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 17
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Ariane didn't want to go to Chibi-Usa's birthday party. She wanted to stare at the rain and brood. She wanted to go back to bed and watch the ceiling some more. She wanted to kill something, then wanted to stop the memories that came back now whenever she wasn't thinking of them. She didn't want to know that she'd killed four traitorous generals and been proud when Caprice nodded down at her. She didn't want to know that she'd caught her mother looking at a scrap of paper that was a picture of the earth and had thought of killing her then and there. She wanted to be Ariane Erhlic, in a world where her biggest worry was that she'd be adopted by someone who didn't have a computer.
Connelly was a nice person. She wasn't crazy or evil. She was usually optimistic, was depressed, but not cripplingly, when her thoughts turned to her past, was censurous of the violent video games some of the other kids played, and had Mrs. Martin's dog trained to chase his tail for the younger kids when they cried. And Connelly had been Neo-Queen Beryl, the heir to the Negaverse. That was Ariane's only consolation.
She remembered that she -
Ariane snatched up Usa's gift and stormed out of the room. *I won't pay attention to them anymore,* she told herself firmly. *I'm different now.*
She looked at Chibi-Usa's present again to distract herself - the gift itself was a blank journal with a yellow cover patterned with pink hearts, and the wrapping paper had almost the same pattern, and they both matched Usa's treasured old bedspread and pillow. Ariane and Connelly had the thought the journal was a find when Connelly took all of Usa's friends shopping for gifts, but then they'd discovered the matching paper that had thrilled Connelly beyond belief, and she'd bought enough of the stuff that everyone could wrap their gifts in it. Usa had sworn that she was going to open them all carefully and save every scrap -
Ariane peeked in the open door of the common room and saw Usa holding up the largest box with one hand, eyeing it speculatively and guessing: "A horse? A car? Four trillion yen? A wrist phone?"
"Oh, no," groaned Connelly at the last, covering her eyes. "If any of you got her a *phone*, I'm hiding it until she's twenty-one." The others burst into laughter as Usa put the box back on the table Connelly was guarding, looking piqued. Then she spotted Ariane and pounced.
"Ha! More presents!" Usa snatched the package out of Ariane's hands and waved a hand at it, narrowing her eyes. "I predict - it's a pigeon!"
"Darn. You got me," said Ariane, as everyone else in the room burst into laughter for some reason. "What?"
"It's complicated," said Connelly, rubbing her eyes - Ariane noticed that *she* looked tired, too. It had been an uneventful week since Ket's appearance, but Ariane's insomnia seemingly could only get worse. "Are -"
"She said you were sick," said Chibi-Usa, plopping the final gift onto the table and frowning at Ariane. "You look bad. Are you okay?"
"Fine," said Ariane, who was by now used to Chibi-Usa'a bluntness. "Just a little tired. Where's the cake?" she asked, trying to sound a little more upbeat.
Usa giggled. "Oh, Great Leader here always says she didn't get one -"
"I saw it in the broom closet!" cried Lyssa, a tiny girl from the kindergarten who was clinging to her older sister's leg.
"*Not* a good place for a cake," said Connelly authoritatively. Then she glanced at her watch. "Hm - it is about time for the cake -" All eyes were suddenly glued on her. Connelly looked up and shrugged theatrically. "Maybe it's here someplace -"
"You hid it *again*!" Chria complained. "Why do you always *hide* the stupid cake?! It's idiotic -"
"*I'll* find it!" announced Usa, and plowed off into the hall, the others following in her wake. Chria dithered for a moment, then followed, scowling at Ariane and Connelly.
Ariane looked at Connelly warily. "Did something happen?"
"No..." Connelly looked far away for a moment, then shook her head and turned her attention to Ariane resolutely. "Look, didn't you say something the other day about memories coming back?" she began again clumsily. Ariane hadn't - she shrugged uncommunicatively. "I'm assuming they're not good?"
"No," said Ariane coldly. Connelly was silent for a long time, and Ariane started to turn away.
"...listen. I know they feel like your memories, but you're going to have to pretend that they're not."
"That's all you can *say*?!" demanded Andrea, spinning and glaring at Connelly. "Is that *all* you can *SAY*?!?! I'm the most evil person who ever fucking *lived* and -"
"That's all I can say," said Connelly, spreading her hands helplessly. Her expression was open and full of pain. "You did these things, but it was a you in a completely different environment. You were raised in the Negaverse. It had might as well have been another person."
"*It was me*," Ariane hissed. Connelly shrugged again.
"And it was me. And Andrea. And Belinda and Isadora, who wanted *one, simple, life.*" Connelly's voice hardened.
Ariane stared over Connelly's head for a long moment, then shook her head mutely.
"Just pretend it wasn't you," Connelly repeated quietly. "Say, "that was Princess Ariane, and I am Ariane Erhlic." It's all you can do."
Someone screamed, and Princess Ariane tasted blood.
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.
