Thank you for your replies! Here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Alice in Wonderland. But just imagine if I did!
The current carried the reduced Edward far away from the door, dragging him deeper and deeper into this strange ocean. Even without the current, staying afloat would have been nearly impossible due to his automail, but Ed fought nonetheless. Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to stand it another second, he was washed up on shore. He took a great shuddering breath and collapsed. He lay there for awhile, catching his breath. Finally, he sat up and looked around him. He appeared to be on the edge of a forest, a lone path winding through it. A sign was posted near the path. Ed walked over and read it.
"Beware the twins Alexander and Luis. I wonder what that means? And I wonder where Al went. He could be anywhere by now!" Ed sighed and began to remove his clothes. "I guess I should at least dry my clothes off before moving on."
He stripped down to his boxers and strung his clothes on top of a nearby branch and quickly made a fire. He flopped on his back and stared at the sky. The events in the ocean finally began to catch up with him and he closed his eyes, gently falling asleep. That sleep was short lived, however, as he was quickly woken up by a loud crashing in the brush. He jumped up and got into a defensive posture, just in case he'd need to fight. Suddenly, a huge man came crashing through the underbrush, and would have trampled right over Ed if he hadn't jumped clear at the last second. It was then, Ed got a good look at him.
"Major Armstrong? What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that question! Why are you trespassing in my forest?"
"I just washed up on shore, I didn't know you lived here…wait a minute! Are you the only one who lives here?"
"In this part of the forest, yes."
"Then why does that sign say "Beware the twins Alexander and Luis?"
"Because I, Alexander Luis Armstrong, have the power, technique, and charisma of two men!"
Ed was promptly showered by a stream of pink sparkles.
"That's just great." He said, backing away slowly. "But I've really got to go find my brother. See ya!"
Ed tried to run away, but was grabbed from behind. Major Armstrong picked him up and set him on a log.
"You can't leave just yet! You've obviously come to my forest to hear one of my stories! Storytelling has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"
"No, really, that's okay! I'm in a rush, so I'll just be leaving."
Ed started to stand up, only to get shoved back down by Major Armstrong.
"Life is too short to rush through it! If you don't take time to see what's going on in the present, you'll surely miss something important in the future!"
Ed realized he was fighting a losing battle. His best bet would be to just listen until his captor started the story, then he could slip away while he was distracted.
"This is how I wanted to spend my day off," Ed grumbled. "Nearly naked and listening to this idiot babble about something from the 'Armstrong line'."
"I fondly remember a story my father once told me about am alchemist who was unlucky with the ladies, a problem I myself have never had trouble with, I might add, and tried to create a companion using alchemy. He tried again and again, but couldn't seem to get it right. Finally, he decided to stop messing around with non living material and used actual people. 'This is the gravest part of the story, and it teaches a valuable lesson' my father told me. I listened well and he continued the story. He tried again and again using different women with different personalities. Finally, failing each time, he looked around him at all the suffering he had created and took his own life. A tear always sprang to my eye at the end! Isn't that the most powerful story you've ever heard?"
Ed looked up at him disbelievingly. "Are you kidding? It's ridiculous! There's no way he could have gotten away with using so many human transmutations. It's taboo in alchemy and he would have been killed. He sounds like an idiot!"
"That's not the point! Don't you see?"
"No and I don't care! I'm getting out of here!"
Ed quickly redressed and left the shocked major behind.
"What a waste of time that was! I'd better find Al soon, or else this place is going to make me go insane!"
Since he was so busy grumbling to himself, Ed failed to notice the book in his path, and tripped over it.
"Dammit! Who leaves a book in the middle of a path like that anyway?"
He picked up the book and found it was a beginner book on alchemy. A little further down the path he saw another book. He stood up and grabbed this one too. It was a slightly more advanced volume on alchemy. He continued down the path and he happened upon more and more books. Soon he had a small stack balanced in his arms. Soon after he had picked up his eight book, Ed came upon a large desk with a slot in it. A sign above it said:
"Please return books in the slot. Thank you."
"How'd a desk get all the way out here? I suppose weirder things have happened today."
Ed shrugged and sent each book down the slot. A sound like a small bell ringing accompanied each book as it entered the slot. After the eight one was sent down, another small book appeared in the 'Out' basket on the desk. Ed picked it up. There was no title, author, or anything else descriptive about the book, so he opened it to a page at random. It was a picture of a small cottage surrounded by a picket fence. A small nameplate was attached to the door with a capital A and the last name of Elric on it. Before Ed could do anything else, the picture began to look three dimensional. The more he stared at it, the more realistic it became, until it looked as though he was watching the house through a television screen and not just looking at a picture.
"This can't be real…" Ed whispered as he touched the picture.
As soon as his gloved fingers touched the picture, Ed felt his entire body jerk, and fall forward directly into the picture. He tumbled head over heels landing hard on his back in front of the cottage.
"Okay…that hurt…" Ed said completely winded.
He was just getting up and dusting himself off, when the door to the cottage flung open and Al appeared, still wearing the rabbit ears and tail.
"Oh thank goodness!" He said. "I'm so glad you're here Winry!"
Ending Note: And that's the end of chapter three! Sorry for the huge delay between chapters. I really can't say when the next one will be up, so enjoy this one!