The Other Side
by Goz

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. If I did, I would've made them wear more clothes.

Warning: This is a Sailor Moon fanfic concerning various new Sailor Scouts of my own creation. It also contains liberal mixing of the Japanese version with the dub. Caveat emptor.

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Part 2

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On the Other Side of the border, something laughed at Andrea. She screamed in fury, but was aware that the scream did not go any farther than the bounds of her own mind.

*Of which there are none,* someone familiar whispered. Andrea whirled, biting her hand to keep from screaming again. Relief washed over her as she saw Ket, not someone from the Other Side, standing a few paces behind her.

*Oh, Ket,* she said tearfully. *Is it my fault? Did I cause it? The fire, I mean.* The older woman sighed and held out her arms to Andrea. Andrea rushed into her guardian's arms, comforted by the warmth. She had been cold for so long now...

*No, kitten,* Ket murmured soothingly. *It was not you. I know who caused it...* Ket trailed off, and Andrea felt fear in her. Ket was afraid of almost nothing, and Andrea had learned never to ask Ket what she was afraid of. She never got an answer.

Instead, she asked *Could I have stopped the fire?* Ket sighed again and held Andrea tighter. *You could have stopped it, had I warned you. But it's past now and there's nothing you or I can do...*

Andrea pushed Ket away and glared at her. *If you could have helped me stop it, keep all those people from dying, why didn't you? Why DIDN'T you?!* Andrea burst into tears and collapsed on the ground, caught between conflicting loyalties.

Ket knelt beside her pupil and placed a hand on the top of Andrea's head. Andrea immediately felt drowsy and safe, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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Andrea woke at the *bump* as the shuttle hit the ground, and glanced around instinctively to see if there was anything she needed to pick up. There wasn't. All she had left after the fire had been a few articles of clothing, which were in her suitcase. She had been told that her anonymous benefactor was allowing her a fifty-thousand yen shopping spree once she got to Tokyo.

Andrea knew she was very lucky, having someone finance everything she needed. She didn't feel lucky. She felt tired - it has been a very short flight, and she hadn't gotten in much sleep - and old, older than dirt... and lower than dirt. Why was her life such a blur?

She really didn't want to think about that right now.

Andrea stared out the window moodily as the shuttle taxied about the runway. It was dark enough outside that all she saw was her reflection. Violet eyes, red hair, freckles - what she always saw. She never felt like it was *her*, though... No, she didn't want to think.

She forced herself to turn her thoughts to reality, and the new orphanage she was going to. She knew nothing about it, except its name, "New Hope." Andrea couldn't stand that kind of irony. She wondered if anyone would be coming to pick her up at the airport - she was a little fuzzy on what was actually going to happen. She felt a surge of terror, and glanced outside again, trying not to speculate. She'd figure it out when she got inside.

The shuttle had stopped moving, and inside, people were now gathering their belongings and standing up. Andrea, who had nothing to carry, stood up also. The man in the blue suit who had been sitting beside her was already in the aisle. He had ignored her throughout the whole flight, for which Andrea had been grateful.

She walked slowly behind him, trying to make herself as small as possible. The cold air bit her as she walked onto the ramp, and she pulled her old green jacket as close to her as possible. She wished her gloves had survived the fire, and felt like crying. Those gloves had been special to her, and now they were gone, along with everything she had ever known.

*We can live without it,* a thought growled. Andrea ignored that.

She walked off the ramp into the airport, glancing around looking for a sign that said "Luggage Claim." Anyone who wanted her would find her. She wandered a little dizzily over to the electronic map in the wall next to the terminal and tapped out a query. The device, after beeping rather alarmingly for several seconds, gave her directions to luggage claim.

Andrea didn't get more than fifty feet before she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She was too tired to be startled, and turned around slowly. The woman was staring at her in shock, and Andrea would have been confused if she'd had the energy. She didn't know why she was so tired...

"Are you Andrea Carpenter?" asked the woman anxiously, glancing over her shoulder to someone Andrea didn't have the energy to track down.

"Yes," replied Andrea, vaguely relieved that she wouldn't have to try to page someone. "Are you from the orphanage?"

The woman smiled nervously. "Yes, and my name is Connelly Potter. Have you ever heard of a person named Ariane Erhlic?" she said the last hastily, once again looking over her shoulder.

"No..." Andrea said. "Why?"

Connelly turned around and waved to someone in the crowd. Andrea leaned against the wall and stared at the ground. She was too sleepy to be curious... until she felt another tap and looked up into her own face.