that this guy isn't Ed.) I'll explain a little at the end of the chapter... Also, this is fanfiction - thus, I don't own.
Chapter One: The Truth About Trisha Elric
Edward ran down an alley in the rain. "Al! Where are you?!" he called as he glanced at the different buildings as he past by them.
"Brother!"
Edward stopped and turned his head toward the building to his right. A woman in a black dress held Alphonse, a long sharp finger under his chin.
"Ed! Help me!" Alphonse called out before the woman backed inside the building with him.
"This is why I told you to stay home with Mom!" Edward yelled, upset that he had somehow ended up in Central and gotten himself kidnapped. He ran toward the building - an old warehouse with boarded windows. As he entered the dark warehouse, he yelled, "Let him go!" Edward then shielded his eyes as bright light filled the room.
"First, you need to do something for me..." The woman said.
"Not until you let my brother go!" Edward yelled. He then noticed that the building was filled with tables full of scientific equipment. Mainly, clear containers holding a red liquid.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
"Then I'll just have to make you!" Edward said. A transmutation circle on one of his black, fingerless gloves lit up and he touched the floor. A deep crack appeared in the floor and rushed toward the woman's feet, knocking her off balance. Edward leaped over the floor and grabbed Alphonse's hand, then ran for the door.
"Hello, Pipsqueak."
Edward gasped as he turned his head. "You're not Al..." He let go of the person's hand and stepped away from him.
"Very observant. - Not."
"Who are you?! And where's Al?!" Edward demanded.
"You can call me Envy. And as for your brother... I guess he's still with your mom," Envy said and shrugged.
"In that case, I'm out of here," Edward said and continued running for the door.
"Not so fast... You still need to help us," the woman said and extended a finger past Edward and curved it around, so if Edward continued forward he would run into it. Edward gasped as he stopped.
"Good work, Lust. I think he's starting to get the idea," Envy said with a smirk.
Edward turned toward the two of them, saying, "What do you want from me?!"
"Simple..." Lust said. "We need your help in achieving our dream to be humans."
"What?" Edward said in surprise as he widened his eyes. "You're... not human?"
Lust shook her head. "But we could be, if you help us finish this formula. You know... You're one of the only people still alive who knows how it works..."
Edward glanced toward the tables behind them. 'Could it be...'
"Yes. It's the formula Tucker invented," Lust said.
"How would that make you human?! It just opens portals to other dimensions!"
"You idiot," Envy stated.
Lust smiled at Edward's ignorance. "Surely you remember that's not all it does... Don't you recall your little adventure several months ago?"
Edward remembered how he had ended up in another dimension, in his alternate's body. "You want to switch bodies with a human version of yourself, right?"
"And, give the pipsqueak a treat!" Envy said with a smirk.
Edward glared at Envy. "Quit calling me that!" He then turned back toward Lust. "If you know about the formula, you must know that I'm the only person still alive in this world who is able to go through the portals."
"Not quite. You and Jonston weren't the only ones who have traveled to other dimensions, Edward. You inherited the ability from your mother."
"Huh...?"
"Your father met Jonston one day and told him about his sick wife. Jonston told him there might have been a way to cure her, a one in a million chance. Your father agreed to pay him the amount he asked in return."
"What did he do...?" Edward asked. When Lust didn't say anything, Edward repeated, "What did he do to her?!"
"He switched them," Envy said simply.
"What?"
"I said, he switched them. He knocked out your 'mommy', took her with him to another dimension, and brought back her double in her place."
"You mean... She's not my real mother...?" Edward asked, shocked.
"What? You never noticed?" Envy asked.
'Is that why she never talked about the time she was sick? - Because 'she' never was?' Edward thought.
"Now, Envy, you don't have to be mean about it," Lust said. She turned toward Edward. "It's true. Jonston told me about it one night, saying how amazed he was to find that another human being could go through the portals. You know... He kept track of the dimensions he's visited. He said he took her from number three. A dimension he was very interested in, being the only one - out of the two hundred and thirty-five he had been to - where he was never born."
'The only dimension he's visited where he wasn't born...?' Edward wondered. "Even if that's true, you still can't use the formula!"
"Your right. After all the time Tucker spent in developing the formula, there's still a key ingredient missing. ...And that ingredient is your blood."
Edward took a step back.
--End Chapter--
So... Now for a little explaining. This is actually the third story in my little fanfic trilogy. Don't need to read the other two if you don't want, though. I'm sure I'll explain everything as I go... But, the other two stories do tell some back story, and the titles are "What Could Have Been" and "Living In The Mirror".
About the title... I tried thinking of a good title, and it just wasn't happening, and somehow, I got the idea to use Jonston's name for Ed's (Fullmetal Alchemist's) dimension as the title - and amazingly, I think it works. It even has the number three in it! (third story in the trilogy, remember?) Can anyone guess how many dimensions there are in total, by the way? Jonston didn't find all of them, so there's more than 235. (And, the dimensions are different from the gate, btw)