-
Part 17
-
Ariane didn't want to go to Chibi-Usa's birthday party. She wanted to stare at the rain and brood. She wanted to go back to bed and watch the ceiling some more. She wanted to kill something, then wanted to stop the memories that came back now whenever she wasn't thinking of them. She didn't want to know that she'd killed four traitorous generals and been proud when Caprice nodded down at her. She didn't want to know that she'd caught her mother looking at a scrap of paper that was a picture of the earth and had thought of killing her then and there. She wanted to be Ariane Erhlic, in a world where her biggest worry was that she'd be adopted by someone who didn't have a computer.
Connelly was a nice person. She wasn't crazy or evil. She was usually optimistic, was depressed, but not cripplingly, when her thoughts turned to her past, was censurous of the violent video games some of the other kids played, and had Mrs. Martin's dog trained to chase his tail for the younger kids when they cried. And Connelly had been Neo-Queen Beryl, the heir to the Negaverse. That was Ariane's only consolation.
She remembered that she -
Ariane snatched up Usa's gift and stormed out of the room. *I won't pay attention to them anymore,* she told herself firmly. *I'm different now.*
She looked at Chibi-Usa's present again to distract herself - the gift itself was a blank journal with a yellow cover patterned with pink hearts, and the wrapping paper had almost the same pattern, and they both matched Usa's treasured old bedspread and pillow. Ariane and Connelly had the thought the journal was a find when Connelly took all of Usa's friends shopping for gifts, but then they'd discovered the matching paper that had thrilled Connelly beyond belief, and she'd bought enough of the stuff that everyone could wrap their gifts in it. Usa had sworn that she was going to open them all carefully and save every scrap -
Ariane peeked in the open door of the common room and saw Usa holding up the largest box with one hand, eyeing it speculatively and guessing: "A horse? A car? Four trillion yen? A wrist phone?"
"Oh, no," groaned Connelly at the last, covering her eyes. "If any of you got her a *phone*, I'm hiding it until she's twenty-one." The others burst into laughter as Usa put the box back on the table Connelly was guarding, looking piqued. Then she spotted Ariane and pounced.
"Ha! More presents!" Usa snatched the package out of Ariane's hands and waved a hand at it, narrowing her eyes. "I predict - it's a pigeon!"
"Darn. You got me," said Ariane, as everyone else in the room burst into laughter for some reason. "What?"
"It's complicated," said Connelly, rubbing her eyes - Ariane noticed that *she* looked tired, too. It had been an uneventful week since Ket's appearance, but Ariane's insomnia seemingly could only get worse. "Are -"
"She said you were sick," said Chibi-Usa, plopping the final gift onto the table and frowning at Ariane. "You look bad. Are you okay?"
"Fine," said Ariane, who was by now used to Chibi-Usa'a bluntness. "Just a little tired. Where's the cake?" she asked, trying to sound a little more upbeat.
Usa giggled. "Oh, Great Leader here always says she didn't get one -"
"I saw it in the broom closet!" cried Lyssa, a tiny girl from the kindergarten who was clinging to her older sister's leg.
"*Not* a good place for a cake," said Connelly authoritatively. Then she glanced at her watch. "Hm - it is about time for the cake -" All eyes were suddenly glued on her. Connelly looked up and shrugged theatrically. "Maybe it's here someplace -"
"You hid it *again*!" Chria complained. "Why do you always *hide* the stupid cake?! It's idiotic -"
"*I'll* find it!" announced Usa, and plowed off into the hall, the others following in her wake. Chria dithered for a moment, then followed, scowling at Ariane and Connelly.
Ariane looked at Connelly warily. "Did something happen?"
"No..." Connelly looked far away for a moment, then shook her head and turned her attention to Ariane resolutely. "Look, didn't you say something the other day about memories coming back?" she began again clumsily. Ariane hadn't - she shrugged uncommunicatively. "I'm assuming they're not good?"
"No," said Ariane coldly. Connelly was silent for a long time, and Ariane started to turn away.
"...listen. I know they feel like your memories, but you're going to have to pretend that they're not."
"That's all you can *say*?!" demanded Andrea, spinning and glaring at Connelly. "Is that *all* you can *SAY*?!?! I'm the most evil person who ever fucking *lived* and -"
"That's all I can say," said Connelly, spreading her hands helplessly. Her expression was open and full of pain. "You did these things, but it was a you in a completely different environment. You were raised in the Negaverse. It had might as well have been another person."
"*It was me*," Ariane hissed. Connelly shrugged again.
"And it was me. And Andrea. And Belinda and Isadora, who wanted *one, simple, life.*" Connelly's voice hardened.
Ariane stared over Connelly's head for a long moment, then shook her head mutely.
"Just pretend it wasn't you," Connelly repeated quietly. "Say, "that was Princess Ariane, and I am Ariane Erhlic." It's all you can do."
Someone screamed, and Princess Ariane tasted blood.
