Forbidden In Multiple Ways
Chapter One: Writing On The Wall

Annabelle

It was probably a good year or so after the Gate first tossed Ed, Al Winry (though I still have no idea why Winry— she isn't even an Alchemist!) and I into this strange new world, giving Al's body back like it was some sort of consolation prize (stupid lousy bastard) that something amazing happened: Hotaru and Ray somehow managed to coerce the other Scouts and Darien into letting Winry, my brothers and I go on a picnic with them. That was amazing because while they didn't mind Winry, they didn't really like Ed, Al and I (probably having to do with the fact that we kicked their butts in sparring in less than a minute flat 'cause they called him short).

Not long after we got here we challenged them all a friendly sparring match.

Ed, being brutal and explosive as he was, kicked their butts in very little time. I timed him and he didn't even take thirty seconds to stomp Serena flat. Even Lita and Amara, the apparent martial artists of the team, couldn't hold him for more than forty five seconds though they ganged up on him. Rini, Hotaru and Ray, however, managed a good two minutes working together before they too were overpowered by Ed's brutally explosive style.

Al didn't challenge them immediately because his body was still weak (he was used to being a suit of armor that could lift just about anything) but once he was strong again, he too stomped most of the scouts, not including Serena, Rini, Ray, or Hotaru. Serena he stomped flat in a minute, holding back out of politeness. Without holding back, Hotaru, Ray and Rini, on the other hand, managed to give him a fairly good fight by working together. Okay granted it only lasted around five minutes, but still, it was better than the others.

After seeing what they could do, I refused to spar with anyone but my brothers and my only friends in this world, although now our sparring group was down to two since Rini went back to the future. I did hope she came back soon though. She was like a little sister to me (she managed to push past my walls and into my heart mostly because little kids were far less likely to betray us, while older kids, my age, the same age as the Sailor Scouts, were far more likely to, so that was why I tried to shard to avoid being friends with them) and truth be told, she reminded me of Nina, before she got turned into a Chimera by her teme of a father. I still thought that whole situation was one big case of Catch Twenty Two (you know, the old damned if you do, damned if you don't thing).

Maybe it was because I couldn't really do anything to save my friends in my world from the Homunculi that I wanted to help save this world. However, the Sailor Scouts seemed to believe that only their magic could stop the monsters they fought (not true; once I used transmuted a sword to stab a monster with it, and it turned into dust), especially their precious Neo Queen Serenity. And of course if she says we can't fight, well then we must all bow down to the queen's wishes. Could you tell I was being sarcastic? Yeah, I don't think much of them.

"What you thinking about Sister?" Al asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Just that time not long after we first got here when Ed kicked their butts—" I jerked a thumb at most of the Scouts, who took no notice. "In a few seconds flat."

"It wouldn't've been so bad if they hadn't called Ed that certain taboo word." Al shook his head.

I laughed. "Indeed."

Ed scowled. "Humph."

I had just picked up another piece of food and was about to eat it when I saw something flash across the lake (which apparently was the site of one of their past battles). How weird.

"Did you guys see that?" I asked, pointing my automail arm across the lake to a cave.

"It almost looked like alchemic light, like someone just did a transmutation or something." Ed told me with a frown. "But everyone in this world who can do alchemy is right here with us. It shouldn't be possible that it's alchemic light."

"I saw it, but I don't know what it is." Ray informed us. "And now that you mention it, it does look like someone just did a transmutation. Maybe we should go check it out?"

"Not a bad idea." Serena agreed. "But why would it do this now? I mean, it didn't flash or light up or anything the last time I was here."

"Maybe because it's you're stronger now." Amara suggested. "Or maybe it's because you're here and you just didn't see it last time."

I snorted. "Doubtful. If that were the case, then why didn't it do this last time? It'd be pretty hard to miss something like that cave or whatever it is over there lighting up. No, I don't think it's because Serena is here." Although it might have had something to do with the fact that all of the Scouts were here, or even that Ed, Al, Winry and I were here. Not that I was going to say that aloud, because most of the Scouts, as I said, didn't like me. I still maintained that it was because they didn't like the fact that we beat them in under a minute. Besides, if they hadn't done the taboo and called Ed short, well, it wouldn't have been so bad. They had no one to blame but themselves. I warned them time and again not to call Ed short, but they didn't listen.

Most of the Sailor Scouts glared at me. I just ignored them. I was used to glares. I got them all the time in my early days as a State Alchemist. Even recently, before we got tossed into this world by the Gate, I still got a good number of them. Some people just wouldn't change.

"So why don't we go check it out." Winry suggested. "You guys can transmute a bridge over there and then we can all go see what caused that flash."

I shrugged. "Eh, okay Winry-nee." Ed and I transmuted a bridge across the water (it meant we didn't have to swim, which saved energy and didn't get our automail wet, and of course meant we didn't give Winry-nee another excuse to whack us with the wrench that she, unfortunately, still carried with her everywhere should we break our automail).

"You know," Serena commented. "I'm almost sure this wasn't here last time. So why would it be this time? That's really weird."

"Maybe because the last time you were here, there was a monster preventing the magic from working." Mina suggested. "And of course Darien was under Queen Beryl's spell at the time."

Darien shuddered. "Don't remind me."

I actually felt kind of sorry for him, not that I'd ever admit it out loud. I mean, being brainwashed by an evil queen who loved him a thousand years ago? That had to be annoying.

When we got further into the cave, I noticed something. "Hello, that looks like my symbol." I looked at it closer. "That is my symbol. How weird. My symbol, in a whole other dimension. Does anyone know what this says?" I turned to the others. "'Cause I sure as hell don't."

"Watch your mouth around the princess." Michelle snapped. "But I can't read it." She turned to Amy, the resident brainiac of the group. "Amy, can you read these?"

Amy pointed her computer at them, typed rapidly for a few minutes, before she finally shook her head. "No, I can't even with my computer. I'm guessing they're not from this word, which is probably why I can't read them and my computer can't translate them."

"Then it's a good thing I can." Winry announced. "These are hieroglyphics from the tribe that originated in Amestris before it was settled by the original Amestrians. My dad and grandma are descended from the tribe, so they wanted me to know the written language. The message is the same through the entire cave. It says: to open the gate to the land of Orre, you must reunite the cave with its Soulheart and the Heart's Greatest Gift." She turned to me, shock written all over her face. "Annabelle, I think the hieroglyphs are referring to you!"